Associated Press
[Source: AP]
Two months after a major shakeup, CBS’s “60 Minutes” has hired a lineup of new correspondents and contributors in time for its 59th season, including Ross Douthat, a conservative opinion columnist at The New York Times, and Norah O’Donnell, former anchor of “CBS Evening News.”
The show’s new executive producer, Nick Bilton, announced the news in a staff memo Tuesday, shared on X. Joining Douthat and O’Donnell will be author Sebastian Junger, Trevor Phillips and Gianna Toboni. All will be contributors to the show.
The new journalists join current correspondents Lesley Stahl, Jon Wertheim and Bill Whitaker. Their hirings come two months after a shakeup at the storied program, led by the network’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss.
Weiss installed Bilton, who has little substantive broadcast news experience, as executive producer, replacing Tanya Simon, who was let go after a 30-plus year tenure with the show.
Also let go were correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega — and soon after, Scott Pelley, after a tense confrontation with his bosses over the changes.
In addition to the three dismissed, Anderson Cooper — whose primary job is at CNN — said earlier this year he was leaving of his own accord after two decades.
