Bari’s Stahl Showdown

On Sunday night, “60 Minutes” aired a riveting piece examining the violence that extremist Israeli settlers have unleashed against Palestinians in the West Bank. The report featured legendary correspondent Lesley Stahl accompanying a group of Palestinians as they attempted to access their own property, only to be violently confronted by Israeli settlers clad in black. The situation quickly escalated, with the settlers attacking Palestinians who had deliberately approached with their hands behind their backs to make clear they posed no threat. One Palestinian was head-butted in the face, fracturing his nose. The confrontation was only defused after an IDF captain arrived on the scene. Even then, the Palestinians were left unable to access their land, while the settlers appeared to face no consequences for their actions.

The piece was powerful—and caught some observers by surprise, given the stridently pro-Israel positions of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and Skydance boss David Ellison. That such a report could make it onto the air at the storied newsmagazine seemed to suggest that, perhaps, Weiss had finally backed off the intrusive editorial meddling that has roiled CBS News throughout her first year at the helm.

The reality, however, is far different. Behind the scenes, Status has learned that the screenings for Stahl’s piece grew extraordinarily contentious, with the legendary correspondent becoming so frustrated that she privately discussed the possibility of quitting the show. And that wasn’t the only recent moment of high tension in recent days. Status has also learned of a separate incident last week in which network brass intervened in a report about the October 7 terror attack, pushing back against a correspondent for the inclusion of a key piece of context about the ensuing war in Gaza.