The great news reporters of the past - Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley - started a tradition of nightly news that helped keep our nation aware of events at home in the U. S. and abroad in other countries around the world. Let's keep the news alive and well here in the U. S. A. 🇺🇸
Well said, Jonathan, but the evil culprit behind the attempt to murder the content of the show if not the show itself is Donald Trump. His behavior during his years in the Presidency has been that of a wannabe dictator, and killing freedom of the press is a major step in that direction.
Hopefully, enough viewers will tune CBS out to have an affect on them. I'm an “ Old Goat” for 60 minutes. If Trump, and his Billionaire supporters want to suppress a “A Free Press” it must be strongly resisted. If any of our Bill of Rights are suppressed it must be resisted. The Ukraine elected Zelensky, an actor, and hit the Jack Pot. We elected a Reality TV Show Celebrity and lost big time. Our electorate is fucked up and may continue to be for some time. Therefore, we need to fight their efforts to stay in power.
"Bari Weiss and Nick Bilton, have a kind of a condescending view of television."
Baloney. 60 Minutes was driven off a cliff by none other than Donald Trump, with the avid cooperation of his friend Bari Weiss. She's tabloid trash with a big right wing following, and she's cleaning house. 60 Minutes will become a pro-Trump bullhorn of propaganda.
The "Sunday shows" haven't been worth watching for decades. Committed to bringing in the same old talking heads to tell the same lies with little or no pushback, they have been Republican-framing PR trash for decades. Still bringing in out-of-office for decades Newt Gingrich to spew his bile, I won't be surprised if they start using AI avatars of Henry Kissinger and other long gone Republicans.
Stop! Stop with the analysis! It doesn’t matter! Suffice to say that the Fascists have CBS. So, do your best to cost them money, sponsors, and audience.
The billionaire takeover of American journalism was never going to arrive with sirens and flashing lights; it came dressed as a merger agreement, escorted by lawyers, accountants, and public relations experts carrying polished talking points about efficiency and growth.
Somewhere along the way, the country's most feared newsrooms became line items on balance sheets, and 60 Minutes, the legendary program that spent decades shining floodlights into the dark corners of power, found itself standing in the middle of the transaction.
The danger is not that journalism suddenly vanishes, but that it is slowly transformed into a safer, more profitable creature that knows exactly where the boundaries are and never bites the hand signing the checks. In the old days, 60 Minutes made executives nervous; in the new order, critics worry that executives may be deciding how nervous the show is allowed to make anyone. That is the peculiar madness of modern America: the watchdog still wears the same collar, but the richest men in the room now own the leash.
been debating with some of the angry/sad MSM types and you summarized many of their feelings well. But the facts? Where do you come up with your $200 mio profit figure? Seems tough to reach and here is why: The Real Economics of 60 Minutes — The $250 million ad revenue figure is a myth. The show generates a fraction of that. The Actual Revenue Picture Verified ad revenue figures from iSpot data compiled by Variety tell a very different story than the $250 million claim circulating in discourse: 60 Minutes generated $67–$69 million in advertising revenue in both 2024 and 2025. At its peak in 2012, the show pulled in $123 million in ad revenue, up from $115 million the prior year. The current figure represents roughly a 44% decline from its early 2010s peak, tracking the broader collapse of linear broadcast advertising. The $250 million figure is almost certainly a conflation with broader CBS News revenues, or a gross misreading of the show's historical prime. No sourced figure from iSpot, Nielsen, or any industry analyst supports a $250 million number.
Rough Implied P&L Item Estimate Annual ad revenue $67–69M [2] 7 correspondent salaries (pre-cuts) ~$25–35M est. Executive producer + management ~$5–7M est. Producer/associate staff (~40–50 people) ~$10–15M est. Per-story production costs (100 stories @ $75K) ~$7.5M [5] Facilities, travel, overhead ~$5–10M est. Implied margin Thin to modest positive The math suggests the show runs on a thin margin when fully loaded — but it is profitable, not a money pit.
A post-season average of 8.32 million viewers in 2024–25 vs. a 2013-era figure of 12.7 million shows secular decline, but the show stabilized and recovered recently.
Declining and aging audience, for a long time. Bloated, self important opinion "journalists" steering it into controversy repeatedly. Taking liberties that have caused them to pay fines, make apologies... and it is break even to slightly profitable. What am I missing?
But, to be fair, the Ellisons were big game hunting. Demolish CBS' premier news show, fire high priced talent, check in frequently with one of the Trumps and, voila, they can buy another studio and the FCC will go quietly into the night.
Unbelievable, you call 60 Minutes "a precious institution." Nothing better sums up the narcissism of mainstream journalism than this hype. Bari Weiss is the best thing that has happened to journalism in my long lifetime. The Free Press is far superior to all the prestige news institutions that have so failed American democracy in recent years. Why do I aay that? Because unlike those mainstream outlets, I know I can go to the Free Press and find things I disagree with and those I agree with -- and see that ALL of them are high quality. It has been decades since I have experienced anything close to that from CBS, NBC, ABC, the Washington Post, the New York Times, etc. You are all as predictable as the day is long. Including coming up with lame and snooty images such as your "know-it-all woman named Bari Weiss," who "drove that Mustang right into a brick wall." Seriously, this is high school newspaper level "humor." Give it a rest.
A link to an article is not an argument, Marycat. But I read it anyway. It repeats what Alter says here and adds nothing else, except priceless lines like "I am not sure if Pelley meant to be fired. . ." Of course he meant to be fired. Anyone who's ever worked for an actual boss knows what comes of grandstanding pomposity such as Pelley's. Pelley knew the jig was up, so he saw clearly that making himself a martyr on the left was his best option to remaining in the limelight.
So, see, I've read the screed you linked to. Now go to The Free Press and read all the articles up there on any day and tell me how they fit your TDS "rightwing" take on Bari Weiss.
Oh my. Poor me, a "blowhard." With my "sour little screed." Whereas you just want to provide "interesting counterpoint." It's amazing how much of what passes for thought these days is just posturing and positioning. As for truth, well, who could be bothered, eh?
Boycott cbs!!! Boycott everything Elison
I always enjoyed Sixty Minutes. I hope it comes back in some form for us to enjoy and analyze the current news stories.
The great news reporters of the past - Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley - started a tradition of nightly news that helped keep our nation aware of events at home in the U. S. and abroad in other countries around the world. Let's keep the news alive and well here in the U. S. A. 🇺🇸
Well said, Jonathan, but the evil culprit behind the attempt to murder the content of the show if not the show itself is Donald Trump. His behavior during his years in the Presidency has been that of a wannabe dictator, and killing freedom of the press is a major step in that direction.
CBS News Blues
Hopefully, enough viewers will tune CBS out to have an affect on them. I'm an “ Old Goat” for 60 minutes. If Trump, and his Billionaire supporters want to suppress a “A Free Press” it must be strongly resisted. If any of our Bill of Rights are suppressed it must be resisted. The Ukraine elected Zelensky, an actor, and hit the Jack Pot. We elected a Reality TV Show Celebrity and lost big time. Our electorate is fucked up and may continue to be for some time. Therefore, we need to fight their efforts to stay in power.
"Bari Weiss and Nick Bilton, have a kind of a condescending view of television."
Baloney. 60 Minutes was driven off a cliff by none other than Donald Trump, with the avid cooperation of his friend Bari Weiss. She's tabloid trash with a big right wing following, and she's cleaning house. 60 Minutes will become a pro-Trump bullhorn of propaganda.
CBS SUnday Morning is still pretty impressive.
The "Sunday shows" haven't been worth watching for decades. Committed to bringing in the same old talking heads to tell the same lies with little or no pushback, they have been Republican-framing PR trash for decades. Still bringing in out-of-office for decades Newt Gingrich to spew his bile, I won't be surprised if they start using AI avatars of Henry Kissinger and other long gone Republicans.
Stop! Stop with the analysis! It doesn’t matter! Suffice to say that the Fascists have CBS. So, do your best to cost them money, sponsors, and audience.
Move on to action.
Memories
The billionaire takeover of American journalism was never going to arrive with sirens and flashing lights; it came dressed as a merger agreement, escorted by lawyers, accountants, and public relations experts carrying polished talking points about efficiency and growth.
Somewhere along the way, the country's most feared newsrooms became line items on balance sheets, and 60 Minutes, the legendary program that spent decades shining floodlights into the dark corners of power, found itself standing in the middle of the transaction.
The danger is not that journalism suddenly vanishes, but that it is slowly transformed into a safer, more profitable creature that knows exactly where the boundaries are and never bites the hand signing the checks. In the old days, 60 Minutes made executives nervous; in the new order, critics worry that executives may be deciding how nervous the show is allowed to make anyone. That is the peculiar madness of modern America: the watchdog still wears the same collar, but the richest men in the room now own the leash.
been debating with some of the angry/sad MSM types and you summarized many of their feelings well. But the facts? Where do you come up with your $200 mio profit figure? Seems tough to reach and here is why: The Real Economics of 60 Minutes — The $250 million ad revenue figure is a myth. The show generates a fraction of that. The Actual Revenue Picture Verified ad revenue figures from iSpot data compiled by Variety tell a very different story than the $250 million claim circulating in discourse: 60 Minutes generated $67–$69 million in advertising revenue in both 2024 and 2025. At its peak in 2012, the show pulled in $123 million in ad revenue, up from $115 million the prior year. The current figure represents roughly a 44% decline from its early 2010s peak, tracking the broader collapse of linear broadcast advertising. The $250 million figure is almost certainly a conflation with broader CBS News revenues, or a gross misreading of the show's historical prime. No sourced figure from iSpot, Nielsen, or any industry analyst supports a $250 million number.
Rough Implied P&L Item Estimate Annual ad revenue $67–69M [2] 7 correspondent salaries (pre-cuts) ~$25–35M est. Executive producer + management ~$5–7M est. Producer/associate staff (~40–50 people) ~$10–15M est. Per-story production costs (100 stories @ $75K) ~$7.5M [5] Facilities, travel, overhead ~$5–10M est. Implied margin Thin to modest positive The math suggests the show runs on a thin margin when fully loaded — but it is profitable, not a money pit.
A post-season average of 8.32 million viewers in 2024–25 vs. a 2013-era figure of 12.7 million shows secular decline, but the show stabilized and recovered recently.
Declining and aging audience, for a long time. Bloated, self important opinion "journalists" steering it into controversy repeatedly. Taking liberties that have caused them to pay fines, make apologies... and it is break even to slightly profitable. What am I missing?
But, to be fair, the Ellisons were big game hunting. Demolish CBS' premier news show, fire high priced talent, check in frequently with one of the Trumps and, voila, they can buy another studio and the FCC will go quietly into the night.
Unbelievable, you call 60 Minutes "a precious institution." Nothing better sums up the narcissism of mainstream journalism than this hype. Bari Weiss is the best thing that has happened to journalism in my long lifetime. The Free Press is far superior to all the prestige news institutions that have so failed American democracy in recent years. Why do I aay that? Because unlike those mainstream outlets, I know I can go to the Free Press and find things I disagree with and those I agree with -- and see that ALL of them are high quality. It has been decades since I have experienced anything close to that from CBS, NBC, ABC, the Washington Post, the New York Times, etc. You are all as predictable as the day is long. Including coming up with lame and snooty images such as your "know-it-all woman named Bari Weiss," who "drove that Mustang right into a brick wall." Seriously, this is high school newspaper level "humor." Give it a rest.
https://newrepublic.com/article/211313/scott-pelley-fired-bari-weiss-trashing
A link to an article is not an argument, Marycat. But I read it anyway. It repeats what Alter says here and adds nothing else, except priceless lines like "I am not sure if Pelley meant to be fired. . ." Of course he meant to be fired. Anyone who's ever worked for an actual boss knows what comes of grandstanding pomposity such as Pelley's. Pelley knew the jig was up, so he saw clearly that making himself a martyr on the left was his best option to remaining in the limelight.
So, see, I've read the screed you linked to. Now go to The Free Press and read all the articles up there on any day and tell me how they fit your TDS "rightwing" take on Bari Weiss.
Wow, what a blowhard you are. I shared the link because I thought it was an interesting counterpoint to your sour little screed.
Oh my. Poor me, a "blowhard." With my "sour little screed." Whereas you just want to provide "interesting counterpoint." It's amazing how much of what passes for thought these days is just posturing and positioning. As for truth, well, who could be bothered, eh?
Great column, Jon. You express a hope that a lot of people share, including that Bari Weiss should be kicked out.
It’s too late for 60 Minutes on CBS. It’ll never be trusted again. Bari won’t be trusted again. It needs to be picked up by another network.
I don't think Berri Weiss cares. She has always been about Berri Weiss and if she cared about her legacy she would have already shown it.