The clock may be ticking for top talent at “60 Minutes”.
CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss is looking to shake up the iconic TV news magazine — and casualties could include any number of the show’s star anchors, The Post has learned.
The 41-year-old newshound was tapped this month to restore “balance” to the Tiffany Network’s news unit, according to David Ellison, CEO of CBS owner Paramount Skydance — and insiders say she believes “60 Minutes” has drifted too far to the left, sources said.
Among Weiss’s rumored targets, according to insiders, is Scott Pelley. The anchor slammed CBS’s then owner Paramount in an on-air tirade this summer for inking a $16 million settlement with President Trump over allegations that “60 Minutes” “deceptively edited a Kamala Harris interview.
Likewise, Bill Whitaker, the correspondent who conducted the controversial Harris interview, may also be in the crosshairs after he was criticized for throwing softball questions and not vetting what was aired, sources said.
“Bari isn’t wrong to try to bring in new people,” said a CBS source, noting that Pelley and Whitaker are 68 and 74, respectively. “Most of the show’s correspondents and its viewers are geriatric.”
Nevertheless, insiders say the furious guessing game that has erupted over Weiss’s prospective ax sharpening isn’t so simple.
For example, 83-year-old Lesley Stahl — who last year rebuffed President Trump’s demand that she apologize for dismissing The Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story — is said to be thought of as a “treasure” by Weiss and may keep her role for some time longer, despite retirement rumors, according to a source.
Another major question mark is how Tanya Simon – who succeeded Bill Owens as “60 Minutes” executive producer in a tumultuous, Trump-related reshuffle this summer – will fit into Weiss’s new regime, according to insiders.
Simon — the daughter of late correspondent Bob Simon — appears to agree with Weiss that the show has “gone soft,” according to a well-placed source. Before Weiss’s arrival, Simon already had been looking to shuffle personnel to make the show “more hard hitting” and cut back on “soft entertainment pieces,” the source said.
Neither Simon nor a rep for “60 Minutes” commented.
“’60 Minutes’ has become the headquarters of book and movie launches,” an insider told The Post. “It is not the home of the investigative journalism of Mike Wallace anymore.”
“60 Minutes” has had some strong reports last year, such as its Emmy Award-winning investigation on “Havana Syndrome.” But the the current season opened last month with a lightweight piece on Utah Gov. Spencer Cox calling for unity after Charlie Kirk’s murder and a puffy sit-down with UFC head Dana White, the source griped.
In a segment on Sunday, correspondent Cecilia Vega interviewed mentalist Oz Pearlman, who guessed the name of Vega’s third-grade teacher.
“This reporting is afternoon cable fare,” a CBS source scoffed. “It is not ’60 Minutes’ caliber.”
The overhaul comes as Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski are mulling whether to purge big names like “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King, whose eight-figure salary is hard to justify for the third-place show. Meanwhile, the network is expected to announce major headcount reductions Wednesday.
“Big changes are coming,” said a source with knowledge of the matter.
The person added that Weiss is focused on bringing back hard-hitting investigations — long part of CBS News’ DNA. Weiss has reportedly reached out to former CBS News investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge, who famously clashed with the network’s bosses as she broke stories on Hunter Biden’s laptop.
“There’s not much of an investigative reporting unit anymore,” said a CBS News exec. “The reality is ‘60 Minutes’ is the investigative arm of CBS News.”
On Monday, the network confirmed that “CBS Evening News” co-anchor John Dickerson – who sources say is earning a couple million annually – would be retiring at the end of the year. Insiders expect his co-host Maurice DuBois to follow suit as Weiss and Cibrowski identify who would be best to anchor the show.
