CBS premiered the 59th season of “60 Minutes” on Sunday, bringing back recognizable faces including Norah O’Donnell, Lesley Stahl, and Jon Wertheim.
The Sunday broadcast featured three principal stories: an interview with a U.S. Air Force officer rescued from Iran, a report on brokers charging high fees to help people convicted of felonies seek pardons from President Donald Trump, and a profile of the Los Angeles Rams.
“We don’t often send notes to the whole newsroom. But today calls for it. It’s a big moment for 60 Minutes and CBS,” CBS leadership said in a memo to employees Sunday promoting the new season.
The premiere comes after several turbulent months for “60 Minutes,” including the high-profile departures of longtime correspondents Scott Pelley and Anderson Cooper and staff dissatisfaction with editor in chief Bari Weiss’ leadership.
The following are reactions from media observers to the new season.
Brian Steinberg, Variety TV editor
Brian Steinberg, a senior television editor at Variety, wrote Sunday that although the new season promised change, it “relied on many elements from the program’s past.”
“Viewers on Sunday night got only a brief glimpse of Ross Douthat, and none of Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni, Trevor Phillips or Ariel Levy, but were rather greeted by three correspondents who already have an association with the program,” Steinberg wrote.
Alex Marquardt, Al Jazeera English host
Alex Marquardt, a former CNN chief national security correspondent and host of Al Jazeera English’s “This is America,” commented on X about the “60 Minutes” segment.
“The Pentagon rolled out the red carpet for this 60 Minutes piece: Sec Hegseth, Gen Caine, Adm Cooper + the weapons systems specialist all sat down with Norah O’Donnell,” he wrote.
Tim Miller, host of The Bulwark Podcast
Tim Miller, a political commentator and host of The Bulwark Podcast, criticized a segment hosted by Lesley Stahl on Sunday’s program: the report about brokers offering people convicted of felonies a route to pardons from President Donald Trump at a high price.
“Doing a story about pardon abuse and making it about Burkman and Wohl is like doing a story about crypto corruption and focusing on Hawk Tuah girl,” Miller wrote on X. “Like yeah they are scammers and that’s bad it’s fine to do. But they aren’t in the same universe as the real corruption.”