Guy Campanile, the former managing editor of 60 Minutes, is speaking out against the long-running CBS show’s “destruction” following Bari Weiss’ takeover.
The private Facebook post, obtained by The Guardian, came just after CBS released the Season 59 cast portrait and a teaser clip for the upcoming season.
Campanile wrote that he, Tanya Simon, Draggan Mihailovich, Matthew Polevoy, Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi, and Cecilia Vega “refused to be accomplices in the destruction of the most prestigious news program on American television” and were ousted in May because they “would not compromise our principles or reputations by jamming unverifiable notions or White House talking points into our reporting.”
Bari Weiss’ overhaul of 60 Minutes has drawn criticism from staff and viewers alike and led to the firing of several longtime staples, including Scott Pelley, the show’s correspondent for 22 years. During a meeting with the show’s new leadership, Pelley slammed Weiss’ changes.
“She is murdering ‘60 Minutes,’” Pelley said, according to The New York Times. “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that.”
Campanile worked at CBS News for over 35 years before the network fired him.
“We insisted on asking the most challenging questions to business and political leaders without fear or favor,” he wrote. “We did what reporters worth their salt do – we questioned authority… including our own bosses. That’s how the best newsrooms work.”
He continued, “To be clear: we were told to leave because we insisted on doing our jobs. What has happened recently at 60 Minutes – where I believe editorial independence has become a casualty of corporate priorities and ideological intrusion – was tragic. But it was part of an inevitable progression in the cascade of afflictions that have devalued our most trusted sources of news.”
Campanile added that journalism has become “an exercise in presentation rather than examination,” sensationalizing the mundane and maintaining a shiny, shallow facade instead of “speaking directly to the people making history or pummeled by events.”
“Making matters worse is the cadre of self-described influencers and online opinionists who market themselves as ‘journalists,’” he wrote. “Some have been given control of our most precious reporting institutions – including CBS News.”
He said he decided to speak out because audiences deserve to trust journalism, and CBS has “wrecked” that trust. He also warned of the danger of censorship and shared urgent advice for his former 60 Minutes colleagues.
“As for my friends that remain at my former employer: hold the line. Don’t give an inch because they will keep scraping away until there’s nothing left worth a damn,” Campanile implored.
