Topline
Rumors swirling on social media claiming podcast host Joe Rogan is under consideration to replace Anderson Cooper at “60 Minutes” are “false,” CBS News spokesperson Jeremy Adler told Forbes, as the news program faces internal turmoil.
Joe Rogan hosts the hugely popular “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)
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Key Facts
The claim, which gained traction on social media Thursday, was apparently first made by gossip outlet RadarOnline and amplified this week by the Austin American-Statesman, both of which cited unnamed purported insiders calling Rogan’s alleged hiring a move to attract conservative viewers.
Rogan is the host of the country’s most popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” and surveys of Rogan listeners by Edison Research indicate his audience skews young and male, and favored President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
The rumors picked up steam days after longtime “60 Minutes” host Scott Pelley was ousted amid a spat with CBS News’ editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and newly appointed “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton.
Rogan has not responded to the rumors of him joining “60 Minutes.”
rogan rumors follow “60 minutes” in turmoil
Pelley was fired Tuesday after a staff meeting in which he reportedly confronted Bilton, accusing him of having “slender” qualifications for his new role as executive producer while also questioning the previous firings of some of the program’s producers and correspondents. After Bilton claimed Weiss “loves this institution,” Pelley replied, “She is murdering ‘60 Minutes,’” claiming she was “brought in to kill it.” Pelley reportedly met with Weiss, Bilton and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski on Tuesday, though Pelley said they refused to answer his questions about firing longtime staffers and “stonewalled for about 10 minutes.” In a meeting with the CBS newsroom after Pelley’s firing, Weiss said she and her staff tried to “engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way back,” but “unfortunately we weren’t able to do so.” Weiss said she did not want to part ways with Pelley, but said “that’s the path that he chose.” Pelley accused Weiss of lying to her staff in the Wednesday morning newsroom meeting, and blasted CBS News leadership as being “openly hostile from the start” when he met with leaders Tuesday. “At no point did anyone in the Tuesday meeting suggest that there could be steps taken by either side that would lead to a resolution,” Pelley said.
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