Bari Weiss preps major shakeup of ’60 Minutes’ this summer season: sources

Bari Weiss preps major shakeup of ’60 Minutes’ this summer season: sources

CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss is poised for a major shakeup at “60 Minutes” — with layoffs slated for this summer season that may engulf some of the present’s top expertise and producers, The Post has discovered.

The massacre is slated for June, a source with data said. That’s after CBS News last month slashed 6% of its workforce — between 60 and 70 people — including the shock shuttering of its 99-year-old radio division.

Insiders said the March layoffs had been preceded by buyout presents at “CBS Evening News” that started hitting inboxes in late January, sparking chatter in the halls inside CBS News that the ritual will restart in the coming weeks — including at “60 Minutes.”

CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss is anticipated to shake up “60 Minutes” and kick off another round of layoffs in June. Getty Images for The Free Press

“They’re doing another round in June, and ’60 Minutes’ people are on the list,” an insider said.

Sources said Weiss needs to focus the storied TV news journal more on scoops and hard-hitting investigative reporting — while downsizing what she has seen as an extra of “soft programming” this season.

“60 Minutes is a powerhouse program, and the probing, serious high-quality journalism that is its hallmark is vital to CBS News. We’re immensely excited about its future,” a spokesperson for the network told The Post.

“Bari wants to make the show harder,” one source told The Post. “No one is talking about ‘60 Minutes’ on Monday morning.”

“She wants to put her stamp on ‘60 Minutes’ and how you do that is you either get rid of the top producer or the top correspondent,” the source added.

The 42-year-old newshound has not been impressed with “60 Minutes’” reporting this season, which has included Cecilia Vega’s interview with mentalist Oz Pearlman, who showcased his mind-reading skills by guessing the identify of Vega’s third-grade instructor.

“60 Minutes” govt producer Tanya Simon is said to be in lock-step with Weiss over the must make the legendary present more hard-hitting. CBS by way of Getty Images

Elsewhere, “60 Minutes” has these days carried out segments on chess boxing, dog-aging research and why handmade Swiss watchers are so costly.

“Bari Weiss is not wrong to overhaul the show,” said a longtime CBS exec, who agreed that new people must be introduced into the fold and that the present must lean into “harder reporting.”

This week, Variety reported that Weiss may exchange “60 Minutes” govt producer Tanya Simon, whose year-long contract is said to be up soon. CBS insiders threw shade on that risk, with one noting that Simon seems to have “fallen in line” with Weiss and that such a transfer can be tantamount to “ransacking the place.”

As beforehand reported by The Post, Simon is lock-step with Weiss that the present has “gone soft” and there have already been discussions to overtake the program’s manufacturing ranks.

“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley has been mentioned as a possible casualty, however sources said it will behoove the network to retain the journalist and slash his wage when his contract comes due. CBS by way of Getty Images

Scott Pelley, an everyday critic of the Trump administration and his personal company overlords, has also been mentioned by higher-ups as a possible casualty, insiders said. A source with data told The Post that Pelley’s contract is up next yr and the company may purchase him out before that.

“Scott is the face of ‘60 Minutes’ and he’s not ready to retire,” a second source said, noting that it’d behoove Weiss to re-up Pelley and minimize down his lofty wage, which is estimated to be between $6.9 million and $8.5 million.  

What’s more, in latest weeks, it seems that Weiss has been “warming” to Pelley, according to a latest report from the Status publication.

As beforehand reported by The Post, David Ellison, CEO of CBS guardian Paramount Skydance, is said to “not be happy” with Pelley’s public criticism of his company bosses. At a graduation speech last summer season, the journo raged against President Trump and proclaimed that journalism is “under attack.”

“60 Minutes” is anticipated to get a shake up under Weiss, who’s trying to put her stamp on the present.

At a latest awards ceremony, Pelley sounded off about the state of “60 Minutes,” asserting that Paramount hasn’t had any affect on its reporting. Pelley also called out Weiss for after she shelved a section on El Salvador’s CECOT jail, saying she wanted to take her job “more seriously” during an inner assembly late last yr.

But without Anderson Cooper – who didn’t renew his “60 Minutes” contract – “60 Minutes” has few boldface names, even if the network faucets Norah O’Donnell for a much bigger function on the program and it provides a few segments from new rent Matt Gutman next season.

One point of consensus is that Weiss will need loyalists round her when she makes big modifications to the storied news present, so that she will simply “break down silos” at the network.

Sharyn Alfonsi, the correspondent who did the CECOT section, has been rumored to be in the sizzling seat. Her contract is up next month. Weiss has also bumped heads with Vega, sources famous.

In order to make approach for the next era, Weiss may also retire veteran correspondents Lesley Stahl, 84 and Bill Whitaker, 74, sources said.

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