{"id":1865,"date":"2026-06-03T19:06:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T19:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865"},"modified":"2026-06-03T19:06:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T19:06:01","slug":"after-scott-pelley-firing-a-look-back-at-the-flurry-of-media-shakeups-during-the-second-trump-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865","title":{"rendered":"After Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

The firing Tuesday of legendary \u201c60 Minutes\u201d correspondent Scott Pelley was the latest in a wave of media shakeups that have reverberated across the industry during the second Trump administration, which has made antipathy to the Fourth Estate a calling card. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an overview of some of the recent media personnel moves linked to political tensions, starting with Pelley. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

CBS News fires Pelley<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Pelley, who joined CBS in 1989, was fired amid tensions with newly minted \u201c60 Minutes\u201d executive producer Nick Bilton, the Washington Post reported. <\/span><\/p>\n

In a termination letter to Pelley obtained by the Post, Bilton said the veteran correspondent had proceeded to \u201cambush\u201d him during a recent staff meeting. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday\u2019s performative display of hostility \u2014 enacted in front of the staff instead of in a civil, private conversation \u2014 demonstrated that you have no interest in contributing to the future success of the show, or approaching my new tenure with a mind open to collaboration and progress,\u201d Bilton wrote. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pelley quickly shot back in a statement. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u201860\u2032 has been the number-one program in America for decades because our beloved audience finds integrity, quality, and humanity in our stories,” Pelley said, adding that \u201cthe new owner of our network iscasting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Bari Weiss takes the helm at CBS News <\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The firing of Pelley, and last month\u2019s terminations of additional senior \u201c60 Minutes\u201d producers and on-air correspondents, came after Bari Weiss took the reins of CBS News in late 2025. <\/span><\/p>\n

Weiss, the founder of the Free Press website who lacked broadcast news experience before being hired by CBS parent company Paramount, quickly became a polarizing figure in her leadership post. <\/span><\/p>\n

She held a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d story critical of President Trump\u2019s deportation policy from being broadcast for a month, and in December hosted a prime-time interview special with Erika Kirk, the widow of slain far-right political activist Charlie Kirk. <\/span><\/p>\n

Weiss also brought on new CBS contributors including Niall Ferguson, a Free Press columnist who has voiced support for Trump, and Mark Hyman, a doctor and podcast host who\u2019s been allied with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Stephen Colbert out at CBS\u2019s \u2018The Late Show<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Comedian and pundit Stephen Colbert, a longtime Trump critic, hosted his final \u201cLate Show\u201d episode on May 21, ending an 11-year run at the popular franchise. <\/span><\/p>\n

When Paramount settled a $20 billion lawsuit with Trump, who was unhappy with the way \u201c60 Minutes\u201d edited an interview with Kamala Harris, Colbert, in his opening monologue of July 1, labeled the settlement a \u201cbig, fat bribe\u201d intended to facilitate a Paramount merger with Skydance. CBS announced the cancellation of \u201cThe Late Show\u201d three days later.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Jimmy Kimmel briefly booted off air at ABC<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Kimmel, the host of \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d on ABC, saw his eponymous talk show briefly taken off the air in September in the wake of comments he had made on camera about Kirk\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among them was an assertion that \u201cmany in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He also said that Trump\u2019s response to Kirk\u2019s death \u201cis not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, Kimmel lambasted FBI chief Kash Patel\u2019s handling of the investigation, comparing him to \u201ca kid who didn\u2019t read the book, BSing his way through an oral report.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump cheered Kimmel\u2019s suspension, writing on social media, \u201cCongratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t do it for long; Kimmel returned to the air days later. <\/span><\/p>\n

More recently, he faced calls for his firing in April after making an on-air joke about Trump dying. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kimmel remains on the air. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Joy Reid out at MSNBC<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Reid, another vocal Trump critic, was fired early last year from MSNBC, where she had hosted \u201cThe ReidOut\u201d since 2020. <\/span><\/p>\n

Her firing prompted an on-air rebuke in February 2025 from colleague Rachel Maddow, who told her viewers it was \u201cunnerving\u201d that the network was cutting its only two nonwhite hosts in primetime, Reid and Alex Wagner, as well as weekend host Katie Phang.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat feels worse than bad, no matter who replaces them,\u201d Maddow said. \u201cThat feels indefensible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wagner and Phang were expected to remain with the network as contributors, NPR reported at the time. Phang has since left the network, while Wagner remains a contributor. <\/span><\/p>\n

MSNBC experienced steep losses in primetime viewership after Trump won reelection in November 2024, leading to the exit of network president Rashida Jones in January 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Jeff Bezos, owner of Washington Post, blocks Harris endorsement, oversees widespread layoffs<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, infamously spikedan endorsement from the paper\u2019s editorial board for Harris, Trump\u2019s Democratic opponent in the 2024 election.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then after Trump won, Bezos, a guest at his second inauguration, announced a revamped WaPo opinion page, saying it would focus on personal liberties and free markets, leading opinions editor David Shipley to quit. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBravo, @JeffBezos!\u201d posted fellow billionaire Elon Musk to social media following the announcement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was less enthused. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what Oligarch ownership of the media looks like,\u201d said Sanders in a posting at the time on X, which Musk owns. \u201cThe second-richest guy in the world, Bezos, owns The Washington Post. He has now declared that the editorial page of that paper is going Trump right-wing. Surprise, Mr. Musk agrees. We must support independent media.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Sanders had also criticized Bezos for blocking the editorial page\u2019s planned endorsement of Harris.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what Oligarchy is about. Jeff Bezos, the 2nd wealthiest person in the world and the owner of the Washington Post, overrides his editorial board and refuses to endorse Kamala,\u201d Sanders had posted to Facebook in October 2024. \u201cClearly, he is afraid of antagonizing Trump and losing Amazon\u2019s federal contracts. Pathetic.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Material from prior Globe stories and the Associated Press was used in this report.<\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pelley’s firing was the latest shakeup at “60 Minutes” since Bari Weiss took the reins of CBS News last year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pelley's firing was the latest shakeup at "60 Minutes" since Bari Weiss took the reins of CBS News last year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T19:06:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"After Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T19:06:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865\"},\"wordCount\":1023,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6aed83c1d13e2bdca47a08a799fedbec.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865\",\"name\":\"After Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6aed83c1d13e2bdca47a08a799fedbec.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T19:06:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6aed83c1d13e2bdca47a08a799fedbec.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6aed83c1d13e2bdca47a08a799fedbec.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":960},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1865#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"After Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"After Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"After Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"Pelley's firing was the latest shakeup at \"60 Minutes\" since Bari Weiss took the reins of CBS News last year.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-06-03T19:06:01+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"After Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration","datePublished":"2026-06-03T19:06:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865"},"wordCount":1023,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6aed83c1d13e2bdca47a08a799fedbec.avif","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865","name":"After Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6aed83c1d13e2bdca47a08a799fedbec.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-03T19:06:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6aed83c1d13e2bdca47a08a799fedbec.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6aed83c1d13e2bdca47a08a799fedbec.avif","width":1440,"height":960},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1865#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"After Scott Pelley firing, a look back at the flurry of media shakeups during the second Trump administration"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}