CBS News is pushing back hard on a report that Lesley Stahl came close to leaving 60 Minutes after a reported clash over one of her stories. A spokesperson for the newsmagazine called it “a ludicrous, twisted narrative” and said the piece in question actually got fewer edits than most.
Screenings of Stahl’s latest story grew “extraordinarily contentious” after CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and managing editor Charles Forelle got involved, and Stahl privately discussed quitting, according to multiple people who spoke to Oliver Darcy’s Status.
What Happened in the Screening Room
The story at the center of it all is “Lost Sheep,” Stahl’s report on Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank. It aired on October 11, 2026, and 60 Minutes billed it as coming with the Israeli elections weeks away.
The review process reportedly started out routine before Weiss and Forelle joined the screenings late in the week ahead of the broadcast, with Weiss becoming “very, very hands-on.” Forelle reportedly suggested tabling the story. Stahl pushed back in an “aggressive” back-and-forth and fought to keep the Sunday airdate. “They didn’t know if it was going to air because the screenings got so heated,” one insider said.
Stahl never formally threatened to resign, though, and didn’t share her thoughts about leaving with leadership. It’s unclear what edits, if any, Weiss ultimately got, or whether she was happy with the final cut.
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CBS says nothing unusual happened. A source with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap the piece was first screened on a Thursday afternoon, which squeezed the window for edits and tweaks. That compressed timeline, the source said, is standard for the show.
CBS Says It Was Business as Usual
“All 60 Minutes pieces go through a famously rigorous editorial process, which includes edits from editors,” the statement said. “This piece received far fewer edits than most.”
Stahl hasn’t addressed the report publicly, and a representative for her didn’t respond to TheWrap‘s request for comment.
A Rough Year Inside 60 Minutes
The report lands after a year of upheaval at the show. Skydance boss David Ellison installed Weiss atop CBS News about a year ago, and 60 Minutes went through a major staff shake-up in May that included the firings of correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Scott Pelley was fired in June after pushing back against those departures.
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Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim chose to stay, and they explained why in a memo to CBS News staff. “We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure. That is simply, categorically not the case,” they wrote.
The same memo laid out how they expected the newsroom to work. “Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships. Collaboration and argument are the way we have always worked at ’60,'” they wrote. “Don Hewitt actually encouraged loud, passionate advocacy for our pieces.”
Lesley Stahl has been a 60 Minutes correspondent since 1991.
Do you buy CBS’s denial, or do you think Lesley Stahl really came close to walking away? Sound off and let us know!
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