Time may be running out for top talent at “60 Minutes.”
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is looking to shake up the iconic TV newsmagazine — and the victims could include a number of the show’s star anchors, The Post has learned.
The 41-year-old reporter was tapped this month to restore “balance” to the Tiffany Network’s news unit, according to David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, which owns CBS – and insiders say she thinks “60 Minutes” has drifted too far to the left, sources said.
Among Weiss’ alleged targets, according to insiders, is Scott Pelley. The anchor criticized Paramount, then the owner of CBS, in an on-air tirade this summer for signing a $16 million deal with President Trump over allegations that “60 Minutes” “deceptively edited an interview with Kamala Harris.”
Likewise, Bill Whitaker, the correspondent who conducted the controversial Harris interview, may also be in the firing line after coming under fire for asking softball questions and not fact-checking what was broadcast, sources said.
“Bari is not wrong for trying to attract new people,” a CBS source said, noting that Pelley and Whitaker are 68 and 74, respectively. “Most of the show’s correspondents and viewers are geriatric.”
Still, insiders say the furious guessing game that has broken out over Weiss’s future ax sharpening isn’t so simple.
For example, Lesley Stahl, 83 — who last year rejected President Trump’s demand to apologize for dismissing the Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story — is said to be considered a “treasure” by Weiss and could keep her role for a while longer, despite rumors of retirement, according to a source.
Another major question mark is how Tanya Simon — who succeeded Bill Owens as executive producer of “60 Minutes” in a tumultuous Trump-related shakeup this summer — will fit into Weiss’ new regime, according to insiders.
Simon — the daughter of the late correspondent Bob Simon — appears to agree with Weiss that the show has “gone soft,” according to a well-placed source. Before Weiss arrived, Simon was already looking to reorganize the staff to make the show “more impactful” and cut back on the “soft entertainment pieces,” the source said.
Neither Simon nor a representative for “60 Minutes” have commented.
“’60 Minutes’ has become the home of book and movie launches,” a source told the Post. “This is no longer the home of Mike Wallace’s investigative journalism.”
“60 Minutes” was the subject of some landmark stories last year, such as its Emmy Award-winning investigation into “Havana Syndrome.” But the current season opened last month with a lighthearted story about Utah Gov. Spencer Cox calling for unity after the killing of Charlie Kirk and a heated discussion with UFC chief Dana White, the source said.
In a segment Sunday, correspondent Cecilia Vega interviewed mentalist Oz Pearlman, who guessed the name of Vega’s third-grade teacher.
“This report is about afternoon cable fare,” a CBS source scoffed. “It’s not the caliber of ‘60 Minutes’.”
The overhaul comes as Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski weigh whether to purge big names like “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King, whose eight-figure salary is hard to justify for the third-place show. Meanwhile, the chain is expected to announce major staff reductions on Wednesday.
“Big changes are coming,” said a source close to the matter.
The person added that Weiss is working to bring back hard-hitting investigations — which have long been part of CBS News’ DNA. Weiss allegedly contacted former CBS News investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge, who clashed with network bosses when she published stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
“There really isn’t an investigative unit anymore,” a CBS News official said. “The reality is that ’60 Minutes’ is the investigative arm of CBS News.”
On Monday, the network confirmed that “CBS Evening News” co-anchor John Dickerson — who sources say makes a few million a year — would retire at the end of the year. Insiders expect his co-host Maurice DuBois to follow suit as Weiss and Cibrowski identify who would be best suited to host the show.
