“60 Minutes” announces new lineup, including Norah O’Donnell and conservative “New York Times” columnist Ross Douthat

Shania RussellWed, July 29, 2026 at 3:45 PM UTC

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Norah O’Donnell; Ross DouthatCredit: Michele Crowe/CBS News; Ben Rosser/BFA.com/ShutterstockKey Points -

More big changes are coming to the 60 Minutes lineup.

CBS News has announced that four new correspondents are joining the news program.

Additionally, longtime contributor Norah O’Donnell has been promoted to correspondent.

Weeks after multiple longtime staffers were abruptly fired from 60 Minutes, CBS is welcoming a new slate of on-air talent.

Conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, award-winning documentarian and The Perfect Storm author Sebastian Junger, Vice News alum Gianna Toboni and British broadcaster Trevor Phillips are all set to join the venerated news program as correspondents and contributors, executive producer Nick Bilton announced Tuesday. They will join a lineup that also includes longtime correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim.

Additionally, Norah O’Donnell, who had been a contributing correspondent, has been promoted to a new position.

“Norah is a powerhouse,” Bilton said in a statement. “You’ve seen her all over the network. She’s launched a new podcast. And you’ll see much more of her in our halls because Norah will be a correspondent on 60 Minutes.”

Sebastian Junger; Gianna Toboni; Sir Trevor PhillipsCredit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty; Roy Rochlin/Getty; Tracey Welch/Dave Benett/Getty

His statement continued, “Ross, Sebastian, Gianna and Trevor are entrepreneurial journalists who understand how to reach modern audiences. Between them they have written books and magazine articles, produced documentaries, TV shows and podcasts, hosted live events and built brands on independent platforms.”

Bilton clarified that O’Donnell and Douthat will both be taking on the role of 60 Minutes correspondents while Junger, Toboni and Phillips will join the show as contributors. Phillips was also recently announced as CBS News’ new senior global affairs correspondent.

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The past few months have seen 60 Minutes wrought with turmoil after a shakeup that included the firings of executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich and correspondents Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.

In June, remaining correspondents Whitaker, Stahl and Wertheim broke their silence with a joint statement, explaining that they would be staying on with the show because they “don’t want to see 60 Minutes die.”

‘60 Minutes’ correspondentsCredit: Jai Lennard/CBS/Getty

In a memo, they wrote, “We have had a hard time deciding whether to stay at 60 Minutes. We’re still deeply upset by the firings of Tanya and Draggan, strong leaders who everyone respected. As far as we can tell — because no explanation has ever been offered, they were expelled because they fought for our 60 Minutes values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity. Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships. Collaboration and argument are the way we have always worked at 60. [60 Minutes creator] Don Hewitt actually encouraged loud passionate advocacy for our pieces.”

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They continued, “We have been grieving because this whole mess has wounded and damaged the broadcast. We want to stay and fight, to try and repair and preserve our reputation by continuing the Mike Wallace tradition of ‘hold their feet to the fire.’”

Amid the ruckus at 60 Minutes, CBS as a whole has been under intense scrutiny on the heels of Paramount-Skydance CEO David Ellison’s insertion of Bari Weiss atop the network’s news division. As that coincided with the controversial cancellation of The Late Show, this has resulted in speculation that the recent changes to news programming are an effort to appease President Donald Trump.

on Entertainment Weekly

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