‘60 Minutes’ executive producer Tanya Simon pushed out, successor named — as Sharyn Alfonsi, other staffers axed

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss unleashed a bloodbath at “60 Minutes” on Thursday, ousting executive producer Tanya Simon along with correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega as she installed former New York Times columnist and filmmaker Nick Bilton to run the iconic newsmagazine program.

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Variety reported that Weiss also pushed out Simon’s No. 2, senior executive producer Draggan Mihailovich, as part of the sweeping shakeup at the network.

Meanwhile, Bilton — a tech journalist and documentarian with no traditional broadcast news background — will become only the fifth executive producer in the nearly 60-year history of “60 Minutes,” replacing Simon.

In an interview with The Post, Bilton said it was Weiss who approached him about the job. The two had known each other since her time at the New York Times, though the two never worked together there, he said.

“I never had any desire to come back to journalism,” Bilton said in a phone interview, adding that he “couldn’t get this job out of my mind.”

Bilton told The Post he wants to “take it to another level,” though he declined to offer specifics about his plans for the broadcast.

“I’m excited to meet all the correspondents and producers — once I’ve done that I’ll come back to them with a vision for what the new ’60’ is going to look like,” he said.

Sources at CBS said news of Bilton’s hire sent “shockwaves” through the Hell’s Kitchen-headquartered newsroom because nobody in the TV business had any idea who Bilton was, while others were angry that the news was announced in The New York Times.

“This is not surgical, it’s a bloodbath,” one source told The Post.

“We’re laughing and crying,” another source said, adding: “What’s crazy is we’re learning all of this in the press.”

“Holy sh-t,” another stunned source said, unable to utter anything more.

Bilton is expected to meet with staff on Friday, Weiss said in a note to staff.

Weiss praised Bilton’s reporting chops and said he “embodies the energy and ambition that animated the founders of the show.”

“We cannot imagine a better fit,” she added.

Simon confirmed her departure in a memo to staff exclusively obtained by The Post.

“As Season 58 comes to a close, I am writing to share some news,” Simon wrote. “My time as Executive Producer of 60 Minutes and at CBS News is coming to an end.”

“While 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,” she added.

Simon, who took over the prestigious program last year after longtime executive producer Bill Owens exited the network, praised staff for preserving the show’s tradition of hard-hitting journalism.

“60 Minutes has always been more than just a broadcast: it is an institution built on independence, grit, and rigorous search for the truth,” Simon wrote. “That is work we did together — and with ratings up 9% over last year no less.”

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Bilton invoked legendary “60 Minutes” creator Don Hewitt, saying he hoped to build on the show’s original documentary-style vision by creating “100 great documentaries in a year.”

Bilton pushed back when questioned about his lack of traditional television news experience.

“I think it’s a little bit of a silly argument. I’ve told stories in every single format,” he said.

Bilton told The Post the “core product” of “60 Minutes” remains the weekly one-hour television broadcast, but argued the franchise could expand across multiple platforms while broadening its bench of correspondents.

Asked whether he had specific talent in mind, Bilton replied: “I have a lot of ideas of who that will be.”

Bilton also worked at Vanity Fair as a special correspondent before moving to Los Angeles to work with Netflix producing documentaries. He also collaborated with Weiss and The Free Press on documentary projects.

“We both realized we have an entrepreneurial spirit,” Bilton said.

The shakeup follows Weiss’s controversial interventions in several high-profile segments, including a “60 Minutes” report on El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison.

Alfonsi publicly accused Weiss of trying to “sanitize accurate reporting” after the CECOT segment was pulled at the last minute. The report ultimately aired weeks later with additional comments from the Trump administration attached.

The turmoil inside CBS News has fueled fears among staffers that editorial independence at “60 Minutes” is being eroded under Weiss, the former New York Times opinion editor and founder of The Free Press who was installed by Paramount Skydance boss David Ellison following the merger.

CBS News declined comment.

Also out are producer Guy Campanile and Michael Polvoy, who ran digital operations for “60 Minutes,” according to sources.

Campanile had previously served as executive producer of the “CBS Evening News” under former “60 Minutes” boss Bill Owens before later returning to the newsmagazine program.

The surprising news comes as Simon bumped heads with CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who is revamping the show.

According to a source close to the situation, Simon “couldn’t control the staff” and was deemed a “bad leader” by Weiss as a result.

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