Story perspectives

Stahl, Whitaker, Wertheim Stay on ‘60 Minutes’ Amid CBS Shakeup

6/6/2026

Summary

Stahl, Whitaker Stay

June 5 2026 Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim announced they will stay on “60 Minutes”.
They debated leaving after the dismissals of Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich but stayed to keep show alive.
They called CBS News management dictatorial, praised Simon and Mihailovich, and will judge Bilton’s “independence” memo by its actions.
They pledged to protect the broadcast’s reputation for its millions of loyal viewers after recent firings.

Summary

CBS Shields Independence

In February 2025 FCC ordered CBS to release Bill Whitaker’s 2024 transcript and video with Vice President Kamala Harris.
In May 2025 Lesley Stahl warned New Yorker editor David Remnick that shareholder Shari Redstone could threaten editorial independence after a U.S. President Donald Trump lawsuit settlement.
Nick Bilton’s memo pledged that CBS ownership would never dictate story choices while David Ellison installed Bari Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief, linking leadership to ownership.

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Stahl, Whitaker Stay

June 5 2026 Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim announced they will stay on “60 Minutes”.
They debated leaving after the dismissals of Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich but stayed to keep show alive.
They called CBS News management dictatorial, praised Simon and Mihailovich, and will judge Bilton’s “independence” memo by its actions.
They pledged to protect the broadcast’s reputation for its millions of loyal viewers after recent firings.

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