What To Know

Henry Schuster, a longtime 60 Minutes producer, announced his departure from the show.

Schuster stated that his exit was “overshadowed” by recent forced departures of several colleagues.

Earlier this month, correspondent Scott Pelley was fired for speaking out against CBS News editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss.

Veteran 60 Minutes producer Henry Schuster revealed on Monday (June 29) that he’s officially stepped away from the long-running CBS magazine program, though he admitted his exit has been “overshadowed.”

Schuster announced the news in a LinkedIn post, writing, “After almost two decades, it was time for a change. It has been a great run at 60 Minutes and what I got to do there was extraordinary. But I have been thinking about leaving for a while now and when the opportunity presented itself in February, I took it. And finally, it is official.”

The February date suggests Schuster may have been one of the CBS News staffers who accepted a buyout the network offered earlier this year. At the time, the New York Post reported that 11 staffers opted for buyouts, including six producers from CBS Evening News.

Schuster touched on the recent behind-the-scenes turmoil at 60 Minutes, stating his departure “has been overshadowed by the forced departures of so many colleagues and friends at the broadcast.”

Last month, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss fired 60 Minutes producers Draggan Mihailovich and Tanya Simon and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi. After longtime correspondent Scott Pelley spoke out against Weiss and the firings during a heated staff meeting, he, too, was dismissed.

In his post, Schuster briefly touched on his future. “Maybe I will finally get my high school diploma, or see if I have another book in me. Or maybe something else,” he wrote before quipping, “I will try to avoid being a cliche, so I’m not starting a podcast or a Substack. At least not now.”

“If you have any interesting projects, please let me know. I’m open to ideas. Thanks for your help along the way and on the way forward. My phone number will stay the same, for those who have it,” he concluded. “The tide is up. Time to get out there!”

Before joining 60 Minutes back in January 2007, Schuster spent 25 years at CNN. He also wrote the true crime book Hunting Eric Rudolph with Charles Stone.

60 Minutes, Sundays, 7/6c, CBS