CBS correspondent Scott Pelley fired after accusing Bari Weiss of ‘murdering’ 60 Minutes

Award-winning broadcaster Scott Pelley spent more than three decades at CBS News, reported from war zones, covered presidents, anchored the network’s evening newscast, and became one of the defining faces of 60 Minutes. What ultimately ended his tenure was a fight over Bari Weiss and her latest hire.CBS News terminated Pelley on Tuesday after the veteran correspondent publicly accused the network’s editor-in-chief of "murdering" 60 Minutes and questioned the qualifications of newly installed executive producer Nick Bilton, according to accounts first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by multiple news outlets.The dismissal marks the most dramatic escalation yet in a crisis that has engulfed the nation's once most influential television news program since Weiss, the former New York Times opinion editor and founder of The Free Press, assumed editorial control of CBS News last year.Related: Rachel Maddow on standing up to government lies and her Walter Cronkite AwardFor months, journalists inside and outside CBS have warned that Weiss's restructuring of the network threatened the editorial independence that made 60 Minutes one of the most trusted brands in American journalism. Last week, those concerns erupted into open revolt after the departures of executive producer Tanya Simon and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.Pelley became the rebellion's most visible voice.During Bilton's first staff meeting, Pelley reportedly accused Weiss of deliberately dismantling the program."She is murdering 60 Minutes," Pelley said, according to multiple accounts of the meeting. He also reportedly told colleagues that Weiss "does not love this place" and was brought in "to kill it."The comments earned a standing ovation from staff, according to reports. Twenty-four hours later, he was gone.Last December, at the Walter Cronkite Awards in Washington, D.C., Pelley, who received an award for excellence in political journalism, told attendees that the show had mai