GREAT SCOTT!

 

Having signed an NDA, I'm skittish about naming
the employer, so here's a 1938 photo of the
block where I worked. Good luck figuring it out.

My previous, long-time employer had the occasional staff meeting, which consisted of one of the execs telling us what the company expected from us. Following her gentle harangues, she would ask if there were any comments. There rarely if ever were.

Over time, I decided to take her up on her offer, which shocked her for two reasons: 1) I tended to keep my yap shut, and 2) I told her that management had no idea what our jobs entailed and that the allegedly jimdandy software they forced on us was always crashing, wiping out weeks of work, and, in general, making our lives miserable. 

And because nothing ever changed, it was my same comment every time. After each meeting, co-workers -- many of whom I had never talked to before -- quietly thanked me for speaking up on their behalf. And many repeated their thanks on the day I was shown the door. 

The real-life Superman.

I was reminded of my one-man rebellion when Scott Pelley tore into his new boss Nick Bilton at a staff meeting like a starving man at a Thanksgiving meal. 

Without couching any of his remarks behind gentle "concerns", Pelley questioned the qualifications of the new guard at CBS News. He added that Bilton's boss, Bari Weiss, was out to "murder" 60 Minutes.

What could Bilton say in response to Pelley -- winner of 48 Emmys and three Peabody Awards for news reporting -- other than "I’m very excited to meet with everyone, yourself included” and "Enjoy the bagels". Oh, and "The show is going to stay exactly as it is FOR NOW" (emphasis added to drive it home). 

Three down, four to go.

You'd think television's #1 rated news program (averaging 9.1 million viewers, peaking at 14 million last November) which has seen a 5% increase in viewers 25-54 would stay exactly as it is forever. But not when Bari Weiss (under the guidance of Davd Ellison and Donald Trump) is calling the shots.

Last week, Weiss lived up to the cliche that women hate female competition in the workplace by firing three of them last week: executive producer Tanya Simon and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi. They join Anderson Cooper, who left on his volition after seeing the Trump handwriting on the wall. Little wonder the higher-ups at CBS kept her away from the meeting "citing the staff’s ill feelings surrounding the firings". Yeah, that's the kind of person you want running the news division!

David Ellison and Bari Weiss: the news
equivalent of the pimp and his wifey.

Scott Pelley is in the enviable position of having his boss over a barrel. If he's fired, the 60 Minutes viewers will leave in droves. Which is perhaps the idea, especially if rumors concerning the hiring of professional meathead Joe Rogan are true. 

If Weiss grits her teeth and keeps Pelley onboard, his presence will be a constant reminder that not only does he loathe her, she'll know, deep down in her icy heart, he is correct that she has "no qualifications" for her job. Outside of being really good at selling herself to the highest bidder, I mean. 

For all of Weiss' alleged intellect, she's just another moron who, like other Trump minions, believes that she's the genius who's cracked the code on how to keep her job. Just wait 'til she realizes that she was really was hired to whack 60 Minutes. 

The clock is ticking on Bari Weiss'
career at CBS.

As the ratings drop, "CBS insiders" will tell friendly reporters at the New York Times that Weiss's job is on "shaky ground", while those same backstabbers will claim to the Wall Street Journal, "Nothing could be further than the truth. We believe Bari is doing a wonderful job and stand by her."  Meaning, We give her three weeks, tops. 

In the end, Bari's golden parachute will soften the fall, even as she becomes toxic to any journalistic enterprise outside of Newsmax. That would make a heck of a story for Scott Pelley to cover.

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