NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Saying 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to see 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� die,鈥� the three remaining correspondents at have decided to stay 鈥� for now.
A memo from Lesley Stahl, Jon Wertheim and Bill Whitaker to fellow staffers at the CBS News show expressed anger over the recent firings at the show, and said the three had had 鈥渁 hard time鈥� deciding whether to stay 鈥� but ultimately decided to remain.
鈥淗ere鈥檚 why we are staying: We don鈥檛 want to see 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� die,鈥� the three wrote in a joint memo obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.
They expressed their regret over the recent firings of colleagues implemented by Bari Weiss, the new CBS News editor-in-chief, and the executive producer she installed last week, Nick Bilton. He replaced Tanya Simon, who was let go after a 30-plus year tenure with the show, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, among other top staffers. Scott Pelley was then after
鈥淲e want to express how sorry we are that these principled, fair and honest journalists were treated so shabbily, with such indecency,” the three correspondents said in their memo. But they said they were 鈥渨orking to build trust鈥� with Bilton, their new boss, and left open the possibility that they could leave later, if need be.
鈥淚f we can continue doing the work that made this show what it is 鈥� committing acts of independent, fearless journalism and storytelling 鈥� we鈥檙e here for it,” the three wrote. 鈥淚f not, we leave.鈥�
鈥淗ere鈥檚 to Season 59!鈥� the note ended.
Persuading the three to remain was a crucial step in Bilton鈥檚 task of getting the show back on track for the next season, which launches in September.
The show is suddenly down four correspondents. In addition to the three dismissed, Anderson Cooper 鈥� whose primary job is on-air work for CNN 鈥� of his own accord after two decades.
Bumps had been showing at 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� . Much of it came after President Donald Trump sued the show over with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
That became part of a broader shakeup at CBS News after Weiss was by parent company Paramount late last year following David Ellison鈥檚 arrival as the network鈥檚 corporate leader.
Ellison鈥檚 company, , which later settled the Trump lawsuit for $16 million. That upset some at 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� and many believe it indirectly led to of popular longtime CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, who had called the settlement 鈥渁 big fat bribe.鈥�
CBS News has been at the center of the American broadcast-news ecosystem since its radio days before the dawn of television, though Weiss earlier this year The network’s nightly newscase was seen for decades as one of the most widely trusted institutions in the nation under
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Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press.
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