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4w ago

60 Minutes Adds Ross Douthat and New Contributors in Major Overhaul

The hires signal a push to reshape the program’s reporting style to reach younger viewers under Bari Weiss’s leadership.

The offices of “60 Minutes,” CBS Sports and “Inside Edition” in New York City. Bari Weiss’s overhaul of “60 Minutes” sparked a newsroom revolt after the removal of several senior producers and correspondents, with critics accusing her of weakening the show’s editorial independence. The conflict peaked when veteran correspondent Scott Pelley publicly accused Weiss of “murdering” the program and was subsequently fired by CBS. 
60 Minutes
FILE - Norah O'Donnell poses as she arrives at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
The CBS broadcasting logo is seen outside the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th St. in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Overview

  • CBS announced a slate of new on-air talent on Tuesday, July 28, naming Ross Douthat a full-time correspondent and adding Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni and Trevor Phillips as contributors while elevating Norah O’Donnell to correspondent for Season 59.
  • Season 59 is scheduled to premiere on September 13 and the new hires are presented as part of a broader plan to modernize the show’s storytelling for digital and younger audiences.
  • The moves follow a management-led shakeup this spring in which editor-in-chief Bari Weiss removed executive producer Tanya Simon and the program lost or parted ways with correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, Scott Pelley and Anderson Cooper.
  • Executive producer Nick Bilton defended the selections as "entrepreneurial journalists who understand how to reach modern audiences," while critics and some staff have questioned whether opinion writers and nontraditional TV reporters fit 60 Minutes’ investigative norms.
  • The changes raise clear risks to staff morale, viewer trust and the program’s investigative identity and will be measured by how the new contributors’ longform reporting performs on broadcast television and affects ratings and newsroom cohesion.