Scott Pelley out at CBS

dpic73

Heisman
Jul 27, 2005
30,772
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Speaking truth to power does have consequences.

Unfortunately we'll be seeing less of it going forward at 60 minutes.
Somebody needed to call them out after they fired the executive producer, her assistant and two of their most competent correspondents for no good reason. Weiss knew she had it coming and that's why she wouldn't attend the meeting yesterday. They should have taken their medicine after Black Thursday and made it work. Trump should not dictate the airwaves.
 

lucas80

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Jan 30, 2008
12,172
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Well of course.

In what world does one think that talking to their bosses that way will end well?
Places with solid content creation where there can be an exchange of thoughts and ideas?
What are you guys going to do when it's Fox, CNN, CBS, and Newsmax all pushing cult programming? Not everyone will watch. It's silly for the Ellisons to dilute their market share like this. In what world do you dilute your potential customers and think it will end well?
 

lucas80

Heisman
Jan 30, 2008
12,172
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So fire him for cause. Pelley will sue. CBS will have to produce emails and discovery, and Weis, Ellison, and Bilton will get deposed.

Real smart CBS. Way to work it through.
Smart they ain't. Just wait until President Pritzker gets a hold of CBS. If Trump extracted $16 million from them, just think what Pritzker will be able to demand for BS like this, or sanitizing coverage of Don's mental decline.
 

TigerGrowls

Heisman
Dec 21, 2001
45,304
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Smart they ain't. Just wait until President Pritzker gets a hold of CBS. If Trump extracted $16 million from them, just think what Pritzker will be able to demand for BS like this, or sanitizing coverage of Don's mental decline.
Pizza dough boy will never be potus.
 

baltimorened

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The cult is the ONLY one that will benefit you absolute loon. The most successful news broadcast for 52 years running and they are destroying it brick by brick to appease a lame duck sociopath. Welcome to Russia mfer and don't you ever mock us for calling him a dictator.
all of that might be true, but stick a finger in your boss's eye publicly and defy directions and this is what happens. 60 minutes will go on and another, just as capable, reporter will make a name for himself.
 

Aardvark86

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Pelley is/was a fine reporter, but I have to say, I was always a little mystified by his prominence as a tv "face" of cbs. Always just seemed to be reading from a script, unlike other predecessors who came across as much more conversational and thus more trustworthy.
 
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dpic73

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all of that might be true, but stick a finger in your boss's eye publicly and defy directions and this is what happens. 60 minutes will go on and another, just as capable, reporter will make a name for himself.
You're missing the point, he might be capable but he won't have freedom. They are transforming the greatest news program in our history, an institution the nation trusts, into State TV to appease the worst president in our history because his feelings were hurt. This is an assault on free speech and as un-American as it gets.

Pelley:
"Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos.

For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them. Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done. Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all."

 

Aardvark86

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You're missing the point, he might be capable but he won't have freedom. They are transforming the greatest news program in our history, an institution the nation trusts, into State TV to appease the worst president in our history because his feelings were hurt. This is an assault on free speech and as un-American as it gets.

Pelley:
"Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos.

For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them. Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done. Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all."

At the end of the day, if Pelley is right and his product is not really just a commodity, he will find a home. (Or, at least he'll find a home if he doesn't prefer to enjoy whatever severance/noncompete payment is in his employment contract in a t/c context.) There is no shortage of distribution channels for reporting and opinion. Heck, the most important thing that I read is actually my local independent newspaper, which is a one man operation run by a grizzled old reporter, and which puts out the best (and frankly fairest) long form investigative reporting of anything out there.
 

dpic73

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At the end of the day, if Pelley is right and his product is not really just a commodity, he will find a home. (Or, at least he'll find a home if he doesn't prefer to enjoy whatever severance/noncompete payment is in his employment contract,) There is no shortage of distribution channels for reporting and opinion. Heck, the most important thing that I read is actually my local independent newspaper, which is a one man operation run by a grizzled old reporter, and which puts out the best (and frankly fairest) long form investigative reporting of anything out there.
You're totally missing the point, this is not simply about Pelley. This is the third correspondent who has claimed that new incompetent CBS management has tried to inject bias into their stories. This is about destroying an institution that reaches over 9 million viewers weekly and just had a 9% increase in viewership over the previous season. If it's not broke you don't fix it, and you especially don't fix it to make it more friendly to the most unpopular president in history. He does not own America.
 

Aardvark86

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You're totally missing the point, this is not simply about Pelley. This is the third correspondent who has claimed that new incompetent CBS management has tried to inject bias into their stories. This is about destroying an institution that reaches over 9 million viewers weekly and just had a 9% increase in viewership over the previous season. If it's not broke you don't fix it, and you especially don't fix it to make it more friendly to the most unpopular president in history. He does not own America.
I don't think it is missing the point at all. While I get the nostalgia for 60 minutes, the owner of the business is rightfully or wrongfully going in a different direction. Pelley is (again, subject to noncompetes, etc.) free to prove to them how stupid that is. Incumbents almost always describe change as incompetence - sometimes they're right, but it's not their asset.
 

dpic73

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I don't think it is missing the point at all. While I get the nostalgia for 60 minutes, the owner of the business is rightfully or wrongfully going in a different direction. Pelley is (again, subject to noncompetes, etc.) free to prove to them how stupid that is. Incumbents almost always describe change as incompetence - sometimes they're right, but it's not their asset.
Yes, you're totally missing the point. This is about censorship and an assault on free speech because of pressure from a gargoyle in the White House.
 

baltimorened

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You're missing the point, he might be capable but he won't have freedom. They are transforming the greatest news program in our history, an institution the nation trusts, into State TV to appease the worst president in our history because his feelings were hurt. This is an assault on free speech and as un-American as it gets.

Pelley:
"Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos.

For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them. Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done. Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all."

dpic, I understand your thought, But in fairness, Pelley is not the first person to think he not being allowed to do the things he wants by his bosses.
In life, things happen, bosses change, company philosophy changes. If you're not happy with those changes, you have the option to leave. As I posted yesterday after reading Pelley's outburst in front of all the staff and his boss, if I were him I would have had my agent on the phone to every network, cable or streaming service to see if they were interested in my services.

I wouldn't be too far out on a limb about the integrity of 60 minutes. They routinely edit interviews in order to make a point. They have been named in numerous lawsuits numerous times for defamation, editing or libel. I have personal experience, years ago, where 60 minutes actual took answer given to one question, edited it, and inserted it with an entirely different question.

If he's all that he thinks he is as a reporter, he won't have any trouble finding another position.
 
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dpic73

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dpic, I understand your thought, But in fairness, Pelley is not the first person to think he not being allowed to do the things he wants by his bosses.
In life, things happen, bosses change, company philosophy changes. If you're not happy with those changes, you have the option to leave. As I posted yesterday after reading Pelley's outburst in front of all the staff and his boss, if I were him I would have had my agent on the phone to every network, cable or streaming service to see if they were interested in my services.

I wouldn't be too far out on a limb about the integrity of 60 minutes. They routinely edit interviews in order to make a point. They have been named in numerous lawsuits numerous times for defamation, editing or libel. I have personal experience, years ago, where 60 minutes actual took answer given to one question, edited it, and inserted it with an entirely different question.

If he's all that he thinks he is as a reporter, he won't have any trouble finding another position.
IT'S NOT ABOUT HIM

#censorship
#freespeech
#if it aint broke, don't fix it
#president'sshouldstayoutofmedia
#un-American
 
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Aardvark86

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IT'S NOT ABOUT HIM

#censorship
#freespeech
#if it aint broke, don't fix it
#president'sshouldstayoutofmedia
#un-American
Well, in fairness we probably all know that's only half (or whatever non-zero percentage you want to choose) true, but fully accepting your premise as to the other half (or whatever percentage you want to choose), the simple reality remains that CBS and 60 minutes are not some sort of public trust. They are private assets. Private asset holders routinely cave to the government to avoid bigger fights, sometimes even as a fiduciary duty. I will certainly grant you that it's usually not about editorial decisions relating to of news content; usually it's something more mundane like getting a license or not having the approval process for a product mysteriously "slow down," and occasionally it's a massive 'fraud' settlement on a high dollar issue the government has a weak case on that is leveraged by a small dollar issue that the government has a compelling case on. But the "ouisia" is fundamentally the same - responses to leverage. Pelley and others are undoubtedly motivated in substantial part by some principles, and I certainly don't begrudge that. But they don't get to bet other people's money.
 
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dpic73

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Well, in fairness we probably all know that's only half (or whatever non-zero percentage you want to choose) true, but fully accepting your premise as to the other half (or whatever percentage you want to choose), the simple reality remains that CBS and 60 minutes are not some sort of public trust. They are private assets. Private asset holders routinely cave to the government to avoid bigger fights, sometimes even as a fiduciary duty. I will certainly grant you that it's usually not about editorial decisions relating to of news content; usually it's something more mundane like getting a license or not having the approval process for a product mysteriously "slow down," and occasionally it's a massive 'fraud' settlement on a high dollar issue the government has a weak case on that is leveraged by a small dollar issue that the government has a compelling case on. But the "ouisia" is fundamentally the same - responses to leverage. Pelley and others are undoubtedly motivated in substantial part by some principles, and I certainly don't begrudge that. But they don't get to bet other people's money.
Should the crown jewel of American journalism be subjected to the vengeful whims of the American president? Because that's what we're talking about here and if you're willing to hand wave it away, that tells me something about your hidden agenda. Did they say or do things in the past that rubbed you the wrong way politically? Is that why it's no biggie for you and you're framing it as standard corporate process?

How would you feel about a Democratic president injecting himself into a Fox Corp merger with the winner's implicit and explicit understanding that they would meddle with the lineup and the stories to make them more friendly to that democratic president, because his feelings were hurt and if that means burning it all down, then so be it.

This is bigger than betting other people's money, this is about manipulating the viewers with human robots, programmed to obey their masters. RIP journalism.
 

FLaw47

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all of that might be true, but stick a finger in your boss's eye publicly and defy directions and this is what happens. 60 minutes will go on and another, just as capable, reporter will make a name for himself.

You probably can't fire somebody for cause just because they weren't nice to you (though it would depend on the contract, obviously).
 

Tom Paris

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Oct 1, 2001
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all of that might be true, but stick a finger in your boss's eye publicly and defy directions and this is what happens. 60 minutes will go on and another, just as capable, reporter will make a name for himself.
You don’t seem to understand that 60 Minutes is no longer the 60 Minutes we have known for 50 years. It is now censored to please an authoritarian president.
 

dpic73

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honestly though, it's not like there's really anything other than sports on any major tv network worth watching
60 Minutes was certainly worth watching and it was appointment tv for millions, including me. I'm guessing there must have been stories that offended your political sensibilities so if you don't like it, who cares if it's destroyed beyond recognition.
 
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Aardvark86

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Should the crown jewel of American journalism be subjected to the vengeful whims of the American president? Because that's what we're talking about here and if you're willing to hand wave it away, that tells me something about your hidden agenda. Did they say or do things in the past that rubbed you the wrong way politically? Is that why it's no biggie for you and you're framing it as standard corporate process?

How would you feel about a Democratic president injecting himself into a Fox Corp merger with the winner's implicit and explicit understanding that they would meddle with the lineup and the stories to make them more friendly to that democratic president, because his feelings were hurt and if that means burning it all down, then so be it.

This is bigger than betting other people's money, this is about manipulating the viewers with human robots, programmed to obey their masters. RIP journalism.
Of course not, I have no problem with 60 minutes, or any other news outlet, and I don't care generally for government officials or entities abusing their leverage, in this context or others. Kvetch if you will about NPR and CPB (which of course are sort of quasi-public entities), but owners get to decide.

But take heart - Coca Cola was a crown jewel of American culture too, and then they tried "New Coke" (on their own of course), and consumers revolted and they brought it back. If Pelley wants to work, the choice will be his, and I'm sure there are plenty of distribution outlets owned by other people who would be pleased for (and profit from) the opportunity.
 
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baltimorened

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Should the crown jewel of American journalism be subjected to the vengeful whims of the American president? Because that's what we're talking about here and if you're willing to hand wave it away, that tells me something about your hidden agenda. Did they say or do things in the past that rubbed you the wrong way politically? Is that why it's no biggie for you and you're framing it as standard corporate process?

How would you feel about a Democratic president injecting himself into a Fox Corp merger with the winner's implicit and explicit understanding that they would meddle with the lineup and the stories to make them more friendly to that democratic president, because his feelings were hurt and if that means burning it all down, then so be it.

This is bigger than betting other people's money, this is about manipulating the viewers with human robots, programmed to obey their masters. RIP journalism.
dpic are you using Trump's lawsuit against CBS/60 minutes as your basis for "vengeful whims of the American president" or do you have something else in mind?