A reporter who worked on CBS News’ flagship program 60 Minutes for 30 seasons has accused President Trump of orchestrating the destruction of one of American journalism’s most storied institutions.
On Thursday, MAGA-friendly CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss purged three of the show’s senior women in a single day.
Executive producer Tanya Simon, who has worked on the show for 30 years, was axed and is being replaced by a man with no television news experience. Correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi—who publicly clashed with Weiss last year over a segment pulled for fear it would irritate the Trump administration—and Cecilia Vega, the award-winning first Latina correspondent in the show’s history, were also fired.
Executive editor Draggan Mihailovich was similarly forced out.
Vega was let go over a short Zoom call. Weiss did not personally deliver the news to Alfonsi—that task fell to CBS News managing editor Charles Forelle.
Steve Kroft, who was a correspondent for the show from the late 1980s until 2019, did not mince his words. “Since I retired, I often wondered what would happen to 60 Minutes, but I never expected it would be executed by the president of the United States,” he told Status.
“There is no smoking gun. But his fingerprints and DNA are all over this. He’s been making threats against 60 Minutes and how he wanted it gone. And he finally got his wish.”
Trump has made no secret of his contempt for the program, regularly attacking it publicly and filing a $10 billion lawsuit against it, which CBS initially called “meritless” before settling for $16 million to smooth the path for Shari Redstone to sell Paramount, the parent company of CBS, to MAGA-friendly billionaire David Ellison.
Inside the show’s Manhattan offices, the mood on Thursday was bleak. “It’s like a funeral in here,” one insider told Status. “People are devastated.”
Another staffer was less restrained. “They’re gutting us,” they told Status. “It’s over. I don’t see how 60 will be able to function after this.” They signed off with a message for management: “Goodnight and good luck, motherf-----s.”
Former executive producer Bill Owens, who resigned last summer citing corporate interference, was equally blunt. “They’re killing 60 Minutes,” he said.
Veteran correspondent Lesley Stahl reportedly attempted to rally remaining staff after the cull, though her own future at the show is uncertain—her deal has not yet been renewed and is described as “up in the air” by a person familiar with the matter.
As for the show itself, Kroft’s assessment was damning. “The show as people have known it for 50 years is dead. Now, could it be resurrected? I don’t know.”
The White House has been contacted for comment.
