CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss and 60 Minutes Executive Producer Nick Bilton are racing to rebuild the network, according to Oliver Darcy of the Status newsletter, with Bilton holding an off-the-record White House meeting last week and the team conducting dozens of unusual screen tests to recruit talent for the program.
Bilton did not explicitly request a meeting with President Donald Trump or his administration, contrary to some reports. His primary goal was to establish a relationship with White House officials. The network also hopes to secure a sit-down interview with Marco Rubio at a later date.
Weiss, Bilton, Deputy Editor Adam Rubenstein, and Managing Editor Charles Forelle are aggressively recruiting for 60 Minutes. The screen tests are atypical, Darcy noted, since candidates should already possess a substantial body of work to evaluate, and such exercises offer little insight into a journalist’s investigative reporting abilities.
Some of the trial interviews have even involved an actor portraying Ghislaine Maxwell, the disgraced associate of Jeffrey Epstein and a longtime interview target of Weiss.
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| Ross Douthat, Sebatian Junger |
He is part of the first group of new journalists hired for the show’s 59th season, which premieres Sept. 13.
The additions also include writer Sebastian Junger and former Vice News correspondent Gianna Toboni as contributors, British journalist Trevor Phillips (who joined CBS last month), and former “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell as a correspondent.
These mark the first significant hires at the long-running Sunday program since CBS editor in chief Bari Weiss oversaw a spring shake-up that prompted the departure of three top correspondents, including veteran journalist Scott Pelley.