Lesley Stahl says Paramount boss David Ellison promised editorial independence for “60 Minutes”

Key Points

• Paramount boss David Ellison promised to respect the editorial independence of 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl says.

• The CBS News journalist relayed Ellison’s message to staff during a morale-boosting champagne toast.

• 60 Minutes has been mired in drama amid the firings of several correspondents, including Emmy Award winner Scott Pelley.

In its time of uncertainty, 60 Minutes has gained renewed footing.

Longtime correspondent Lesley Stahl told The New York Times that in a weekend phone call with David Ellison, Paramount’s chief executive promised to respect the editorial independence of the CBS newsmagazine.

Stahl relayed the message to 60 Minutes staffers on Monday during a morale-boosting champagne toast at the show’s New York office.

Lesley Stahl on ’60 Minutes’
Credit: CBS

“My toast was, ‘to us,’ meaning the survivors,” she told The Times via text message. “Maybe ‘us’ with a twinge of survivor’s guilt.”

Paramount and CBS did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

Amid the show’s upheaval, a slew of journalists, including 60 Minutes veterans Dan Rather and Steve Kroft, published an open letter to Ellison on June 1 urging CBS News “to uphold the principle of editorial independence” that was once the bedrock of the program. Ellison has yet to publicly comment on their request.

Stahl — along with her 60 Minutes colleagues Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim — has pledged to remain on the news program following the June 2 ouster of Emmy-winning journalist Scott Pelley, who openly criticized CBS News’ leadership and accused boss Bari Weiss of “murdering” 60 Minutes.

Days earlier, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, executive producer Tanya Simon, and executive editor Draggan Mihailovich were all fired as well. Anderson Cooper announced he was exiting the show in February, and signed off for the last time on May 17.

Jon Wertheim, Bill Whitaker, and Lesley Stahl have decided to remain on ’60 Minutes’ after firings
Credit: Jai Lennard/CBS News via Getty

During the champagne toast, Wertheim reportedly told the show’s new executive producer, Nick Bilton, that he had been dealt “a hell of a hand.” As part of Bilton’s role, there would be “bridges to build and fences to mend,” noted Wertheim. “But there’s a path here.”

Stahl, Whitaker, and Wertheim admitted they “had a hard time deciding whether to stay at 60 Minutes,” in a joint statement. “As far as we can tell — because no explanation has ever been offered, they were expelled because they fought for our 60 Minutes values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity. Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships. Collaboration and argument are the way we have always worked at 60.”

Scott Pelley was fired from ’60 Minutes’ on June 2
Credit: CBS

The trio’s decision to remain, however, is not “an endorsement of the existing power structure,” insisted Stahl, Whitaker, and Wertheim.

“We don’t want to see 60 Minutes die,” they explained. “We have been grieving because this whole mess has wounded and damaged the broadcast. We want to stay and fight, to try and repair and preserve our reputation.”

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly