{"id":675,"date":"2026-05-28T18:39:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=675"},"modified":"2026-05-28T18:39:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:39:30","slug":"60-minutes-executive-producer-tanya-simon-pushed-out-successor-named-as-sharyn-alfonsi-other-staffers-axed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=675","title":{"rendered":"\u201860 Minutes\u2019 executive producer Tanya Simon pushed out, successor named \u2014 as Sharyn Alfonsi, other staffers axed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss unleashed a bloodbath at \u201c60 Minutes\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Read more Claude Lemieux, four-time Stanley Cup champion and Devils hero, dead at 60<\/a><\/p>\n

Variety reported that Weiss also pushed out Simon\u2019s No. 2, senior executive producer Draggan Mihailovich, as part of the sweeping shakeup at the network. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bilton \u2014 a tech journalist and documentarian with no traditional broadcast news background \u2014 will become only the fifth executive producer in the nearly 60-year history of \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d replacing Simon.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never had any desire to come back to journalism,\u201d Bilton said in a phone interview, adding that he \u201ccouldn\u2019t get this job out of my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bilton told The Post he wants to \u201ctake it to another level,\u201d though he declined to offer specifics about his plans for the broadcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to meet all the correspondents and producers \u2014 once I\u2019ve done that I\u2019ll come back to them with a vision for what the new \u201960\u2019 is going to look like,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sources at CBS said news of Bilton\u2019s hire sent \u201cshockwaves\u201d through the Hell\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not surgical, it\u2019s a bloodbath,\u201d one source told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re laughing and crying,\u201d another source said, adding: \u201cWhat\u2019s crazy is we\u2019re learning all of this in the press.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoly sh-t,\u201d another stunned source said, unable to utter anything more.<\/p>\n

Bilton is expected to meet with staff on Friday, Weiss said in a note to staff.<\/p>\n

Weiss praised Bilton\u2019s reporting chops and said he \u201cembodies the energy and ambition that animated the founders of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot imagine a better fit,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Simon confirmed her departure in a memo to staff exclusively obtained by The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Season 58 comes to a close, I am writing to share some news,\u201d Simon wrote. \u201cMy time as Executive Producer of 60 Minutes and at CBS News is coming to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile leadership has decided it is time for a new chapter \u2014 I want to be unequivocally clear about one thing: it has been an immense privilege to lead this broadcast,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Simon, who took over the prestigious program last year after longtime executive producer Bill Owens exited the network, praised staff for preserving the show\u2019s tradition of hard-hitting journalism.<\/p>\n

\u201c60 Minutes has always been more than just a broadcast: it is an institution built on independence, grit, and rigorous search for the truth,\u201d Simon wrote. \u201cThat is work we did together \u2014 and with ratings up 9% over last year no less.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Judge reprimanded for noisy sex in chambers revealed as Obama appointee who sentenced Todd Chrisley<\/a><\/p>\n

Bilton invoked legendary \u201c60 Minutes\u201d creator Don Hewitt, saying he hoped to build on the show\u2019s original documentary-style vision by creating \u201c100 great documentaries in a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bilton pushed back when questioned about his lack of traditional television news experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a little bit of a silly argument. I\u2019ve told stories in every single format,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bilton told The Post the \u201ccore product\u201d of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d remains the weekly one-hour television broadcast, but argued the franchise could expand across multiple platforms while broadening its bench of correspondents.<\/p>\n

Asked whether he had specific talent in mind, Bilton replied: \u201cI have a lot of ideas of who that will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both realized we have an entrepreneurial spirit,\u201d Bilton said.<\/p>\n

The shakeup follows Weiss\u2019s controversial interventions in several high-profile segments, including a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d report on El Salvador\u2019s notorious CECOT prison.<\/p>\n

Alfonsi publicly accused Weiss of trying to \u201csanitize accurate reporting\u201d after the CECOT segment was pulled at the last minute. The report ultimately aired weeks later with additional comments from the Trump administration attached.<\/p>\n

The turmoil inside CBS News has fueled fears among staffers that editorial independence at \u201c60 Minutes\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

CBS News declined comment.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Also out are producer Guy Campanile and Michael Polvoy, who ran digital operations for \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d according to sources.<\/p>\n

Campanile had previously served as executive producer of the \u201cCBS Evening News\u201d under former \u201c60 Minutes\u201d boss Bill Owens before later returning to the newsmagazine program.<\/p>\n

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

According to a source close to the situation, Simon \u201ccouldn\u2019t control the staff\u201d and was deemed a \u201cbad leader\u201d by Weiss as a result.<\/p>\n

Read more US and Iran negotiators reach \u2018tentative\u2019 agreement to extend cease-fire \u2014 pending Trump\u2019s sign-off<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201c60 Minutes\u201d executive producer Tanya Simon is exiting CBS News as editor-in-chief Bari Weiss installs former New York Times columnist and filmmaker Nick Bilton to run the iconic newsmagazine program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201860 Minutes\u2019 executive producer Tanya Simon pushed out, successor named \u2014 as Sharyn Alfonsi, other staffers axed - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=675\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201860 Minutes\u2019 executive producer Tanya Simon pushed out, successor named \u2014 as Sharyn Alfonsi, other staffers axed - 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