CBS head Bari Weiss’shandpicked executive editor for the venerable “60 Minutes” newsmagazine suffered another humiliating blow over the weekend.
According to a report from media watchdog Status, Executive Editor Nick Biltonwelcomed back new and old staffers from their July vacation in an email in which he also expressed his frustration with leaks.
It was then forwarded to Status.
According to Status, he expressed hope they were well-rested and turned to “housekeeping matters.” The memo quickly shifted to address what he characterized as a persistent problem within the organization.
“Since I started here there has been roughly a rumor a day,” Bilton wrote. “About me, about you, about what’s coming next—95 percent of them are fabrications and blatantly incorrect.”
Bilton made clear he would no longer tolerate internal leaks to the press. “I no longer have the time or the patience for them, and I’d rather we spend that energy on the stories,” he stated.
He offered an alternative to speculation.
“If you hear something and it matters to you, come ask me and I’ll tell you what I know. Otherwise I’d like this place to be talked about for what we put on television.”
Bilton’s tenure at “60 Minutes” has been one stumble after another, including getting a dressing down from star correspondent Scott Pelley in front of the entire staff, which led to Pelley’s very public firing, as well as unsuccessful attempts to rehire staffers who were part of Weiss’s purge.
According to Oliver Darcy of Status, “….the reality is that leaks are often a symptom of deeper dysfunction inside an organization. Healthy institutions do not suffer from constant leaks. That is because employees generally share information with reporters when they believe leadership is not receptive to their concerns, is veering from an institution’s longstanding values, or is failing to communicate transparently about where the organization is headed. Sometimes it is one of those factors. More often, it is some combination of all three.”
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