'60 Minutes' shake-up: 'Entrepreneurial journalist' Nick Bilton named executive producer

CBS News on Thursday named a British-born journalist to head "60 Minutes," and — in an equally abrupt move — cut ties with the show's top producer who had been with the program for nearly three decades.

In a midday announcement, CBS News editorial chief Bari Weiss called the new executive producer, Nick Bilton — a former reporter for The New York Times and Vanity Fair who is currently developing a movie starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson — "one of the most entrepreneurial journalists of our time and the perfect leader for one of the most entrepreneurial news brands of all time."

Bilton replaces Tanya Simon, who was named to the post a little over a year ago. Simon, who began her career at CBS News in 1996 as a researcher with "48 Hours," is the daughter of legendary "60 Minutes" correspondent Bob Simon, who died in 2015.

And just like that, one of the most successful programs in television history has entered a whole new world of uncertainty. Three correspondents are expected to be replaced before the beginning of next season — Sharyn Alfonsi, whose contract was not renewed; Cecilia Vega, who was also let go Thursday; and Anderson Cooper, whose last report for the program was May 17. In addition, show veterans Lesley Stahl and Bill Whitaker (aged 84 and 74, respectively) are believed to be on short-term contracts. That could mean Bilton — assuming he and Weiss decide to maintain a structure and format that has remained largely unchanged since the show's founding in 1968 — may need to replace more than half the show's existing correspondent roster by the 2027-28 season. A turnover of that magnitude has never happened here before, not remotely.

Adding to the uncertainty, Bilton arrives as an outsider. His predecessors, just four, spent the bulk of their careers at "60 Minutes," where they shaped the show's style, approach and (above all) its journalism. "60 Minutes'" founder Don Hewitt spent 36 years there.

Nevertheless, in Thursday's announcement, CBS News indicated that a break with the past was the whole point.

"Hiring Nick represents a deliberate vision for '60 Minutes' to go beyond an hour on Sunday evenings to become a 360-degree product that reaches audiences wherever they consume information," Tom Cibrowski, CBS News president, said in the statement.

What that means is also unclear. Could "60 Minutes" eventually air across multiple evenings? (The show's lone spinoff, "60 Minutes II," aired from 1999 to 2005.) Or will the show explore strange new worlds, like podcasts, "digital exclusives," social media, other spinoffs, or even interactive forms of journalism that have become so trendy in recent years?

Then there's this — "60 Minutes" had an average audience of 9 million viewers last season, up 9% from the previous year, making it one of the most watched programs on linear TV. Why, then, fix that which does not appear to be broken?

Judging by his resume alone, Bilton's approach is certain to be unorthodox. He has written three nonfiction books, including an examination of Twitter's (now X) founders; and produced a 2021 HBO documentary on influencer culture, "Fake Famous." In addition, he recently signed a contract to write another book with Johnson about organized crime in Hawaii that has been optioned for a movie.

He now joins a broadcast that has been in constant turmoil since 2024, when Donald Trump sued CBS over the editing of a "60 Minutes" interview. (The lawsuit was settled in July.) Weiss — the founder of the right-leaning website the Free Press, who is widely seen as friendly to the Trump White House — was named editor-in-chief early last year. In December, after pulling an Alfonsi report on a Salvadoran megaprison where Venezuelan detainees had been sent by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the reporter charged that the piece had been held up because of political pressure. (The segment aired in January with no substantial changes to its reporting or tone, according to reports.)

In a memo to staffers — first reported by Variety — Tanya Simon said of "60 Minutes" that it's more than just a broadcast: it is an institution built on independence, grit, and rigorous search for the truth. That is work we did together — and with ratings up 9% over last year no less. You should all be proud."