CIVIL WAR

MAGA-Curious CBS Boss’ Bust-Up With ‘60 Minutes’ Legend Leaks

Bari Weiss was “very, very hands-on” with a report, insiders said.

MAGA-curious CBS boss Bari Weiss clashed with 60 Minutes legend Lesley Stahl over an evocative report on Israeli settler violence, according to insiders.

The bust-up was reportedly so bad that Stahl, a 35-year veteran of the storied news magazine, privately discussed quitting, people familiar with the flashpoint told Status.

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The reason was that Weiss—a strong supporter of Israel and critic of mainstream media coverage of the war in Gaza—inserted herself into the editorial process in a severe manner, according to insiders. With just a handful of days until the package was set to air on Sunday, the screenings grew “extraordinarily contentious,” according to Status.

Weiss and her deputy, managing editor Charles Forelle, brought a heap of editorial notes, insiders divulged. Weiss became “very, very hands-on,” one person familiar with the saga said.

Their notes were not specific, but broad, setting the scene for Stahl’s vehement pushback, the insiders said.

The indignation crescendoed when Forelle, the former deputy editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, suggested holding the piece for a later date, those familiar told Status. Stahl, however, wanted to duke it out right there and get the piece over the line.

An “aggressive back-and-forth” ensued, with the veteran journalist fighting to air the piece on Sunday, which it did.

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But behind the scenes, it was chaos, the insiders said, describing screenings that stretched into Saturday. The public listings, usually published Friday, weren’t released until Sunday morning, given the anxiety over whether it would air.

“They didn’t know if it was going to air because the screenings got so heated,” a source told Status.

The saga echoed Weiss’ intervention in a piece about the CECOT megaprison in El Salvador in December last year. She wanted to give the Trump administration more time to comment, but it didn’t. She was accused of being politically partisan, and the episode led to correspondent Sharon Alfonsi leaving CBS, with her contract not being renewed.

It is unclear what the atmosphere is like between Stahl and her superiors this week, but Status reported that she and fellow correspondents Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim met on Monday for a mystery discussion.

CBS, for its part, said the Status report is much ado about nothing. “This is a ludicrous, twisted narrative. All ‘60 Minutes’ pieces go through a famously rigorous editorial process—which includes edits from editors. This piece received far fewer edits than most,” a spokesperson said.

“I’m surprised Bari let this one through,” one YouTube commenter said underneath the package, which showed Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Another Israel-critical report made it through on Oct. 7, the anniversary of a series of horrific attacks by Hamas militants in 2023.

CBS News marked the anniversary, in part, by running a piece by foreign correspondent Holly Williams that discussed Israel’s overwhelmingly violent response to the attacks.

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But later on, Williams met pushback when she wanted to include the death toll from the war in Gaza in a CBS Evening News package. Weiss’ handpicked foreign editor, Shayndi Raice, noticed the figure in Williams’ script and raised the alarm, insiders said.

Raice was brought in to replace Claire Day, a 25-year veteran of the network, who left over clashes about the network’s coverage of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Iran, according to reports.

In the end, the figure was not aired, leaving Williams frustrated. Status reported that she is weighing up whether she woud stay at the station long-term.

CBS has been contacted for comment.

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