MAGA-coded CBS boss Bari Weiss is plotting a major cull at the network that will ravage its flagship show 60 Minutes, according to a report.
Weiss, 42, the network’s anti-woke editor-in-chief, is desperate to put her mark on the show, which she sees as having gone soft, according to the New York Post. An insider said the “bloodbath” is slated for June. “They’re doing another round in June, and 60 Minutes people are on the list,” a source told the paper.
The “another round” remark relates to a previous cull in which 60-70 staffers were axed last month. CBS News’ storied radio division was also shuttered in that shakeup.
“Bari wants to make the show harder,” another 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.
Weiss reportedly wants more punch. She has been dismayed with what she sees as tepid stories this season, like Cecilia Vega’s interview with mentalist Oz Pearlman, a segment on the hybrid sport of chess boxing in November, an Anderson Cooper-fronted bit on dog health last month, and, in December, research into why Swiss watches are so expensive.
“Bari Weiss is not wrong to overhaul the show,” said a longtime CBS executive, who agreed that new faces could help push the network into “harder reporting.”
“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.
On Tuesday, CBS bragged in a press release that 60 Minutes was “the #1 primetime program for the [previous] week,” across all the networks, engaging an average of 10.3 million viewers last Sunday.
But Nielsen figures cited by Reliable Sources show an altogether different picture at one of its other flagship shows. Under Weiss’ guidance, CBS Evening News has continued to flop, falling back below 4 million viewers last week.
Potential victims of Weiss’s reported shakeup include executive producer Tanya Simon. However, reports suggest she has fallen in line with Weiss’s thinking on the apparent softness of the weekly news magazine.
Insiders also mentioned the outspoken host Scott Pelley. He has made no secret about his disdain for the Trump administration or his corporate overlords. But despite his missives reportedly rankling David Ellison, CEO of CBS parent Paramount Skydance, Weiss has reportedly “warmed” to the veteran host, and a wage cut might be the prevalent option. His annual salary is estimated to be between $6.9 million and $8.5 million.
Not long after Weiss took over at CBS, Anderson Cooper announced that he would not renew his 60 Minutes contract, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. Cooper, also a CNN stalwart, had a dual contract with CBS through a deal between the two networks since the 2006-2007 season.
Sharyn Alfonsi, the correspondent who did a controversially shelved segment on a mega-prison in El Salvador, has also been mooted for the boot, as has Cecilia Vega. Weiss might also seek to retire veterans Lesley Stahl, 84, and Bill Whitaker, 74, sources said.
CBS has been contacted for comment.
