‘60 Minutes’ producer leaves show, citing ‘forced departure’ of colleagues

Veteran “60 Minutes” producer Henry Schuster announced his departure from CBS News’ flagship evening program Wednesday, making him the latest in a series of journalists to leave the newsroom under Bari Weiss’ leadership.

Schuster, who joined “60 Minutes” in 2007, said in a LinkedIn post announcing his departure that “after almost two decades, it was time for a change.”

He then appeared to take a shot at Weiss, who was named an executive producer and editor-in-chief at the network after the Trump-aligned Ellison family acquired Paramount Global, CBS News’ parent company, last year.

“Finally, it is official,” Schuster said of his decision to leave, noting that he had accepted a buyout from the network in February. “Although, it has been overshadowed by the forced departures of so many colleagues and friends at the broadcast.”

“60 Minutes” has been roiled by a series of high-profile departures since Weiss was handed the editorial reins. Seasoned correspondent Scott Pelley was fired from the network a day after he excoriated Weiss at a June staff meeting.

The Trump administration green-lit the Ellison family’s acquisition of Paramount Global last year after the network agreed to shell out $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview two years ago with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee. Trump sought $20 billion in damages over claims that the Harris interview, which aired during the 2024 presidential race, had been deceptively edited.

With David Ellison at the helm, Paramount Skydance acquired Weiss’ media company, The Free Press, and installed Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Weiss’ control over programming on the news side has raised questions of objectivity. Weiss pulled a planned “60 minutes” segment on an investigation of allegations of abuse inside the El Salvador megaprison that has received hundreds of Venezuelan migrants from the Trump administration since March. Journalist Sharyn Alfonsi’s CBS contract expired and was not renewed after she criticized Weiss for pulling the segment. Weiss maintained that the story was not ready, and a revised version aired a month later.

The decision ignited ethical concerns from viewers and journalists. Alfonsi, the correspondent who reported the story, said in an email to her CBS colleagues that was first obtained by The New York Times that she believed her ouster was “not an editorial decision” but “a political one.”

Weiss also fired the program’s executive producer Tanya Simon and correspondent Cecilia Vega, who accused CBS News of “censorship, both imposed and self-driven,” in a scathing statement after her departure.

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