{"id":3390,"date":"2026-06-25T10:16:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T10:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=3390"},"modified":"2026-06-25T10:16:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T10:16:31","slug":"katie-couric-calls-out-former-60-minutes-boss-says-she-was-gaslit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=3390","title":{"rendered":"Katie Couric calls out former &#8217;60 Minutes&#8217; boss, says she was &#8216;gaslit&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Katie Couric opened up about her stories being reassigned to male colleagues during her time at &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; between 2006 and 2011.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Katie Couric\u00a0is ready to talk about &#8220;the really tough situations&#8221; she dealt with as a correspondent for &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; more than two decades ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The 69-year-old journalist and founder of Katie Couric Media shared her experiences of having her stories assigned to male reporters during an episode of &#8220;Call Her Daddy,&#8221; which was released June 24.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The head of &#8220;60 Minutes,&#8221; executive producer Jeff Fager, &#8220;just didn&#8217;t like me,&#8221; Couric told host Alex Cooper. She speculated that &#8220;he wasn&#8217;t really consulted about bringing me over&#8221; and thought she was &#8220;muddying the waters&#8221; by &#8220;seeing somebody from a different network.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">During her time contributing to the newsmagazine, which coincided with her anchoring duties as &#8220;CBS Evening News&#8221; from 2006 to 2011, Couric pitched a profile of an up-and-coming Lady Gaga, predicting she would become &#8220;the next Madonna.&#8221; Fager initially passed on the idea, then a year later expressed interest in spotlighting the popstar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Couric said her new proposed angle about Gaga&#8217;s Catholic school education was accepted. But when she went to the studio, she found she wouldn&#8217;t be doing the feature, after all.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;They had a whiteboard at CBS, and they had the name of the correspondent and the story next to it. And I see: Lady Gaga, Anderson Cooper,&#8221; Couric said.\u00a0Cooper&#8217;s interview\u00a0with then 25-year-old Gaga aired in February 2011.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;It made me crazy,&#8221; Couric confessed. &#8220;But that happened again with Hillary Clinton.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A representative for Fager could not be reached at the time of publication.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Katie Couric&#8217;s Hillary Clinton interview was reassigned to Scott Pelley<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Though Fager allegedly asked her to sit down with former Secretary of State Clinton, Couric soon learned the State Department was getting mixed messages on who was leading the charge on the &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; interview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Suddenly, my producer&#8217;s saying, &#8216;The State Department called. They&#8217;re very confused because\u00a0Scott Pelley\u00a0and his team were calling about Hillary,&#8221; Couric recalled. &#8220;So I go to Jeff Fager and I say, &#8216;I thought you wanted me to do Hillary. You told me explicitly that you wanted to assign that story to me.&#8217; And he said, &#8216;Yeah, we decided to change things up.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;It made me insane,&#8221; she admitted. Pelley&#8217;s\u00a0segment with Clinton\u00a0aired in May 2010.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She took issue with such decisions happening &#8220;behind my back&#8221; and called out Fager for lacking &#8220;the decency to call me and say, &#8216;Guess what? We decided to reassign the story, and this is why.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Talk about getting gaslit,&#8221; Couric added.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">CBS News&#8217; past controversies, from sexism to firings<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Fager executive-produced &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; from 2004 until 2018, a tenure that overlapped with his role as chairman of CBS News, which started in 2011.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mb-4\">\n<div id=\"recirc-567aedf8-b3de-33f5-84c0-240456ec70d7\" class=\"mb-4\">\n<div class=\"mb-3.5 flex items-center gap-2\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"grid gap-4 lg:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-rows-[auto_auto_1fr]\">\n<div class=\"relative w-full\">\n<div id=\"_r_el_\" class=\"absolute inset-0 rounded-[4px] focus-within:ring-2 focus-within:ring-link trc_related_container tbl-trecs-container trc_spotlight_widget trc_elastic trc_elastic_stream-i-v3\" data-placement-name=\"taboola-article-center\">\n<div class=\"trc_rbox_container\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"trc_wrapper_7579062544\" class=\"trc_rbox stream-i-v3 trc-content-sponsored\">\n<div class=\"trc_clearer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He\u00a0was fired in 2018\u00a0for a threatening message he&#8217;d sent to\u00a0a CBS reporter\u00a0who covered internal misconduct allegations, communication he&#8217;d described as a &#8220;harsh&#8221; demand &#8220;for fairness.&#8221; At the time,\u00a0Fager was also facing accusations\u00a0of inappropriate behavior and covering up others&#8217; sexual misconduct. He denied the claims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Before Couric, fellow &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; correspondent Meredith Vieira also alleged\u00a0she&#8217;d experienced sexism\u00a0while employed by CBS.<\/p>\n<div class=\"-mx-4 mb-5 max-w-[750px] md:mx-0\">\n<div class=\"relative md:overflow-hidden md:rounded-lg\">\n<div class=\"absolute left-3 top-1\/2 z-1 -translate-y-1\/2 md:left-6\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"_r_dk_\" class=\"no-scrollbar flex snap-x snap-mandatory overflow-y-hidden overflow-x-scroll\">\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"true\">\n<div class=\"snap-start snap-always\" data-slide-index=\"0\">\n<div class=\"snap-start snap-always\" data-slide-index=\"0\">\n<div class=\"relative overflow-hidden\">\n<div class=\"absolute inset-0 blur-3xl\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"object-contain object-center\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/70f1fd33c0b626ca59dea7f878f5db6f8fa8d8ed21b0205fbfb9d50360eb7cf2\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w976;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fusa_today_slideshows_242%2Fa1e6113562fe8bf093509ad699736768\" alt=\"Scott Pelley of '60 Minutes' fired \u2013 See his career in photos\" data-nimg=\"fill\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm sr-only pr-2.5 text-tertiary\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley attend CBS&#8217; fall schedule celebration at Paramount Studios on May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>(Monica Schipper, Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\">\n<div class=\"snap-start snap-always\" data-slide-index=\"1\">\n<div class=\"snap-start snap-always\" data-slide-index=\"1\">\n<div class=\"relative overflow-hidden\">\n<div class=\"absolute inset-0 blur-3xl\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"object-contain object-center\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/46a416bf8f8800a660aca4bcbf304d00a80f170cbb20eb1aa38293f23297258b\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w976;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fusa_today_slideshows_242%2F18073f710615941519b90c91b59f8470\" alt=\"Scott Pelley of '60 Minutes' fired \u2013 See his career in photos\" data-nimg=\"fill\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm sr-only pr-2.5 text-tertiary\">\n<div>\n<div>Scott Pelley seen on &#8220;CBS Evening News&#8221; May 5, 2016, in New York City.<\/div>\n<p>(Robert Deutsch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"size-full shrink-0\" data-inview=\"false\">\n<div class=\"snap-start snap-always\" data-slide-index=\"12\">\n<div class=\"snap-start snap-always\" data-slide-index=\"12\">\n<div class=\"relative overflow-hidden\">\n<div class=\"absolute inset-0 blur-3xl\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"object-contain object-center\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/5950ce210004d8046416763c0a87028999465c808cfab721eaed00231050a955\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w976;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fusa_today_slideshows_242%2F87d23e1193ea087049daf758f8d11f26\" alt=\"Scott Pelley of '60 Minutes' fired \u2013 See his career in photos\" data-nimg=\"fill\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm sr-only pr-2.5 text-tertiary\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Jane Boone Pelley and Scott Pelley attend the annual Freedom Award benefit event hosted by International Rescue Committee on Nov. 5, 2014, in New York City.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>(Jemal Countess, Getty Images for IRC)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"absolute right-3 top-1\/2 z-1 -translate-y-1\/2 md:right-6\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mx-4 md:mx-0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<h2 class=\"text-base font-bold text-primary\">Scott Pelley of &#8217;60 Minutes&#8217; fired \u2013 See his career in photos<\/h2>\n<div class=\"whitespace-nowrap text-sm\"><span class=\"ml-1 font-normal text-primary\"><span class=\"font-bold text-brand\">1<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a013<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relative text-sm line-clamp-2 pr-2.5 text-tertiary\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley attend CBS&#8217; fall schedule celebration at Paramount Studios on May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>(Monica Schipper, Getty Images)<button class=\"bg-primary text-sm text-link ml-2 absolute bottom-0 right-0 before:content-['...']\" data-ylk=\"elm:loadmore;itc:1;sec:content-canvas;slk:more;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;expand&quot;}\" data-y-link-id=\"07er0370bjvxh219meql\" data-rapid_p=\"35\" data-v9y=\"1\">More<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As of this year, neither Pelley nor Cooper is reporting for &#8220;60 Minutes.&#8221; Pelley became embroiled in an upheaval at &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; when he was\u00a0fired on June 2\u00a0for criticizing CBS News leadership. He was axed after a heated staff meeting in which he&#8217;d accused CBS News editor-in-chief\u00a0Bari Weiss\u00a0of\u00a0&#8220;murdering&#8221; the news institution\u00a0and rebuking newly minted executive producer\u00a0Nick Bilton\u00a0for his &#8220;slender&#8221; TV news qualifications.<\/p>\n<div class=\"max-md:faux-bleed mb-4 bg-accent\/2 pb-5 md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Aside from Pelley and Simon, a slew of other &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; staffers have been let go, including executive editor Draggan Mihailovich and correspondents\u00a0Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. In May, Cooper\u00a0signed off on the news program for the final time\u00a0after two decades on the show, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:\u00a0<\/em><em>Katie Couric says she was pushed out of &#8217;60 Minutes&#8217; interviews<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Katie Couric opened up about her stories being reassigned to male colleagues during her time at &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[96,7,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment-2","category-news","category-us"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3390"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3392,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3390\/revisions\/3392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}