U.S. current affairs program 60 Minutes is at the centre of growing controversy over alleged political interference linked to the Trump administration.
Multiple staff at its broadcaster CBS have been fired or claim they were pushed out, following the recent appointment of new management.
The latest departure came this week when veteran journalist Scott Pelley was fired after telling the new executive editor of 60 Minutes that she was “murdering” the show.
Here’s what you need to know.
Background
CBS, one of the largest TV networks in the U.S, has broadcast 60 Minutes since 1968.
In 2025, the parent company of CBS (Paramount) was acquired by Skydance Media. Skydance is run by David Ellison, the son of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, who financially backs the company.
Since this major merger, the network has undergone significant management changes, including the appointment of political commentator Bari Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief.
Critics argue these changes have altered the editorial direction of CBS and 60 Minutes.
Comedian Stephen Colbert openly criticised the relationship between CBS and the White House as host of the Late Show.
CBS announced it was axing the program, after Colbert described a settlement deal between Trump and Paramount as “a big fat bribe” last year.
The network called the move “purely a financial decision”.
The final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired on 21 May.
The controversy
Attention has now turned to the editorial independence of the CBS program 60 Minutes.
Several current and former staff allege the network’s new leadership has a bias towards the Trump administration.
Some have also claimed political considerations are influencing editorial decisions.
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CBS has denied a political influence over its journalism.
Latest firings
This week, longtime 60 Minutes journalist Scott Pelley was fired after a heated staff meeting over sweeping changes to the program.
During the meeting, Pelley criticised CBS News management over the dismissal of the show's executive producer, executive editor, and two fellow correspondents.
He also reportedly took aim at editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, accusing her of “murdering” 60 Minutes, and questioned the qualifications of newly appointed executive producer Nick Bilton.
The following day, Bilton informed Pelley he had been fired.
In a dismissal letter to Pelley obtained by several U.S. media outlets, Bilton wrote: “You hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt.”
Pelley is the latest high-profile departure from 60 Minutes. Former executive producer Bill Owens resigned in April, saying the new ownership had left him unable to make “independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes”.
"For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story... Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done," Journalist Scott Pelley in a statement published by The Washington Post.
Backlash
This week, late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel (whose show is broadcast on the American ABC network, not CBS) criticised the changes at 60 Minutes.
Last September, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pulled off the air over comments he made in the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
The suspension came after federal regulators threatened action against ABC and its parent company Disney. Kimmel’s suspension lasted six days.
Response
In an email to CBS staff, Bilton said he had “made repeated attempts to have direct conversations with [Pelley]... I tried to find common ground. That was not the path Scott chose.”
Before Pelley was fired, Trump told the Pod Force One podcast he thought the journalist was “terrible” and “a stiff”.
Meanwhile, ex-60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega said she feared for the future of the “legendary” show. She also claimed that in recent months, her team had experienced “efforts to insert political bias into our stories”.
