Former “60 Minutes” correspondent Dan Rather took current CBS News chief Bari Weiss to task on Thursday over her “nonsensical changes” at the network.
Rather argued in a new Substack essay that “60 Minutes” has gone from being the gold standard of broadcast journalism to a “diminished, Trump-approved version” of itself under Weiss’s leadership. He argued that Weiss’s moves, including the firing of veteran journalist Scott Pelley, suggest she has motives other than her stated goal of bringing the network into the “new media landscape.”
“Scott Pelley, who was fired from “60 Minutes” on Tuesday, accused Weiss of ‘murdering’ the broadcast. I agree and would add that it was premeditated,” Rather wrote. “No objective-minded person would destroy something that has been the most successful news program in television history for almost six decades, made tons of money, and is the gold standard for broadcast journalism.”
Rather also noted several statistics the network shared in a recent release, like that ’60 Minutes’ was rated the number-one news program in America in its 58th Season, had its viewership grow 9% year-over-year, and nearly doubled its social media presence.
“With that covetable season, the nonsensical changes at the broadcast clearly are not because it is underperforming, though Weiss is trying to spin it that way,” Rather wrote. “She claims the program must change to survive the “new media landscape.” Unless that landscape is on Mars, I don’t know what she’s talking about. You can see for yourself it wasn’t just surviving but thriving, before she blew it up.”
“I’m left saddened by the knowledge that this American institution is being killed. Although it can’t be duplicated, I’m hopeful that efforts to build something like it may succeed,” he continued.
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