Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim, in a memo to the 60 Minutes staff obtained by The New York Times (gift links):
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. Don Hewitt actually encouraged loud passionate advocacy for
our pieces. […]We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement
of the existing power structure. That is simply, categorically not
the case.Here’s why we’re are staying:
We don’t want to see 60 Minutes die.
We’ll see how long this lasts.
