As Bari Weiss seeks to reimagineCBS News, staffers are preparing for the network’s flagship program60 Minutes, arguably the most influential news program in all of TV, to be “revolutionized” along with it.

When Weiss first joined CBS News last year,60 Minuteswas hardly seen as a focal point. The network’s evening newscast theCBS Evening Newsand morning showCBS Morningshave been stuck in third place behind NBC and ABC for years, and early indications were that those were top priorities.

CBS’ Sunday newsmagazines, the lighterCBS News Sunday Morning, anchored by Jane Pauley, and the legendarily hard-hitting60 Minutesled their respective time periods (60, in fact, has been the most watched TV news program for years).Related StoriesBusinessPeter Attia Out at CBS News After Epstein Files Correspondence Disclosures (Exclusive)TVAnderson Cooper Departing '60 Minutes' as Correspondent

But the past few months have seen a flurry of events that portend a very different60 Minutesin the not-too-distant future. Meanwhile, network-wide layoff plans in the next several months will reshape CBS News as Weiss puts her imprint on new areas of focus and adds to the mix her own contributor hires.

Earlier this month, Anderson Cooperannounced his planto exit as a correspondent for the newsmagazine after nearly 20 years, and after weeks of negotiations to remain on the show, citing a desire to spend more time with his kids (while keeping his perch at CNN).

“We’re grateful to him for dedicating so much of his life to this broadcast, and understand the importance of spending more time with family.60 Minuteswill be here if he ever wants to return,” CBS said at the time.

On Sunday’s show, a segment anchored by Cooper about white South African refugees aired, after what had reportedly been an extended and unusual editing and vetting process.

And Sharyn Alfonsi, the correspondent whose report “Inside CECOT” sparked something akin to an internal revolt at the program after Weiss ordered it be pulled ahead of its release pending further reporting, is set to see her contract expire in the next few months. CBS staff are bracing for her potential exit, and wondering what other correspondents could be next (one insider noted that Lesley Stahl is 84 and Bill Whitaker is 74, while Scott Pelley has expressed frustration with Weiss in staff meetings).

“In my view, pulling it now — after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one,” Alfonsi wrote at the time in a memo to her fellow correspondents, including Cooper.

60 Minuteshas always been something of an outlier among TV news programs. At a moment when shows are leaning into their talent (see Weiss’ effort to overhaul theEvening Newsaround Tony Dokoupil), it has a large roster of correspondents rather than a singular face of the show. Instead, the format and high production values are the real star.

Source: Drudge Report