EXCLUSIVE: 60 Minutes… Of Hell! Former Show Anchor Brands Imploding TV Institution a Snake Pit
Former show anchor has described imploding TV institution as a snake pit amid turmoil.
April 23 2026, Published 7:15 a.m. ET
Veteran newsman Steve Kroft slammed his former TV home of 60 Minutes, calling it a backbiting "snake pit" that lacked "civility."
The accusations will come as no surprise to readers of RadarOnline.com as we've long reported on claims the CBS newsmagazine is a ticking time bomb full of dark and dirty secrets – including Kroft's long-ago three-year extramarital fling with a New York lawyer and sexual harassment allegations against other 60 Minutes men, who all denied the accusations.
Kroft Slams ‘60 Minutes’ Grind
Steve Kroft said Dan Rather warned '60 Minutes' was a 'snake pit' of 'big cats' where rivals could be taken down.
Ex-correspondent Kroft, 80, who spent 30 years on the well-respected program, recently told We'll Do It Live! podcast host Bill O'Reilly that he "hated" working on 60 Minutes and admitted he "probably wouldn't do it again" if offered the chance.
Kroft complained the high-profile gig was far from a dream job as he was worn down by the unrelenting grind and the show's cutthroat culture. He said the job was a "24 hours a day" slog with constant travel, writing, editing and screenings.
"You may get a couple hours... then getting on jets... coming back and spending three or four days writing... then starting it all over again," he said.
He also shares that longtime CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather had warned him that the 60 Minutes newsroom was staffed with "big cats" able to take out rivals with a single brutal swipe, leaving them "limping for six months."
Kroft Blasts ‘Cutthroat’ 60 Minutes Culture
Bill O'Reilly podcast guest Kroft claimed '60 Minutes' lacked 'civility,' saying friendliness often came with hidden motives.
Kroft charged basic decency didn't exist in the suspicious atmosphere and suggests friendliness came with ulterior motives, quipping: "If there was civility... you better check your wallet."
He also said being tapped to join the 60 Minutes team turned contemporaries into jealous adversaries as "not everybody was happy... you've all of a sudden made a bunch of enemies."
Kroft said of former competitive – and paranoid – colleagues: "Everybody knows the environment ... they think that somebody is behind them, going to put a shiv in their back."
Kroft Warns Fear Grips ‘60 Minutes’
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Bari Weiss was linked to '60 Minutes' changes as Kroft alleged growing fear inside the program amid rumored newsroom shakeups.
Though Kroft left 60 Minutes in 2019 at age 73, he still chimed in on the current state of the show amid talk that Bari Weiss, the newly installed editor-in-chief of CBS News, is planning an overhaul of the 57-year-old franchise and claims of internal clashes over editorial decisions.
"I think there's a lot of fear over there," he observed. "Fear of losing their job, fear of what's happening to the country, fear of losing the First Amendment – all of those things."
