The man tapped to save 60 Minutes has never worked in TV news—and he’s reportedly getting paid a $2.5 million salary to figure it out on the job.
Nick Bilton, a technology reporter turned screenwriter and documentary filmmaker, was named executive producer of the 57-year-old CBS newsmagazine last week by Bari Weiss, the network’s MAGA-friendly editor in chief, who also has no broadcast news background.
Bilton, 49, must now learn one of television’s most complex editorial operations from scratch, without any experience managing a large team of journalists or running a broadcast property—and with the show’s 59th season set to air in September.
Bilton has been a regular TV commentator, has directed documentaries for HBO and the streaming giant Netflix, and is writing a script for a new Martin Scorsese movie. He does, however, have a “notebook full of ideas,” according to Status.
The financial stakes are considerable. Two people familiar with CBS News’s business say 60 Minutes correspondents can earn as much as $5 million a year, while the executive producer role that Bilton now holds commands around $2.5 million. Each correspondent typically leads a team of four or more senior producers earning between $200,000 and $300,000 annually, with associate producers making up to $150,000. Every story the show produces costs around $75,000 in travel, research, and production expenses alone.
Bilton’s appointment has not gone over well inside the building. Veteran correspondent Scott Pelley, who has been with the show since 2004, reportedly confronted Bilton directly in a closed-door meeting on Monday morning, telling him that Weiss was “murdering 60 Minutes.”
“She does not love this place,” Pelley reportedly said. “She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that.” Pelley was reportedly backed by other producers in the room.
The confrontation came days after Weiss fired three of the show’s most senior women in rapid succession. Correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, along with executive producer Tanya Simon, were shown the door. It also follows the departure of Anderson Cooper, who left after two decades with the program following Weiss’ takeover.
The upheaval has drawn fire from unexpected corners. Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly weighed in on her eponymous show, offering Weiss something less than a vote of confidence.
“She’s not succeeding by any measure, and on top of that, she’s loathed; she does not have the support of the troops internally,” Kelly said. “So good luck with that.”
Weiss and Bilton now face the task of steadying a show that costs millions of dollars a year to produce—with a staff that, by multiple accounts, has little faith in either of them.
The Daily Beast has contacted CBS for comment.
