Stahl and Weiss reportedly clashed over 60 Minutes West Bank settler report

Left · 2Lesley Stahl's 60 Minutes report on violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank aired on Sunday, but only after what the media outlet Status described as a "contentious" editing process with CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss. 1 2 Left · 2According to Status, screenings grew so heated that Stahl privately discussed quitting the show, though she never threatened leadership with a formal resignation. 1 2 Left · 1Weiss and managing editor Charles Forelle joined screenings late last week and gave extensive feedback; one source said Weiss became "very, very hands-on". 1

Left · 2Status said the precise nature of the objections was unclear, but they were broad rather than limited to a single factual assertion. 1 2 Left · 2Forelle suggested holding the story for a later date; Stahl argued that with leadership present they should work through the feedback then, and, per The Independent, she pushed for it to air Sunday and prevailed. 1 2 Left · 2Work continued into Saturday, and listings for Sunday's broadcast, usually published Friday, were not made public until Sunday morning; one person said, "They didn't know if it was going to air because the screenings got so heated." 1 2

Left · 2People familiar with the matter compared it to the CECOT episode, in which Weiss held a report so the Trump administration could comment; it did not, and correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi accused Weiss of "politically motivated editorial interference". The Independent adds that Alfonsi left CBS when her contract expired in May. 1 2 Left · 1A CBS spokesperson told Status: "This is a ludicrous, twisted narrative. All '60 Minutes' pieces go through a famously rigorous editorial process... This piece received far fewer edits than most." 2 Left · 1Status also reported that last week network leadership pushed back on a report by Holly Williams about the Oct. 7 attack over including the Gaza death toll, which was not aired, and that Williams was left weighing whether to stay at CBS long term. 2

Left · 1Weiss was named to lead CBS News in October 2025 after Paramount Skydance's $150 million acquisition of The Free Press; critics accuse her of steering coverage toward the Trump administration and the Israeli government, and she has called herself a "radical centrist" and a "Zionist fanatic". 2