Former 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft is speaking out forcefully against the recent wave of firings and leadership changes at CBS News, calling the situation “disastrous” for both the legendary program and its audience.
Kroft, who spent three decades at 60 Minutes before retiring in 2019, said he believes the shake-up represents something far more serious than ordinary newsroom restructuring. In an interview discussed by Entertainment Weekly, he accused CBS News leadership of “journalistic interference” after the program lost several major figures, including Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
The veteran journalist argued that the decisions make little business sense. According to Kroft, 60 Minutes remains the highest-rated news program on television, with an audience of roughly nine to 10 million viewers and recent audience growth. In his view, dismantling a successful program with that level of trust and reach is difficult to justify.
His criticism comes during a period of intense turmoil inside CBS News. Since February, 60 Minutes has lost multiple correspondents, including Anderson Cooper, Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley. The network also removed executive producer Tanya Simon and executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, leaving only Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim as remaining correspondents on the broadcast.
For Kroft, the concern is not only about the number of people who have left. It is about what those exits may signal. He said 60 Minutes as audiences have known it “no longer exists,” warning that the firings are too substantial to treat as routine turnover. That statement has hit longtime viewers hard because the program has spent more than 50 years building a reputation for fearless reporting, tough interviews and serious journalism.
Kroft also connected the current crisis to earlier controversy involving CBS’s settlement with Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. He said the lawsuit had “absolutely no merit” and suggested that since then, pressure around the program has only intensified.
The situation became even more explosive after Scott Pelley was fired following a heated confrontation with newly appointed 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton. Reports say Pelley criticized CBS News leadership during a staff meeting, accused Bari Weiss of damaging the program and challenged Bilton’s qualifications for the job. Bilton later terminated Pelley, writing that his opposition to the future of the show had become clear.
Kroft’s reaction reflects the fear many former staffers and loyal viewers now feel: that corporate and political pressure may be changing the character of 60 Minutes. He said that during his own years at the network, he never experienced anyone asking him to alter a story’s tone, facts or content to satisfy outside interests.
Now, Kroft is warning that the foundation of that legacy may be under threat.
CBS may describe the changes as part of a new direction, but the backlash shows that many in the news world see something much darker. To them, the firings are not modernization. They are a warning sign.
And for Steve Kroft, the message is clear: when a program that still works is suddenly gutted, viewers deserve to ask why.
