60 Minutes Veteran Calls CBS Firings “Journalistic Interference,” Says New Leadership Faces “A Lot of Problems”
Former 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft has criticized the recent upheaval inside CBS News, saying the changes amount to “journalistic interference” and make little business sense for a program that remains one of television’s top-rated news shows. Kroft’s comments come after a turbulent week at 60 Minutes, during which longtime correspondent Scott Pelley was fired from CBS News following a heated exchange with newly installed executive producer Nick Bilton. Pelley had reportedly condemned CBS News executive-in-charge Bari Weiss, saying she was “murdering 60 Minutes” amid a wave of departures by veteran staff members.
Kroft, who retired from 60 Minutes in 2019 after three decades on the program, said he would not return to the show if given the chance. Speaking with PBS NewsHour, he praised Pelley for speaking out against the firing of correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, executive producer Tanya Simon, and executive editor Draggan Mihailovich. He argued that the show’s success has long been built on strong journalism, not management experimentation, and questioned why executives would disrupt a formula that continues to draw a large audience every week.
According to Kroft, 60 Minutes remains the highest-rated news program on television and has held that position for more than 50 years. He noted that the show’s audience rose by about 9% last year and said it still attracts between 9 million and 10 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched programs on network television. In his view, changing the leadership and structure of a proven broadcast is risky and unnecessary when the existing format is still performing well.
Kroft also told New York Magazine that the 60 Minutes people have known for decades no longer exists in the same form, calling the recent firings too significant to ignore. He said the decisions were not tied to journalistic failure or misconduct, but appeared to be part of a broader effort to reshape the show. He expressed concern that the new leadership does not fully understand the complexity of producing a weekly television news magazine and suggested that no clear plan has been communicated for what the next season of the program will look like.
Another point Kroft raised was the long-established structure of 60 Minutes, particularly its format of three equally timed segments per episode. He said that system was designed to give the show flexibility, allowing producers to swap stories in and out efficiently. He warned that abandoning that structure could make production far more difficult and undermine one of the key systems that helped make the program successful over the years.
Former executive producer Bill Owens, who resigned in April 2025 after Paramount’s new leadership took over, has also defended Pelley’s criticism of Weiss. With veteran figures publicly challenging the direction of the show, uncertainty continues to grow around the future of 60 Minutes and whether its next chapter can preserve the standards that made it an American broadcast institution.
