CBS News insiders are speculating that Lesley Stahl will likely remain a correspondent at “60 Minutes” after she was out shooting footage for the show’s next season following a bloodbath at the iconic news show, The Post has learned.
Following last Thursday’s headline-grabbing firings — which claimed correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, executive producer Tanya Simon and her number two, Draggan Mihailovich, as well as two other senior producers — Stahl went out on assignment, a source told The Post.
“Lesley was shooting a segment for next season,” the source said of the 84-year-old broadcaster. “She must be staying at the company.”
The person added that Stahl had been working with senior producer Guy Campanile, who had been let go as part of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss’ overhaul of the storied news program. Following Campanile’s exit, the correspondent tapped another producer to shoot Campanile’s story.
Neither CBS News nor Stahl commented.
“Lesley Stahl didn’t even wait for the bodies of Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich to get cold before she went out shooting,” said another miffed source.
Sources said Stahl was not at Monday’s meet-and-greet with new boss Nick Bilton, which turned heated after correspondent Scott Pelley demanded to know why his colleagues had been fired and claimed that Weiss was “murdering” the show.
A day after the volatile meeting, Pelley, who also had ripped Bilton over his “slender” qualifications to lead “60 Minutes,” was fired for cause by the company.
In the days since Pelley’s firing, sources speculated whether remaining cast members Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim would remain at the legendary show.
A source briefed on the situation said that CBS News execs have expressed their desire for the trio to stay but have no idea if they will.
In a Thursday email to staff obtained by The Post, Bilton said, “Lesely, Bill and Jon are core to this show’s success,” but he stopped short of confirming they’re staying.
They believe the odds are that at least Stahl, despite her age, will stay because “60 Minutes is like oxygen to her,” said a source who spoke to someone in CBS management just after Pelley’s firing.
Stahl, Whitaker and Wertheim met Wednesday to discuss their futures, according to the Status newsletter.