Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim to remain at 60 Minutes
Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim said they will "stay and fight" and remain correspondents on 60 Minutes. Their announcement comes after CBS News chief Bari Weiss fired several correspondents and top producers in recent weeks, a shake-up that left the long-running newsmagazine in turmoil. The three veterans said they feared returning might be construed as endorsing the existing power structure and declared that is "simply, categorically not the case." They framed their decision as an effort to help repair the program and protect 60 Minutes' future, preserving institutional continuity for its investigative journalism.
60 Minutes correspondents Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl, and Jon Wertheim met for over an hour Wednesday to discuss their futures with the show, as uncertainty grows over whether they plan to stay after Scott Pelley's ouster New from me and @oliverdarcy.bsky.social www.status.news/p/60-minutes...
Leave and let 60 Minutes die. Start something new.
These people have reputations built over decades. How can they destroy their legacies by staying?
One of the (rare, few, and hard-to-find?) vaguely liberal or at least non-fascist billionaires out there needs to fund a new thing. Hire all the 60 Minutes people and call it 1 Hour. Set up a long-term trust(?) like The Guardian has, for the new age and the media Trump et al have destroyed.
They should all reconvene on cable. Without the commercials, they can call it 45 minutes.
They should all resign if they have any integrity at all.
Make the right decision. Resign.
My sources are telling me that CBS is in serious negotiations with Byron Allen for another leased airtime agreement for "Journalists Unleashed"
They should leave. What possible good outcome is in their future by staying? Paraphrasing Steve Kroft, trust has been broken.
If I were Lesley Stahl, I’d be sitting on a beach somewhere collecting 4% on my investments!
The show is already fucking dead. What are we talking about?
Stay. They want you to quit so they can hire people cheaper. Don't go voluntarily, wait for them to make you do something you find ethically problematic, refuse to do it and make them fire you.
What would Mike Wallace do!
A legacy of FIFTY-SEVEN years of exemplary journalism collapses after less than a year of Bari Weiss
I hope they all walk out.
With the current leadership, this show is too far gone. I hope they don't choose to go down with the ship because they think that's the safe choice.
It would take just 1 ethical billionaire to create a new show, take all the talent, and destroy tRump and CBS/Paramount.
This shouldn't be a difficult decision, especially for Leslie Stahl who is over 80 years old. Retirement is a thing.
My boyfriend scheduled his Sunday evenings around watching 60 minutes and is no longer interested. That ship has sailed.
There is one right answer.
I’m not sure where I’d be in this; quit or make them fire me.
What the fuck are they waiting for?? Something to change?? SERIOUSLY? Quit or don’t.. but know the world is watching as you remind us that cowardice is a choice
News: Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim have decided to remain at “60 Minutes.”
Lesley Stahl is 84 years old. That's not an unreasonable age to retire. Why not retire *and* make a statement for democracy and journalism at the same time?
“We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure. That is simply, categorically not the case.Here's why we're are staying: We don't want to see 60 Minutes die.”
Oh the Leslie Stahl who did a puff piece on MTG before the election and let her call Biden a PDF without pushback or any evidence is staying?? SHOCKING. 🙄
Absolutely spineless. They should just let 60 Minutes die and explicitly say Bari Weiss killed it.
Got to love how spineless our mainstream media personalities are.
"We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure." Yes, that's right. bsky.app/profile/oliv...
Between this and the cowardly behavior of WH correspondents who watch in silence as Trump abuses their colleagues and then host him for dinner I've become really disheartened by what I see in mainstream journalism today.
Ahh, they need to stay to "save" it. Sure, sure.
That’s all well and good but I’m out
Pelley goes out heroically, Stahl (84) is too past her prime to see that the party is over.
In a world of Lesley Stahls, be a Scott Pelley.
Speaks volumes. No excuses now for who they are.
This seems like collaboration to me. But no matter. I won't be watching even a minute of 60 Minutes next year. I won't give one penny of my money to the Ellisons.
My most generous take is that this decision is a combination of naïveté and hubris. This combination makes for awful journalism.
Disappointing but not surprising. If they were going to leave they would have left with Scott.
Do any of these creeps *ever* have enough money? They don't have to do this, and they cannot "save" the show.
The "media cowardice/boomers never retiring" streak continues apace.
“…we heard all the right things…” Talk is cheap - journalists know that better than anyone!
What an ignominious finale to their long careers.
And this is how power succeeds at control. Weak principles
“We’re heartened…” by what? A memo? Did you read what your new boss wrote? Yours is mealy mouthed sucking up. Not a bit of bravery there. Face it folks, 60 minutes was anachronistic before the folks with the flamethrowers came in. Yes, frequently excellent reporting but not of this time.
Weird there's no mention of Pelley who was also fired for passionately arguing for integrity and independence of journalism. Way to support your colleague. 60 Minutes will go on as long as they have the NFL lead in. Their integrity is in the toilet though. Anyway, I haven't watched them in years
Who am I think of these esteemed journalists as naive but damn it that’s what how it feels
Yeah, this is not it. I'm reminded of the academics who stayed at German universities after all the Jewish faculty were purged in the 30s. Now as then: Staying means doing the work of the fascists. Leave, take your integrity with you, start a new show someplace else.
How much money were they promised?
Whatever. Our household is no longer watching CBS. Between pulling the plug on Colbert and tampering with 60 Minutes we’re just done. No sports or award shows will lure us there.
Too late. The audience has already left.
I say to them that their returning will at minimum be construed as acceptance of the existing power structure. “We don't want to see 60 Minutes die.” It’s dead, even if a right wing version that replaces facts with innuendo remains, because that is the marching orders from Trump and the …
Figures The weakest will hang on, and will now bend over for the new management And the new management knows they now *own* them
They may remain, but a lot of their audience won't.
Perhaps someone ought to tell Lesley, Bill and Jon that 60 Minutes is dead. They had the opportunity to take a stance and leave with their heads held high and failed.
cowards never thought stahl or whitaker would bend the knee 60 minutes is already dead btw
From ginsburg to these guys, so many of our institutions fail because of selfishness nearing narcissism. ”im too important to walk away!!!” Thanks for nothing
You would think 84 year old Leslie Stahl would retire with some dignity. What a disgrace.
Let’s see how long they last under the incompetent leadership. How soon before they’re asked to add lies to a story. I’m not ever watching that show again. #BoycottCBS
We have decided to keep collecting our paychecks in order to save 60 minutes.
Sixty Minutes has been revealed to be dealing in propaganda over facts. This destroys the very essence of the show. It is gone. There is nothing to stay for. Be brave and look for new opportunities.
It’s dead and now they’re part of the problem. Must be getting a lot of money to stay.
Don’t want 60 minutes to die? Sorry but it’s dead. Unless they get credible leadership asap, which isn’t happening. So much for solidarity with Scott Pelley.
Lesley Stahl needs a job.
Utter rubbish. None of them need the $. None of them have any integrity left. None if them will "save" 60 Minutes.
"Fascism upsets us, but...blah, blah, blah"
I have no idea why Stahl is still hanging on. You're reaching the of your career, Lesley.
Leslie Stahl: 84 yo Bill Whitaker: 74 yo Jon Wertheim: 55 yo Except for Jon, they could all simply retire and show support for ethics, their colleague, moral dignity, etc. But nope, they're gonna drag their wrinkly asses to work to support a fascist takeover.
Too late. 60 Minutes is already dead.
They’ve chosen collaboration. They’re all rich. They have no excuses.
How about leave for ABC or PBS, call your new show "The Hour", and run the show with the same journalistic integrity it used to have?
I wonder how long until they are fired for this memo?
I don't think you're endorsing the new management, folks... I think you have the insight of someone in a stage of grief & in a general state of denial. And, sorry, but 60 minutes may have been a gold standard, but the bar has been pretty low for quite some time...
Nobody should watch these sorry sad fuxks... It is amazing to me how much people will sell their soul for money and status
All they have to say is: we need the job and the money....that would be honest instead of this righteous bullshit
Ugh. Sell-outs all. What hollow words they write.
"Here's to Season 59!"? Lordy that's pathetic.
They should have followed Pelley out the door
"We don't know what else to do. Why retire when we can die living a tarnished legacy?"
I’ve got no respect for their decision. So I wait for what’s new from those who left. Cooper survived. So did MacFarlane.
That makes them weak and compliant. All are past retirement age and could MAKE A DIFFERENCE BUT nope 😑
It is an admirable sentiment, to want to preserve the thing you're so invested in. But believing that management under Weiss will *really* permit true independence, without skewing language or story angles to be Trump-friendly? That is self-delusion. But I guess they'll find out the hard way.
NEWS: In joint memo, Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim say they will stay on at 60 Minutes. While they say they are heartbroken over fired colleagues, they cite one reason for staying: "We don't want to see 60 Minutes die"
If they can't realize it is already dead, there is nothing to be done.
Boo. Killing 60 Minutes with principle would’ve been a far stronger statement to their audience than this weak sauce.
It’s like when a character in a zombie movie gets eaten by his wife’s reanimated corpse, ‘cuz he thinks a part of her is still in there.
It died a long time ago. Let it burn. Not standing w Pelley is cowardice.
Nope, nope, nope. I will not be watching even one minute of 60 Minutes. I will not give a penny to the Ellisons. And I won't watch these collaborators.
Bullshit. It's already dead. Maybe their remaining isn't an endorsement of the new order, but it's definitely a willing acceptance.
What if everybody worries that you're not telling the truth, that you've given in to the higher up, that some of your facts may be squishy, what good will it do?
They don’t understand it’s already dead. There is nothing to save.
NEW: The Nick Bilton charm offensive is fully underway. Dinner with Lesley Stahl and a commitment to keep the best traditions of "60 Minutes" intact. w/ Mike Grynbaum www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/b...
"I'll keep intact the best traditions of '60 Minutes,'" Nick Bilton promised, "just as soon as I find out what they are."
Seems like the kind of thing one wants to do a tad earlier but what do I know
Way too “offensive” with a clear deficit of “charm.” Just say no, Lesley.
that statement he made about Scott Pelley was thoroughly disqualifying. Bilton is now unquestionably just another cheap hack.
Nah. We're done with them in this house.
I would love to read a message from Stahl and Whitaker announcing their joint resignations. They don't need the work and their legacies as real journalists would be cemented.
Is Leslie Stahl stupid enough to fall for his charm or are her true colors showing?
Cannot stand bosses who try to work me. Let me do my job and leave me alone.
No changes except for firing some of the most talented staff members
Wait, Lesley didn't resign? Damn, the amount of people showing to the world that they never a shred of dignity is amazing.
Nick Bilton sent out another email to 60 Minutes staff today, announcing a new senior producer while praising Lesley Stahl, Joe Wertheim, and Bill Whitaker -- adding he's had conversations with them. He also insists he is committed to "journalistic independence" and wants to "learn" from the staff.
"He’s definitely working on his tone," one CBS News source told me, while another one called it a "bunch of garbage."
He knows that he's stepped in it. Stahl, Wertheim, and Whitaker have a decision to make. Is their integrity worth more to them than prestige and money.
Was it ownership or was it Weiss telling them to modify their reporting?
not the staff he summarily fired, ofc.