Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim announced on Friday their decision to remain at CBS’s 60 Minutes after the tumultuous firings of several of the show’s senior correspondents and top producers.
The three correspondents issued a joint statement, saying: “We have had a hard time deciding whether to stay … We don’t want to see 60 Minutes die. We have been grieving because this whole mess has wounded and damaged the broadcast.
“We want to stay and fight,” they added.
Stahl, 84, and Whitaker, 74, had remained wildcards as they had not commented on the uproar that has plagued the show since the new management of CBS News ousted correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega and producers Tanya Simon, Draggan Mihailovich and Matthew Polevoy last Thursday as part of a total restructuring of the show.
Then, on Tuesday evening, the network terminated veteran Scott Pelley, telling him in a legalistic email message that he was being fired for “cause” because of his conduct in an explosive meeting a day earlier with new executive producer Nick Bilton and the network’s managing editor, Charles Forelle.
During the meeting, Pelley criticized Bari Weiss, the former opinion commentator who became the network’s editor-in-chief – an appointment which has sparked backlash among numerous CBS employees who raised concerns about impartiality.
“She’s murdering 60 Minutes,” Pelley said of Weiss. “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that.”
In Friday’s note, the trio of correspondents said they were still “deeply upset by the firings” of Simon and Mihailovich, who they described as “strong leaders who everyone respected”.
“As far as we can tell – because no explanation has ever been offered – they were expelled because they fought for our 60 Minutes values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity. Newsrooms are not supposed to run like dictatorships,” they wrote.
The correspondents went on to also mention Alfonsi, Vega and Pelley, as well as Polevoy and senior producer Guy Campanile, who was also fired by CBS News.
“We want to express how sorry we are that these principled, fair and honest journalists were treated so shabbily, with such indecency. It’s been heartbreaking,” they wrote.
Explaining their decision to stay, they said: “We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure. That is simply, categorically not the case.
“We want to … try and repair and preserve our reputation by continuing the Mike Wallace tradition of hold their feet to the fire.”
A 60 Minutes insider told the Guardian on Friday that the correspondents “stayed so as not to abandon their producers and staff, many of whom simply can’t afford to quit”.
“It’s an act of self-sacrifice, really, and of generosity,” the insider said. “And they’re voting for the survival of 60 Minutes. I can guarantee you that they’ll hold Bilton to his promise not to allow corporate interference.”
In a memo issued to 60 Minutes staff on Thursday, Bilton promised “journalistic independence”, saying: “We will always pursue stories without fear or favor. We will always make the story the North Star – not relationships nor politics nor anything else … We will never be instructed by the ownership of the company on those stories.”
On Friday, the three correspondents referred to Bilton’s memo, saying: “We heard all the right things in yesterday’s ‘independence’ memo. It went a long way, and now we need to see these commitments to our process and procedures put into action.”
They added: “If we can continue doing the work that made this show what it is – committing acts of independent, fearless journalism and storytelling – we’re here for it. If not, we leave.”
Stahl is one of the most well-known and well-respected (and feared) television journalists of the past 50 years. She joined CBS News in 1971 and has worked on 60 Minutes since 1991, with a list of famous segments and sit-downs too long to mention.
Before the 2020 election, Donald Trump – who was then up for re-election – cut short an interview with Stahl after it became contentious. “Excuse me, Lesley, you started with me. Your first statement was, ‘Are you ready for tough questions?’” Trump said. “Are you?” Stahl deadpanned. “That’s no way to talk. That’s no way to talk,” Trump replied.
In May 2025, in an interview with the New Yorker editor, David Remnick, Stahl expressed frustration with Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, after it became clear that her company planned to settle a flimsy lawsuit filed by Trump right before the 2024 presidential election. She said at the time that she was “praying” that David Ellison, the chief executive of the company that had agreed to purchase Paramount, would respect editorial independence at the network.
Asked if she was “optimistic” that that would happen for 60 Minutes, Stahl replied: “No, but there’s also not a lot of dark thinking, either. You know, perhaps I am being blind – maybe I should understand what’s coming. But I’m not operating that way. I’m not optimistic. I am not. I’m pessimistic. I’m pessimistic about the future for all press today.”
Whitaker joined CBS News in 1984, but only joined the cast of 60 Minutes in 2014. Notably, he was the correspondent who conducted the interview with Kamala Harris in October 2024 that served as the basis for Trump’s lawsuit against the network.
In February 2025, the network acceded to pressure from the Federal Communications Commission to release full transcripts and all video footage from the interview, revealing the show’s production process.
