Bari Weiss shakes up '60 Minutes' with a new executive producer

The venerable quality mag “60 Minutes” is undergoing a large overhaul nether CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.

Weiss announced Thursday the assignment of caller enforcement shaper to regenerate Tanya Simon, a 26-year seasoned of the programme who took implicit the apical occupation past July. She volition beryllium replaced by Nick Bilton, a erstwhile New York Times exertion columnist and documentary filmmaker.

Bilton volition beryllium the archetypal enforcement shaper successful the 58-year past of “60 Minutes” to travel from extracurricular of the tightly knit organization. The programme has lone had 4 leaders successful its past — Don Hewitt, Jeff Fager, Bill Owens and Simon — each of whom came up done the ranks of CBS News.

Weiss is said to person developed a coagulated narration with Simon, whose precocious begetter Bob Simon was a highly respected analogous for the program. But the transportation seemingly deteriorated aft Weiss did not person an beforehand announcement connected Anderson Cooper’s motion disconnected from the programme ending his astir 20-year tally arsenic a correspondent.

Cooper, who is besides a full-time anchor astatine CNN, turned down a caller “60 Minutes” woody from Weiss. During his last appearance, helium expressed fears astir the editorial independency of the program.

Tanya Simon is the caller enforcement shaper of “60 Minutes.”

(Michele Crowe CBS News)

“Things tin ever germinate and change, and I deliberation that’s awesome, and things should germinate and change, but I anticipation the halfway of what ’60 Minutes’ is ever remains,” Anderson told viewers. “I deliberation the independency of ’60 Minutes’ has been critical.”

Speculation implicit changes astatine “60 Minutes,” the most-watched quality programme connected tv for 52 consecutive years, person been swirling for months since Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison installed Weiss to oversee editorial contented astatine CBS News.

The programme has been successful turmoil since Oct. 2024 erstwhile President Trump filed a $20 cardinal suit against CBS implicit an interrogation conducted with past Vice President Kamala Harris that was settled to wide the regulatory way for Skydance Media’s acquisition of Paramount.

From a concern standpoint, “60 Minutes” is simply a funny target. The programme is 1 of the astir profitable hours connected the CBS premier clip docket portion retaining its presumption arsenic television’s astir prestigious journalism operation. While the ratings for “60 Minutes” get a boost from a lead-in from high-rated NFL precocious day games, it remains 1 of the fewer web shows that viewers marque an assignment to watch.