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Don’t ever mistake Scott Pelley for the Welcome Wagon.
During a Monday meeting, Nick Bilton, the new head of “60 Minutes,” introduced himself to his team including, among others, Pelley.
Instead of offering Bilton a handshake like a normal person, pompous Pelley threw an epic tantrum that included claims new management is “murdering” the 57-year-old show.
But this mutiny was not driven by a serious concern for editorial standards or integrity.
It was meant to make Pelley a martyr of the rotting lefty media establishment and to embarrass Bilton and CBS News’ Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss — to delegitimatize them and preemptively tarnish any editorial or personnel decision either make. (Pelley’s blowout came on the heels of the show cutting ties with some correspondent Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi, who has been a vocal critic of Weiss.)
His fit was undignified — and unnecessary. According to reports, both Weiss and Bilton had reached out to Pelley to meet privately and assured him he is greatly valued by the venerable news show.
But he refused a closed-door conference, instead setting the stage for his grand performance.
Casting himself as the lone savior of Edward R. Murrow’s legacy, Pelley let it rip, saying of Weiss (who was not in attendance): “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that.”
Bilton, he said, has “slender qualifications for this job” and “will never be welcome here.” (The producer, to his credit, told Pelley, “you are not going to intimidate me in front of this group of people. I want that to be clear.”)
When he finished his rude tirade, Pelley received a round of applause. How do we know this? Because, of course, someone dutifully recorded and promptly leaked it to press outlets, ensuring maximum damage to both Weiss and Bilton.
It’s worth noting that, while Pelley is one of the most recognizable faces of the program, he is not the boss. This is not his house. People above him still sign his paychecks. At most places, he would have immediately been shown the door.
Perhaps the CBS news veteran has fair concerns with his new overlords. It’s true that Weiss, who ran the opinion pages at the New York Times before founding The Free Press, has no broadcast journalism experience. It’s true that “CBS Evening News” is struggling since she moved Tony Dokoupil into the anchor spot.
And Bilton, who was a tech reporter for the Grey Lady and a documentarian, does not come with the same resume of his predecessors.
But since Weiss was appointed to CBS News head in October, following Paramount Skydance buying the network, she’s become the enemy of institutional media who keep trying to paint the anti-woke, centrist liberal as some shameless Trump plant.
Passionate disagreements, especially within an institution that once featured a “Murderers’ Row” of journalists, aren’t out of the ordinary. Yet the disrespectful airing of dirty laundry — grievances not really meant for Pelley’s bosses, but to throw more red meat to Weiss’ critics — should be disqualifying diva behavior.
Pelley & Co. think they are unimpeachable, invincible truth tellers. But the real truth is, they previously expedited the erosion of public trust in media by dismissing half the country with their slanted coverage.
Now, they are interested in burying Weiss, even if they have to bury the brand, too.
English (US)