Paramount’s flagship news magazine program “60 Minutes” has added several correspondents and contributors as the CBS News show prepares for its 59th season following a major leadership shake-up.
Ross Douthat, an opinion columnist at The New York Times, will join the program as a correspondent. Norah O’Donnell, the former anchor of “CBS Evening News,” will also become a correspondent after previously contributing to the broadcast.
Author and journalist Sebastian Junger, former Vice News correspondent Gianna Toboni and CBS Senior Global Affairs Correspondent Trevor Phillips will join “60 Minutes” as contributors. Junger is best known for writing “The Perfect Storm.”
The additions were announced Tuesday in a memo from Nick Bilton, who became Executive Producer of “60 Minutes” in May. The new hires will join returning correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim.
“Today, I am pleased to share some great news, and the first of many exciting announcements to come,” Bilton wrote in his note. “An exceptional lineup of journalists will be joining ‘60 Minutes,’ carrying on its tradition of fearless, independent and impartial reporting. I can’t wait for them to get started.”
The staffing moves represent the first significant additions to the program since CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss began reshaping the long-running Sunday newsmagazine. The overhaul followed the departures of former Executive Producer Tanya Simon and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, Scott Pelley and Anderson Cooper.
Pelley was fired in June after objecting to management’s handling of the changes, according to reports. Cooper left voluntarily.
The changes have placed added scrutiny on the program ahead of its fall return. “60 Minutes” has long been one of the most influential franchises in television news, with a format built around deeply reported segments, investigations and long-form interviews.
Bilton, a journalist and documentarian, has said he wants to modernize the program while preserving its core reporting mission. He has also expressed interest in bringing in journalists with distinct areas of expertise and expanding the “60 Minutes” brand beyond its weekly television broadcast.
