CBS News on Thursday named a new top producer at “60 Minutes,” the network’s flagship newsmagazine: Nick Bilton, a documentarian, author and former New York Times technology columnist.
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Bilton, who has never worked in television news, replaces Tanya Simon, a 25-year veteran of “60 Minutes.”
“Nick is one of the most entrepreneurial journalists of our time and the perfect leader for one of the most entrepreneurial news brands of all time,” said CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, who also had no television news experience when Paramount Skydance hired her to run the division last fall.
“We have huge ambition for ‘60 Minutes’ to reach new heights through deep, revelatory journalism that breaks news, exposes wrongdoing, widens public understanding and forces accountability from every institution and every center of power,” Weiss added.
Bilton’s hiring heralds a major shakeup at “60 Minutes,” the marquee weekly news magazine on television and a franchise long viewed as the crown jewel of CBS News. The news was first reported by the Times.
The announcement comes a day after “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi told the Times that CBS News had not renewed her contract. (CBS News and Alfonsi did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the status of her deal.)
In December, Alfonsi clashed with Weiss over the last-minute postponement of her segment about the Trump administration deporting Venezuelan men to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
Alfonsi said at the time that the decision to delay airing her reporting about the CECOT prison was “not an editorial decision” but “a political one.” Weiss said she held the story “because it was not ready.” It ultimately aired in January.
The furor intensified debates over journalistic independence that have roiled “60 Minutes” in the last year. Bill Owens, Simon’s predecessor, departed the series last April, saying it had “become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it.”
In a letter to “60 Minutes” staff Thursday, Bilton introduced himself and said in part: “I’m here to lead this show, not preserve it under glass. That means honoring what works and being honest about what doesn’t. I have a notebook full of ideas.”
“Some are about the show itself. Some are about the next generation of correspondents. Some are about the strange fact that we produce one extraordinary hour for one night a week in a world that consumes content around the clock,” he added.
In a statement shared with NBC News, Simon acknowledged that “leadership has decided it is time for a new chapter.”
“I want to be unequivocally clear about one thing: it has been an immense privilege to lead this broadcast, and I could not be prouder of what we have built, fought for, and delivered together over the last year,” Simon added.
“60 Minutes” has faced intense criticism from President Donald Trump, who sued CBS before the 2024 election over an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris that he claimed had been deceptively edited. CBS vehemently denied that claim. Paramount eventually settled the suit for $16 million.
Bilton’s reporting has appeared in the Times and Vanity Fair. He also directed and produced documentaries about the business and technology worlds for Netflix and HBO, including a film about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
Weiss has overseen a wave of sweeping changes at CBS News since she was hired in October, including tapping “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil as anchor of “CBS Evening News.”
Weiss is a former opinion writer and editor at the Times who launched the website The Free Press in 2021. Paramount Skydance, which owns CBS, acquired The Free Press when it hired Weiss.
“60 Minutes” recently wrapped up its 58th season on air. Anderson Cooper left the series after a 20-year run as a correspondent. In a farewell message, Cooper said: “The independence of ‘60 Minutes’ has been critical, and I think the trust it has with viewers is critical to the success of ‘60 Minutes.’”
