Veteran “60 Minutes” producer Michael Gavshon, who produced a piece for Anderson Cooper that came under heavy scrutiny from CBS News boss Bari Weiss, has resigned from the network, sources said.
Gavshon wrote in a memo obtained by The Post that his decades-long career at CBS News will come to an end on June 30 — after a slew of high-profile journos were recently axed from the newsmagazine.
“Thirty-four of my forty-one years at CBS News have been at ’60 Minutes,’” wrote Gavshon, who was based in the network’s London bureau. “The old chestnut, I have stood on the shoulders of giants, couldn’t be more true.”
CBS News did not immediately comment.
Earlier this year, Gavshon was reportedly left exasperated after Weiss closely scrutinized a Cooper report on the White House policy of accepting South African refugees, whom President Trump described as victims of a “white genocide.”
The piece, which debunked Trump’s claims, aired Feb. 22.
Just four days before that, Cooper decided not to renew his “60 Minutes” contract.
In December, “60 Minutes” staff — who were not used to getting hands-on editing from upper management — voiced outrage over Weiss’ decision to shelve a report on El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, on grounds it needed comments from the White House.
Gavshon, whom one source called “the very best of the best,” hung on.
But he was said to be extremely upset after Weiss overhauled the program by firing executive producer Tanya Simon, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, senior executive producer Draggan Mihailovich, veteran producer Guy Campanile and digital operations chief Matthew Polevoy.
Weiss brought on Nick Bilton, a former New York Times technology columnist with a handful of producing credits, as the new executive producer.
At a company meet-and-greet on June 2, “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley challenged Bilton about the firings, pressing him on why his colleagues were axed.
Pelley also declared that neither Bilton nor Weiss had enough experience for their jobs, and said Weiss was “murdering ’60 Minutes.’”
Pelley was fired for cause the following day.
Since then, Bilton and Weiss have been seeking to reassure staffers that the editorial ethos of the program remains unchanged.
Veteran correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim all opted to stay on for next season.
In his goodbye memo, Gavshon thanked the show’s executive producers through the years — Don Hewitt, Jeff Fager, Phil Scheffler, Bill Owens and Simon.
Credit: Source link
