Meet the 4 New Journalists Joining “60 Minutes”

Four new faces are joining the newsmagazine’s roster after the exit of multiple staffers, including longtime correspondent Scott Pelley

NEED TO KNOW

• 60 Minutes hired four new journalists
• New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat will serve as a full-time correspondent
• Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni and Trevor Phillips will join the newsmagazine as contributors

60 Minutes has added four new faces to its roster following the exit of multiple journalists and producers, including longtime host Scott Pelley.

Pelley was fired in June 2026 after accusing CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” 60 Minutes. The following month, Weiss hired New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat, documentary filmmaker Sebastian Junger and former Vice News journalist Gianna Toboni. CBS News’ new senior global affairs correspondent Trevor Phillips will also join the show’s staff.

“Ross, Sebastian, Gianna and Trevor are entrepreneurial journalists who understand how to reach modern audiences,” 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton said in a July 2026 statement. “Between them they have written books and magazine articles, produced documentaries, TV shows and podcasts, hosted live events and built brands on independent platforms.”

In addition to those four, Norah O’Donnell, whom Bilton called a “powerhouse,” was promoted to 60 Minutes correspondent after having previously served as a contributor to the show. Veteran correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim will also return for the 59th season, which premieres on Sept. 13, 2026.

So, who are the new faces of 60 Minutes? Here’s everything to know about the four journalists joining the newsmagazine.

01 of 04

Ross Douthat

Douthat, who was hired as a full-time 60 Minutes correspondent, is a veteran journalist who has been an opinion columnist at The New York Times since 2009. He was previously an editor at The Atlantic. At The New York Times, Douthat hosted the podcast Interesting Times, where he interviewed the likes of Vice President JD Vance and former Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse.

“Ross is one of the preeminent public intellectuals in America today, a thinker of uncommon rigor and a journalist of deep empathy,” Bilton said in his statement.

02 of 04

Sebastian Junger

Junger was hired as a 60 Minutes contributor following a long career covering major conflicts, including the war in Afghanistan. He is the author of The Perfect Storm (1997), among other books, and has produced several films, including the 2010 documentary Restrepo, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. The film was made with the late photojournalist Tim Hetherington and followed a U.S. Army platoon in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley.

In 2024, Junger published his most recent book, In My Time of Dying, which recounts how a near-death experience shaped the author’s ideas about mortality and the afterlife.

03 of 04

Gianna Toboni

Toboni is joining CBS as both a 60 Minutes contributor and a CBS News national correspondent. She was previously a senior correspondent and producer for VICE News, where she produced dozens of short documentaries on topics ranging from the war in Iran to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

In 2026, Toboni published her first book, titled The Volunteer, which follows one inmate’s attempts to expedite his execution on death row. The book won the Nautilus Book Award for Journalism and Investigative Reporting.

04 of 04

Trevor Phillips

Phillips was announced as a senior global affairs correspondent for CBS News in June 2026 and will now also join 60 Minutes as a contributor. The British journalist was previously a presenter on the Sky News show Sunday Morning.

Phillips is also a former politician. He was chair of the London Assembly from May 2000 to May 2001, and again from May 2002 to February 2003. He also served as head of the Commission for Racial Equality under then-Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 2006. In 2022, Phillips received his knighthood for his work in equality and human rights.

Read the full article here