CBS News has announced a major overhaul of its flagship Sunday programme, 60 Minutes, appointing former New York Times technology journalist Nick Bilton as executive producer for the programme’s 59th season. Tanya Simon, who took over the role in spring 2025 following the resignation of Bill Owens, has been removed as the show’s top producer.
The network has also parted ways with correspondent Cecilia Vega, who joined the programme in 2023, and Draggan Mihailovich, the executive editor who had spent decades on the show. Earlier on Thursday, a representative for veteran correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi confirmed that she had been terminated, with Alfonsi claiming she was penalised for pushing back on criticism from CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss over her December 2025 segment on a notorious prison in El Salvador.
Vega, who said she had almost a year remaining on her contract, confirmed that she had been fired and suggested political bias was at play. In a statement, she said she feared for the future of the legendary broadcast. "In recent months, my producing teams and I have experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories," she said, adding that reporting teams had held back on pitches out of fear of internal repercussions. "Let’s call this what it is: censorship, both imposed and self-driven."
The shake-up comes as 60 Minutes, which has been the most-watched news programme on television for 52 consecutive seasons, faces questions over its editorial integrity. The appointment of Bilton is likely to cause unease among staff, many of whom had seen Simon’s promotion as a sign that Paramount, the network’s parent company, wanted to preserve the programme’s successful formula. Bilton, who has a background in tech journalism and documentary film-making but no experience in broadcast television, was praised by Weiss as "one of the most entrepreneurial and ambitious journalists working today".
In a memo to staff, Bilton called the role the honour of his career, while acknowledging changes in how people consume news. "Evolving or dying isn’t a threat. It’s simple math," he wrote, insisting that his responsibility was not just technological transformation but also maintaining the public’s trust.
