Maybe they will stay?
The new executive producer of “60 Minutes” vowed in a memo Thursday to pursue stories “without fear or favor” and honor CBS News’ pledge to not take “directions from the owners of the company” on sensitive reporting. Even many in the Paramount Skydance press office continue to question whether the show’s remaining correspondents — Leslie Stahl, Bill Whitaker and John Wertheim — will remain after a major vacuum in the program’s executive ranks.
“The cornerstone of 60 Minutes is journalistic independence,” wrote Nick Bilton, who was named the news magazine’s executive producer last week, adding, “We will always make stories our north star. Not relationships or politics.”
Bilton has been at the helm of the venerable news property all week and is trying to retain three correspondents. The three met on Wednesday to discuss the current state of the program and how to deal with it, the person said, and Mr. Bilton and Mr. Stahl reportedly had a dinner on Wednesday night, where the person said Mr. Bilton was bombarded with questions about how he intended to proceed. CBS News was not immediately able to comment on the details of the meeting.
Bilton praised Staal, Whittaker and Wertheim, saying he spent a lot of time listening to them. “We talked about what’s so special about 60 Minutes, about the traditions and legacy of our past, and how we do the work of producing such an important work,” Bilton said. “We also talked about change: new audiences, new platforms, and new ways of storytelling that new audiences require. We’ll talk more about that in the coming weeks.”
In an interview with Variety last week, Bilton said he was eager to do more than a Sunday night showcase. “This show airs one day a week, one night, for an hour, and for me it’s a great opportunity to do different things with it,” he said.
Bilton replaces Tanya Simon, the program’s longtime senior manager and daughter of one of its former correspondents, Bob Simon. Her deputy, Dragan Mihailovic, was also expelled, along with two of the program’s correspondents, Sharin Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Anderson Cooper announced in February that he would not be returning for the 59th season in the fall.
But most shocking was the departure of correspondent Scott Pelley, one of the correspondents most associated with the program along with Stahl. Mr. Perry was fired earlier this week after a heated argument with Mr. Bilton on “60 Minutes” City Hall. Mr. Perry pressed the new executive producers and senior executives at CBS News about why his colleagues were fired and whether they were truly qualified to produce the premium journalism associated with “60 Minutes.”
“Debate, debate and disagreement are essential to producing good journalism,” Bilton said in a memo Thursday. “Everything is done with integrity, always with respect and trust, and true to the practices that have served us for 58 years.”
Producer Maria Grablovicz, who has been with CBS News since September 2006, has been named the new senior producer of “60 Minutes.” Mr. Grablovicz has worked with Mr. Perry in the past, including on a piece that aired during the show’s 58th season premiere, in which Mr. Perry traveled to Utah to interview Republican Gov. Spencer Cox.
In his memo, Bilton vowed not to steer the show away from its core routine. “These are great times for television journalism, and we will continue to do the work that makes television journalism great: scheduled screenings, detailed script work, editing, long-format work,” he said. “I’m a curious person and I love stories. As Executive Producer, I’ll bring the show to life. I’ll brainstorm ideas with you, work on scripts and edits, and sign off on your work. Our fearless correspondents and courageous producers will continue to be at the heart of each production we air.”
