Renowned journalist Lesley Stahl, a prominent figure on 60 Minutes, has reportedly inked a deal to remain with the iconic show for two more years. This news comes amidst a dramatic overhaul at the network, which has seen veteran anchors dismissed and internal tensions rise.
Stahl, who is 84 years old, has been a formidable presence at CBS News since 1971, joining the esteemed 60 Minutes team in 1991. Her tenure makes her the longest-serving anchor currently at the network.
There had been widespread speculation about Stahl’s future at 60 Minutes, especially following a series of controversies at CBS, including the recent and notable exit of Scott Pelley. Pelley’s departure marked the end of his nearly 40-year career with the network.
According to a report by Status News on Wednesday night, Stahl has secured a new contract, ensuring her presence on the network for an additional two years.
Despite her advanced age and the ongoing uncertainties at CBS, Stahl has made it clear she is committed to continuing her role with the program.
During a recent public appearance, Stahl humorously addressed 60 Minutes’ aging viewership, commenting, “Actually, kids do still watch. With everything that’s been happening, our ratings climbed by 9 percentage points last year.”
‘Maybe it’s because we’ve been in the news lately, and specifically me in the news,’ Stahl said before offering the audience another quip.
‘Now here’s what gets me, every time my name is in the paper, they put my age right next to my name,’ she added. ‘Every time. It’s like it’s my middle name. Lesley Stahl, 84.’
Veteran CBS journalist Lesley Stahl has reportedly signed a new two year deal with the network’s iconic 60 Minutes program
Stahl has been a fixture on CBS since 1971 and started on 60 Minutes in 1991. She’s pictured above with the team in 1993
Stahl poked fun at the attention on her age at a recent speaking event. Her lighthearted comments came during a tense few months at the network
‘But here’s what I have to tell you about that: 84 is 29 Celsius, and don’t forget that,’ she joked.
The lighthearted speech came after she wrote a tense joint memo last week with correspondents Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim, saying they would ‘stay and fight’ following the upheaval at the network.
‘Here’s why we are staying: We don’t want to see ‘60 Minutes’ die,’ they said in the memo as reported by the New York Times.
The three journalists noted in their memo that their decision to stay on was not an endorsement of the network’s new leadership under Ellison and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
‘We’re still deeply upset by the firings of Tanya [Simon] and Draggan [Mihailovich], strong leaders who everyone respected,’ they added about the program’s former top producers.
The correspondents also complained that they never received an ‘explanation’ as to why fellow correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi were let go on May 28.
Alfonsi has blamed CBS’s decision not to renew her 60 Minutes contract on a clash with network executives in December over the network’s decision to hold one of her segments critical of the Trump administration.
Stahl wrote in a recent joint memo that she planned to stay on the program to ‘stay and fight’ for its reputation
The program has endured massive changes in recent months. Anderson Cooper, Sharyn Alfonsi and Bill Owens have all left 60 Minutes. Stahl and Whitaker are two of the few remaining veterans left
Pelley was fired the following day for ‘misconduct’ and ‘antipathy to the future of the show,’ Nick Bilton, the show’s new executive, later said in a statement.
60 Minutes has been at the crux of controversy at CBS News since the billionaire Ellison family took over the network following Paramount’s merger with Skydance.
Ellison then hired Weiss, a former political commentator and editor-in-chief at the Free Press, to run CBS News, a move that also drew intense scrutiny given her lack of broadcast experience.
Since the network gained new ownership, programs like 60 Minutes have seen frequent staffing changes.
In a filmed interview with The New York Times that streamed Sunday, Pelley claimed CBS News ‘is on fire’ and blamed figures including Bilton and Weiss.
He pointed to what he described as bias and pressure to put ‘a thumb on the scale for one political party over another.’
Anderson Cooper, another longtime correspondent, left the program in April ahead of his contract’s expiration. The move was at least partly due to the show’s recent direction under Weiss, Status reported at the time.
CBS News has endured massive changes since David Ellison took over the network and hired Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief
Nick Bilton recently took over as the show’s new executive. He said in a statement that longtime host Scott Pelley was fired for ‘misconduct’ and ‘antipathy to the future of the show’
Vega told The New York Times she was fired because she refused to tailor her stories to be politically biased.
She, Cooper and Alfonsi were all part of a group of 60 Minutes correspondents who demanded that CBS name the show’s next executive producer following longtime leader Bill Owens’s departure in April last year.
Simon, the daughter of legendary 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon, was subsequently appointed to the role on an interim basis in July.
Stahl offered a glimmer of hope for the future of 60 Minutes in a recent interview with the Times, revealing that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison personally called her to assure her that 60 Minutes would have editorial independence moving forward.
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for CBS News on reporting about Stahl’s contract.
