As CBS News head Bari Weiss helps ready the next season of "60 Minutes," insiders at the network say she has refused to understand how the program's segments are produced, raising fears for the future of the storied Sunday-night newsmagazine.

The complaints are laid out in a deep dive by New York Magazine into the turmoil under Weiss, who has driven the "CBS Evening News" to horrific ratings lows since she took over the network's news division. Weiss, a former opinion writer and editor at The New York Times who later founded The Free Press, was named to the role in June 2025, shortly before Skydance completed its takeover of CBS parent Paramount Global — a change in ownership that installed new leadership across the company. She now faces worries that she will also damage "60 Minutes," the venerable newsmagazine that has anchored CBS's Sunday-night lineup since 1968.

The New York Magazine report details the mass firings — described as a "bloodbath" — that Weiss undertook, clearing out experienced producers and on-air talent. It notes that the learning curve for producing the popular program is steep, and that Weiss has failed to surmount it. The departures compound an already turbulent stretch for the broadcast: President Donald Trump sued CBS over its 2024 "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris, longtime executive producer Bill Owens resigned in April 2025 saying he could no longer make independent decisions about the program, and Paramount agreed that July to pay $16 million to settle the suit. In the weeks before the settlement, correspondent Scott Pelley told viewers that the program's independence had come under pressure from its corporate parent amid the then-pending merger.

According to the report, Weiss has "struggled to adapt to the rhythms of the show," with segments at times almost not making it to air because she had requested changes so late in the process. At one point, a CBS News executive advised the show's host to have a backup episode ready, just in case.

"It feels like utter incompetence," one former CBS News journalist told New York Magazine's Charlotte Klein. "You have to be uniquely capable and adept at the intricacies of television to be able to put a political heavy hand on. They may want to, but they're not even close to that — they don't understand the basic blocking and tackling yet."

A current "60 Minutes" staffer added that Weiss did not appear motivated to learn the role.

"She's a print person and doesn't understand how it works, and she never seemed to give a s--t enough to try and learn, which I think is what rubbed people the wrong way," the staffer said.

The stakes extend beyond a single program: "60 Minutes" has long been one of the most profitable and most honored broadcasts in television news, and its investigative segments have repeatedly set the standard for the field. The first episodes of the new season, assembled by a thinned-out bench of producers, will show whether the late-stage edits and staffing upheaval surface in the on-air product.

Source: Raw Story