It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon when the axe fell. Scott Pelley, the face of 60 Minutes for nearly two decades, was shown the door. No warning. No farewell broadcast. Just a curt HR email. The news broke at 3:47 PM Eastern. By 4 PM, the newsroom was in meltdown.
Insiders tell me this wasn't about ratings. Pelley's pieces on the opioid crisis drew 12 million viewers. It was about power. CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews is clearing house. She wants her own people. Pelley was a relic of the Jeff Fager era. The old guard has to go.
There's talk of a $5 million payoff. Non-disclosure agreements signed. A source whispered that Pelley was 'shocked and angry.' He thought he had a lifetime appointment. He was wrong.
The reaction inside the newsroom is ugly. Young producers are celebrating. They see it as a changing of the guard. Senior correspondents are terrified. They know they could be next. Morale is in the toilet.
This is a dangerous play. 60 Minutes is the crown jewel. Tamper with it at your peril. The last time CBS tried a big shake-up, Dan Rather left in disgrace. The parallels are eerie.
One executive told me: 'They're burning the furniture to heat the house.' The question is whether the house will survive.
Pelley's allies are already briefing against Ciprian-Matthews. Calling her a 'corporate hack.' Expect leaks. Expect a PR war. This story has legs.
The bigger picture? Legacy media is dying. The old guard is being purged. This is just one skirmish in a larger war for the soul of American journalism. And CBS just shot itself in the foot.
