{"id":1337,"date":"2026-06-04T14:09:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1337"},"modified":"2026-06-04T14:09:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:09:59","slug":"wga-slams-scott-pelleys-firing-and-cbs-news-cruel-and-needless-layoffs-a-profound-contempt-for-the-journalism-profession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1337","title":{"rendered":"WGA Slams Scott Pelley\u2019s Firing and CBS News\u2019 \u2018Cruel and Needless Layoffs\u2019: \u2018A Profound Contempt for the Journalism Profession\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tThe head of the Writers Guild of America East union blasted Paramount-owned CBS News for recent \u201ccruel and needless layoffs,\u201d its firing of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d correspondent Scott Pelley and the shutdown of CBS News Radio.<\/p>\n

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\n\tIn a message to members Thursday morning, WGA East president Tom Fontana decried the \u201cassaults on CBS News, an institution of American journalism for nearly a century.\u201d He said the actions taken by CBS News \u201care more than mere ideological interference with the news. They display a profound contempt for the journalism profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWGA East represents unionized employees at CBS News as well as CBS News Digital.<\/p>\n

\n\tReps for CBS News did not immediately provide comment.<\/p>\n

\n\tFontana, in his message to WGA East members, wrote, \u201cLike many of you, I have been alarmed by recent developments at CBS News. In the past year, CBS has enacted cruel and needless layoffs across the organization and shuttered CBS News Radio. In addition, based on a string of public reporting and confidential reports from WGAE members, it is clear that CBS brass is engaged in a near-constant level of editorial interference that would have previously been unthinkable.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOver the course of the last few weeks, CBS has laid off or fired multiple newsroom workers and journalists, most recently Scott Pelley; CBS management is apparently too thin-skinned to handle the honest scrutiny of their own journalists,\u201d the union boss continued.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cThese assaults on CBS News, an institution of American journalism for nearly a century, are more than mere ideological interference with the news. They display a profound contempt for the journalism profession, for our members who have dedicated their lives to informing the public about the world, and for the ethics that underpin true journalism, chief among them honesty, integrity, and objectivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBari Weiss, the Free Press founder who Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison put in charge of CBS News, has made a series of changes to the news organization since coming on board last fall. Those have included a significant round of layoffs this spring, the shutdown of CBS News Radio and a massive shake-up at the storied \u201c60 Minutes\u201d newsmagazine.<\/p>\n

\n\tLast week, Weiss named former tech journalist Nick Bilton as executive producer of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d and\u00a0ousted veterans of the program including former EP Tanya Simon. CBS News fired Pelley this Tuesday after he\u00a0engaged in heated argument a day earlier\u00a0with Bilton at an internal meeting.<\/p>\n

\n\tFontana concluded his message with this: \u201cTo our friends and colleagues at CBS News: we see you, and you are not alone. Thousands of your union brothers, sisters, and siblings have your backs. We stand shoulder to shoulder with you now, we will be there with you when this difficult time in American life passes, and we will help you build what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The head of the Writers Guild of America East union blasted Paramount-owned CBS News for recent “cruel and needless layoffs,” its firing of “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley and the shutdown of CBS News Radio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[865,1263,1281],"class_list":["post-1337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-cbs-news","tag-scott-pelley-2","tag-wga-east"],"yoast_head":"\nWGA Slams Scott Pelley\u2019s Firing and CBS News\u2019 \u2018Cruel and Needless Layoffs\u2019: \u2018A Profound Contempt for the Journalism Profession\u2019 - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1337\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WGA Slams Scott Pelley\u2019s Firing and CBS News\u2019 \u2018Cruel and Needless Layoffs\u2019: \u2018A Profound Contempt for the Journalism Profession\u2019 - 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