Several former 60 Minutes staffers have criticized CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, accusing her of controversial leadership decisions. One of them said, “Everything she’s touched has turned to s**t. Everything she’s touched has gone colossally wrong.”
Bari Weiss’ questionable leadership remains the latest focus of controversy surrounding 60 Minutes and CBS News
Six former staffers spoke to Variety, in a report published June 11, detailing a month of continued turmoil at the long-running magazine program. A former staff member said, “We have to acknowledge that ‘60 Minutes’ needed a bit of a facelift, and there were potentially positive ways to improve the program, but it’s the way they have gone about it. You don’t give a facelift with a f**king machete.”
60 Minutes has been under fire since Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison appointed Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief last October. Rome Hartman, a former producer who spent 25 years working on the show, expressed, “This last week has been, for me, like watching an arsonist burn down my professional home and not really having the means to do anything about it.”
Betsy West, who was a senior vice president at CBS News from 1998 to 2005, expressed concern about internal changes after hearing that several “respected 60 Minutes journalists” said Weiss or her lieutenants had tried to insert misstatements into their reporting.
West said, “She pulled a factual and legally vetted story about the conditions in Venezuela’s prisons just because the administration wouldn’t give a comment, essentially giving them veto power by not talking.” She further stated, “It feels like she and the people she reports to are trying to check the independence of ‘60 Minutes’ and ultimately undermine the free press that undergirds our democracy.”
In October 2025, Paramount Skydance agreed to acquire The Free Press and name its co-founder and CEO, Bari Weiss, as CBS News editor-in-chief, reports CNBC. Weiss’ appointment was one of several controversies tied to David Ellison’s reported $8 billion merger between Skydance Media and CBS parent Paramount, according to EW.
Steve Kroft, who departed from the program in 2019 after 30 years as a correspondent, expressed, “I have a feeling that Bari will not be overseeing ‘60 Minutes’ for very much longer. I think once the deal gets done with Warner Bros., people will demand that she be let go or move into another position. Everything she’s touched has turned to shit. Everything she’s touched has gone colossally wrong. And I don’t think she’s [shown] any talent for this position.”
As per the New York Post, Weiss could gain editorial oversight of CNN if Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is approved. “The Paramount brass loves Bari Weiss,” a source told the outlet.
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