CBS News leadership is moving closer to choosing who will fill recently opened roles at 60 Minutes after Scott Pelley was fired last month. The decisions come with the 2026-27 season premiere of '60 Minutes' two months away, leaving the program’s next roster to be set before the new season starts.
Scott Pelley and May 28
Pelley, a former 60 Minutes correspondent, was fired last month after confronting management about the May 28 dismissal of Sharon Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich. Scott Pelley accused Bari Weiss of trying to “murder” the division, according to the facts provided for this story.
The staffing review now includes both internal and external candidates. CBS News said “the division is looking at a number of internal and external candidates,” and the list under consideration includes Seth Doane and Jim Axelrod for 60 Minutes roles.
Doane, Axelrod and others
Trevor Phillips is expected to have a role on the program, while Tony Dokoupil is expected to deliver four 60 Minutes pieces a season. Major Garrett will also have a contributor role, and Matt Gutman is under strong consideration and is being put in front of test audiences.
Holly Williams and Mariana van Zeller remain in contention. Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl, Jon Wertheim and Norah O'Donnell are all returning as correspondents, and Norah O'Donnell will also continue as a senior correspondent for CBS News and occasionally anchor specials.
57th season of '60 Minutes'
The reshuffle comes after a season that gave the program a strong ratings base to protect. In its 57th season, 60 Minutes was the most watched news program on television with an average of 9.1 million viewers a week, and it grew 9% over the previous season.
Anderson Cooper had already decided in February not to sign a new deal as a 60 Minutes contributor. With the next season approaching, CBS News leadership is narrowing the roster that will carry the program into a year in which the audience remains large and the open roles still have to be filled.
