‘Sanctimonious’ stars or guardians of journalism? 60 Minutes’ implosion tightens Trump’s media grip

A spectacular blow-up at 60 Minutes is huge news in the US. To some, it is a story of change in a complacent TV network stacked with precious on-air talent. Others believe it represents something more sinister in Donald Trump’s America.

As far as first days go, Nick Bilton’s debut at the American television juggernaut 60 Minutes was a doozy.

Bilton, a technology journalist, filmmaker and newly installed executive producer of the 57-year-old program, gathered staff for a meeting in New York City on Monday to talk over his plans for the show and its roster of high-profile reporters. What was meant to be a polite meet-and-greet soon turned to disaster.

60 Minutes star Scott Pelley – the equivalent of a Ray Martin, Leigh Sales, Jana Wendt or Sarah Ferguson in Australian media terms – unleashed on his new boss, saying he had “slender” qualifications for the job and blasting earlier decisions by the CBS network to fire Bilton’s predecessor and two presenters.

His most devastating critique was reserved for Bari Weiss, the polarising editor-in-chief of CBS, who critics claim is doing the bidding of US President Donald Trump and his billionaire media mogul mates. Weiss, Pelley said according to a leaked audio recording, was “murdering 60 Minutes”.

“She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that.”

Bilton was having none of it. “I have no problem taking a job in a place that I am not welcome in,” he shot back. “I have been a journalist for 25 years, Scott. I’ve sat across from incredibly powerful people like you have, and none of it intimidates me. OK? So you are not going to intimidate me in front of this group of people.”

The implosion of 60 Minutes is huge news in America. To some, it is a story of messy cultural change in a stuffy legacy media organisation stacked with precious, self-aggrandising on-air talent. Others believe it represents something more sinister: a media landscape increasingly bending and compromising to placate a vindictive White House.

Weiss and Bilton are kindred spirits, sharing similar perspectives on the problems with legacy media and how to secure the industry’s future. Weiss, who quit The New York Times in 2020 citing bullying by colleagues and a newsroom too fixated on “woke” ideology (among other criticisms), was appointed to the powerful role last year by billionaire media tech mogul David Ellison.

Ellison’s father, Oracle magnate Larry Ellison, last year briefly surpassed Elon Musk for the title of world’s richest person with a fortune of $US393 billion ($551 billion), and is a close