Ariel Levy, a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine who has analyzed sexuality in culture and profiled a number of political and cultural newsmakers, will join “60 Minutes” as a contributor, the latest journalist to join the show’s ranks as it is being remade by Bari Weiss, the editor in chief of CBS News.
“Ariel is an astonishingly original writer and reporter, fearlessly going to far-flung places and exploring sensitive topics that have driven consequential debates,” said Nick Bilton, recently installed as executive producer of the CBS News mainstay, in a memo to staffers Monday. “For nearly three decades, first at New York magazine and then at The New Yorker, she has reported on culture, gender, sexuality, health and the people and ideas shaping modern life in a way that is entirely unique.”
Levy will join a growing roster of new faces at “60 Minutes.” In July, Bilton welcomed Ross Douthat, the conservative New York Times columnist, along with author Sebastian Junger, new CBS News correspondent Trevor Phillips and filmmaker Gianna Toboni to the show’s ranks. Longtime correspondents Leslie Stahl, Jon Wertheim and Bill Whitaker remain on the show, and have been joined by Norah O’Donnell.
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The whole assemblage replace a group of longtime correspondents who were ousted by Bari Weiss, the editor in chief of CBS News, in what she sees as a bid to make the program more interesting for modern viewers. Weiss believes the program is in dire need of a shake-up and has to be made more relevant to digital audiences and younger crowds. In late May, she replaced Tanya Simon, the show’s previous executive producer, along with correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega and executive editor Draggan Mihailovich. Scott Pelley left soon after following a clash with Bilton. Anderson Cooper chose to leave the program earlier in the year, ostensibly because he has been wary of the direction CBS News has taken under Weiss, an opinion journalist who has often worked to get more time for Trump administration officials and provocative voices and experts.
Levy has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2008, exploring everything from the “Girls Gone Wild” series of sex tapes to the popular HBO series “Sex in the City.” She is the author of “Female Chauvinist Pigs,” an examination of why young women embrace raunch, as well as “The Rules Do Not Apply,” a memoir that analyzes her miscarriage, an affair, her spouse’s alcoholism, and her divorce.
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More to come…