Cross posted to the MRC's NewsBusters blog
Appearing as a guest on Wednesday's The 11th Hour on MS NOW, former NBC News chairman Andy Lack slammed CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss for her efforts to reform the 60 Minutes show, including the recent firing of Scott Pelley.
Lack displayed a sexist attitude toward Weiss as she imagined how 60 Minutes founder Don Hewitt might have responded: "So he would say is, 'What the hell is going on with this lady? What are you talking about? What is your problem? Come on.' And he would, in the old boys club, say, 'Sweetheart, what? Please. This makes no sense.'"
Host Stephanie Ruhle gushed over "esteemed" journalist Pelley as she setup the segment:
The shakeups at the legendary newsmagazine 60 Minutes continued this week when CBS News fired one of their esteemed journalists, Scott Pelley. On Monday, Pelley reportedly publicly accused CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss of "murdering" 60 Minutes after she fired the show's executive producer and two correspondents just a few days prior.
The MS NOW cited Pelley's accusations as she added:
In response to his firing, Pelley said in one statement, quote, "New management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I've been told to include assertions that are unverified." He continued, "The leadership of 60 Minutes is no longer recognizable. The principles I hold dear are gone, and so I must leave as well."
Ruhle soon gushed over Lack as she introduced him and then asked for his reaction: "My dear friend, my mentor Andy Lack, joins me now. Andy, you're the -- you're always the first person I want to talk to about journalism, but specifically about this. What is your take on what's happening at 60 Minutes?"
He began by lamenting:
Oh, it's sad. And I'm stunned. I never imagined it could get -- they could get into a corner like this. And I think that's what you saw in Scott's plea. He -- he was broken-hearted about where 60 Minutes was going with -- or under Bari Weiss's commands, demands. He -- he was so stunned that her approach was really to tear up the rug. That tech approach, you know, disrupt, disrupt, disrupt.
A bit later, as if CBS didn't already have a bias before Weiss was hired, Ruhle was taken aback that Pelley accused CBS of bias:
But think about Scott Pelley's accusation, right? He said that new management allegedly injected political bias. I mean, that is a profound accusation. coming from someone like Scott Pelley. And just a week before, Cecilia Vega basically said the same thing. The network said, "No, this isn't true." But, I mean, this is profound.
The MS NOW host eventually brought up Hewitt and cued up her guest to further excoriate the CBS News editor-in-chief by imagining how she might be derided by Hewitt:
RULE: CBS News basically created broadcast journalism. Don Hewitt, the creator of 60 Minutes -- what would he -- what would he say to what's happening?
LACK: Well, I was lucky enough to come of age as a young journalist at CBS News in editing rooms with Don Hewitt. So he would say is, "What the hell is going on with this lady? What are you talking about? What is your problem? Come on." And he would, in the old boys club, say, "Sweetheart, what? Please. This makes no sense. Have you watched us? It's about the audience."
The MS NOW host showed no offense to the sexist tone of her guest's attack on Weiss.
Transcript follows:
MS NOW's The 11th Hour
June 3, 2027
11:37 p.m. Eastern
STEPHANIE RUHLE: The shakeups at the legendary newsmagazine 60 Minutes continued this week when CBS News fired one of their esteemed journalists, Scott Pelley. On Monday, Pelley reportedly publicly accused CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss of "murdering" 60 Minutes after she fired the show's executive producer and two correspondents just a few days prior.
In response to his firing, Pelley said in one statement, quote, "New management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I've been told to include assertions that are unverified." He continued, "The leadership of 60 Minutes is no longer recognizable. The principles I hold dear are gone, and so I must leave as well."
CBS News responded in a statement that "there is no political interference from CBS News, not from ownership or Bari Weiss. The only interference is the normal back and forth between editor and correspondent. That happens in every newsroom today." Weiss reportedly told 60 Minutes staff that Pelley violated, quote, "trust and mutual respect."
Well, you are in luck right now because my next guest is veteran journalist who began his career at CBS News -- he was part of 60 Minutes' team for many years. He went on to become the chairman of NBC News and MSNBC. He is now executive producer of the twice Emmy-nominated PBS series Breaking the Deadlock. He is the reason I'm lucky enough to work in this industry. My dear friend, my mentor Andy Lack, joins me now. Andy, you're the -- you're always the first person I want to talk to about journalism, but specifically about this. What is your take on what's happening at 60 Minutes?
ANDY LACK, FORMER NBC NEWS CHAIRMAN: Oh, it's sad. And I'm stunned. I never imagined it could get -- they could get into a corner like this. And I think that's what you saw in Scott's plea. He -- he was broken-hearted about where 60 Minutes was going with -- or under Bari Weiss's commands, demands. He -- he was so stunned that her approach was really to tear up the rug. That tech approach, you know, disrupt, disrupt, disrupt.
And wait a second. "We're 60 Minutes. We're doing pretty well. There's a lot broken at CBS News, and you have a lot of big ideas, Bari. And that's good. And change is good. But us? Like we're -- we're broken, too? And do you know who our audience is? Do you know where we're coming from? Do you -- have you really watched us? Do you have a -- a sense of the craft of what goes into a 60 Minutes piece? And my feeling is from the sidelines. She didn't and she doesn't.
RUHLE: It's funny that you liken it to how tech works, right? You know, move fast and break things. A friend of ours, fellow journalist Josh Tyrangiel, said to me, this is like the DOGE approach to government.
LACK: Yeah, yeah.
RUHLE: Do you agree with that?
LACK: Yes, I do. and -- and -- and there's kind of a cluelessness about it. It's -- it's the -- it's the "change is good" and "break it up." And to your point. And a thoughtlessness about it particularly, I guess where I'm coming from on this one is, but not 60 Minutes. CBS This Morning, CBS in the evenings. CBS six days a week is broken. Those programs have struggled for decades, and there's a lot of work to be done. And I don't know what CBSNews.com looks like or what they are in the digital space. But, yeah, there's a lot of work to be done there. But you're starting with 60 Minutes.
RUHLE: But think about Scott Pelley's accusation, right? He said that new management allegedly injected political bias. I mean, that is a profound accusation.
LACK: Yeah, no, that's, that's --
RUHLE: -- coming from someone like Scott Pelley. And just a week before, Cecilia Vega basically said the same thing. The network said, "No, this isn't true." But, I mean, this is profound.
LACK: I agree and therein lies the tale. We don't have enough reporting yet on what Scott is saying explicitly around falsehoods and -- and bias. And the devil is in those details, but it's a stunning charge.
RULE: CBS News basically created broadcast journalism. Don Hewitt, the creator of 60 Minutes -- what would he -- what would he say to what's happening?
LACK: Well, I was lucky enough to come of age as a young journalist at CBS News in editing rooms with Don Hewitt. So he would say is, "What the hell is going on with this lady? What are you talking about? What is your problem? Come on." And he would, in the old boys club, say, "Sweetheart, what? Please. This makes no sense. Have you watched us? It's about the audience."
One of the pieces that -- and Anderson Cooper touched on this, the credibility and the trust that America has in that program is because decade after decade after decade, they are so consistently great storytellers.
RUHLE: Then is what's happening ineptitude or buffoonery? Or is it new management or ownership is trying to murder the joint?
LACK: Well, they are certainly destroying it on some level. I hate those words. Murder. I hate -
RUHLE: Same.
LACK: -- "execute." And -- and that's got a level of emotion in it that -- that's really sad. But what I do think is Bari Weiss is playing her hand as if she's the smartest person in the room, and I don't think she is. And I wish she went into the room, took a breath --
RUHLE: Because you had an open mind about her when she went into the room?
LACK: Absolutely. And I
. steve malzberg
