Lesley Stahl announced Friday that she will remain at 60 Minutes, joining fellow correspondents Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim in committing to the embattled CBS News program despite weeks of upheaval and high-profile departures.
The three journalists issued a memo to staff saying they had “a hard time deciding whether to stay at 60 Minutes,” but chose to remain to preserve the show. “We don’t want to see ’60 Minutes’ die,” they wrote, citing their commitment to upholding the program’s journalistic tradition.
Stahl and her colleagues expressed deep concern about recent management decisions. They condemned the firings of executive producer Tanya Simon and executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, calling them “strong leaders who everyone respected.” The trio also criticized the departures of correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, and Scott Pelley, who was fired after a contentious meeting, saying these journalists “were treated so shabbily, with such indecency.”
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In their letter, the three correspondents emphasized their desire to maintain editorial independence. “Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships,” they stated, warning that they would leave if the show could not continue its tradition of “independent, fearless journalism and storytelling.” Their decision to stay was seen as crucial for CBS News, as their departure would have left the program without recognizable on-air talent heading into the fall season.
Sources
- Variety — reported the announcement that Stahl, Whitaker, and Wertheim will stay at 60 Minutes and provided details of their memo to staff
- The Washington Post — confirmed the correspondents’ decision and their criticisms of management decisions
