# Bari Weiss rallies CBS behind a bruised '60 Minutes'

> CBS News leadership sent a rare all-newsroom memo to hype season 59, months after firings tore through the show.
- Title: Bari Weiss rallies CBS behind a bruised '60 Minutes'
- Summary: CBS News leadership sent a rare all-newsroom memo to hype season 59, months after firings tore through the show. CBS is betting a scoop and three returning…
- Keywords: media, cbs news, 60 minutes, bari weiss, journalism, business, technology, Bari, Weiss, rallies, CBS, behind
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/cbs-news-60-minutes-relaunch-employee-memo-bari-weiss-2026-9
- Author: James Faris
- Published: 2026-09-13T17:16:42.4+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: media, cbs news, 60 minutes, bari weiss, journalism, business, technology
## A rare all-staff memo
CBS News leaders, Bari Weiss among them, wrote to the entire newsroom on Sunday to sell the first full season of '60 Minutes' under her editorship.

> We don't often send notes to the whole newsroom. But today calls for it.
## The scoop they're teasing
The memo dangles an interview everyone in the business has been chasing: the US Air Force officer rescued from Iran in April.

> everyone has been chasing
## Who is on the bench
Season 59 lists 10 regular contributors and five correspondents: Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, Jon Wertheim, Norah O'Donnell, and Ross Douthat, who came over from The New York Times in July.
## The summer that broke things
Lead producer Nick Bilton, handpicked by Weiss in May, opened his run by firing longtime correspondent Scott Pelley after a shouting match in front of staff.
## Pelley's parting shot
Pelley had questioned Bilton's qualifications, demanded answers on the exits of Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi, and accused Weiss of gutting the Sunday broadcast.

> murdering the iconic Sunday night telecast while trying to kill CBS News
## The veterans set terms
Stahl, Whitaker, and Wertheim chose to stay, saying they heard the right things from Bilton but are watching. Their loyalty is conditional, and they said so in writing.

> If we can continue doing the work that made this show what it is, we're here for it. If not, we leave.
## Key takeaway

CBS is betting a scoop and three returning veterans can steady '60 Minutes' after a summer of public blowups.