America’s transformation has been underway for a long time—but many are only noticing it now

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• "60 Minutes" icon Scott Pelley uses the example of the anti-ICE protests in Minnesota to explain how Bari Weiss, the network’s new editor-in-chief, has influenced the coverage.
• Pelley reacts to Donald Trump’s celebratory dance over her dismissal and warns: “Right now, CBS News is on fire.”
• Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is reportedly set to take the reins at CNN as well, once the acquisition of parent company Warner Bros. Entertainment is complete.
• These developments are reminiscent of the restructuring of the media landscape in Hungary under Viktor Orbán.

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Billionaire Larry Ellison and his son David are the new owners of Paramount Skydance, the media giant that also owns CBS News. Its journalistic flagship has been the “60 Minutes” program since 1968.

The Ellisons are installing Bari Weiss as the new editor-in-chief at CBS News and Nick Bilton as the new executive producer of “60 Minutes.” The duo is overhauling the news program: Leading figures are being let go—including Scott Pelley, who appeared on camera for “60 Minutes” for decades and reported from crisis zones around the world.

Restructuring the media

Billionaires close to Trump turn US broadcaster upside down - and fire journalism legend

How is the 68-year-old doing today? “There are some moments in the day when I feel good,” says Pelley in a “New York Times” interview. “And there are some moments when, to be honest, I just fall apart.”

This isn’t about self-pity: “I don’t care about myself. I’m fine. The people I left behind are what matter to me,” he emphasizes, referring to his “60 Minutes” colleagues. “These people who are still stuck there.” He had been on the editorial staff for 37 years. “I’ve been married for 42 years. That’s how deep my devotion runs.”

Colleagues “trapped”? Is the situation really that bad? Pelley recounts how Bari Weiss first met the newsroom. The new editor-in-chief had asked why the whole country thought “60 Minutes” was biased. “We just had the feeling that she was making statements she might not be able to back up,” Pelley says.

And: “That she comes into the newsroom with entrenched, preconceived views that aren’t well thought out.” He explains how Weiss then charted a new course using a specific example: the anti-ICE protests in Minnesota in January and February and the killings of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Concrete interference

Pelley describes the level at which “60 Minutes” operates:

“I thought it was very important to make it clear that the protesters themselves were very aggressive and that they were responsible for half of these confrontations, so I instructed my producers to look for footage showing the protesters acting aggressively.”

Protesters outside an ICE facility on January 9 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Image: Keyxtone/

We found a photo showing a protester shoving a police officer with his chest. We found an image showing a police officer being hit in the head with a snowball. We compiled a lot of videos showing protesters yelling in the faces of police officers because we wanted to discuss the killing of Pretti and the killing of Good, and it seemed important to me to convey the full context to the audience.

I thought we did a really good job of that. We also included a picture of Alex Pretti in which, before he was killed, he kicks the taillight of a police car, and we explicitly said: “This is Alex Pretti, and this is what he did.”

The segment, scheduled to air on Sunday evening, goes through the approval process. Everyone is satisfied; only minor corrections are made.

“And about four hours after our deadline, Bari Weiss sent an email to my boss, Tanya Simon. The email addressed two things, among others: Can we portray the protesters as more violent? I’ll put this a bit more indirectly. I don’t have the exact quote, but that’s what I was told. And the other point: Renee Good’s car. You have to describe her driving toward the police officer.”

Renee Good in her car on January 9—shortly thereafter, she is shot.

via «ABC News»

Pelley has reviewed the footage of Renee Good’s death multiple times. Her car had driven away from the ICE agent. Weiss, however, insisted that the president had said something else. And the editor-in-chief wanted to see that, Pelley explains. He says:

“She tipped the scales in favor of the government. She constantly paid attention to the president’s views. We report on those views. There’s nothing wrong with reporting on those views. But it was never enough.”

“Without journalism, there is no democracy”

The change in direction has consequences. TV journalist Anderson Cooper decides in February not to renew his contract. The 18-time Emmy winner is actually the face of rival network CNN, but he had secured a clause in his contract guaranteeing him the right to continue working on “60 Minutes.” The 59-year-old had been with the program for 20 years.

On June 2, Pelley himself had to leave as well: Donald Trump called the journalist “stiff” and publicly rejoiced over his firing. It is only in a “New York Times” interview that Pelley learns the president has classified him in a podcast as part of a gang of “stupid, corrupt people” “who don’t care about your country.”

This clearly stings the 68-year-old. He says:

“Stupid? I can handle that. Stiff? Yeah, probably. I don’t care about the country? I never wore the uniform. But I served this country—in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in Kuwait. I’ve been shot at, spent nights in foxholes, and fetched water in the desert. I am not aware that the President of the United States has ever done any of that for his country. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

You become a journalist because you love [freedom of speech]. You become a journalist because you love the country. And while all the other descriptions the President uses for me may be true, this one isn’t.

Without journalism, there is no democracy. It just doesn’t work. That’s why I’m a journalist.”

“Right now, CBS News is in flames”

Incidentally, Pelley rejects the argument that “60 Minutes” isn’t keeping up with the times. He points out that the online numbers are impressive. The online format “60 Minutes Overtime” was launched as early as 2010. He also made TikTok videos during every shoot, Pelley assures us: “We’re there. We’re everywhere.”

Looking at Editor-in-Chief Weiss and Executive Producer Bilton, the journalism legend concludes the “New York Times” interview as follows:

“We have people who have been put in these positions and who—through no fault of their own—have absolutely no experience in television. They don’t know what they’re doing. And there’s a subtle political bias that I’ve never seen before at ‘60 Minutes’ or CBS News. So that’s my hope: a return to reason. We can still save this. It’s possible to land this plane safely. But right now, CBS News is on fire.”

Both the dismissal and the interview are causing quite a stir. The news portal “Business Insider” praises “Scott Pelley’s heartbreaking loyalty” in reference to the colleagues the veteran is standing up for .

“Bari Weiss is killing CBS News,” journalist Don Lemon exclaims on the TV channel MS Now. She is helping to bury journalism and freedom of speech—she, of all people, who founded the media company “The Free Press.”

Will Weiss soon bring CNN to heel as well?

While the restructuring of CBS News is underway, the next major project is already on the horizon: Skydance Media is in the process of acquiring media giant Warner Bros. Entertainment for a good 110 billion, after outbidding rival Netflix in the bidding war.

Once the Ellisons have closed the deal, they will own film studios such as New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment, as well as broadcasters like HBO and—via Warner Bros. Discovery —CNN. The news network’s coverage is a constant thorn in Donald Trump’s side.

But signs of change are also on the horizon at the news giant: As the news portal “Axios” reports, the Ellisons want Bari Weiss to sweep CNN clean with an iron broom following the successful takeover. Donald Trump is likely to like that: It would probably mean a decline in critical coverage of the White House.

The move is reminiscent of the media landscape in Hungary, where wealthy friends of Viktor Orbán first bought into media outlets before jointly transferring them to a foundation on November 28, 2018: The Central European Press and Media Foundation thus controlled over 400 news websites, newspapers, TV, and radio stations, representing nearly 80 percent of the national press.

In exchange for favorable coverage, the media outlets received corresponding advertising contracts.