Lesley Stahl, 84, Agrees 2-Year Deal to Remain on Crisis-Hit '60 Minutes' After Complaining About 'Obsession with Age'
Veteran broadcaster Lesley Stahl has agreed a two-year deal on '60 Minutes', ending speculation about her future.
June 11 2026, Published 7:54 a.m. ET
Lesley Stahl has agreed a two-year deal to stay at crisis-hit show 60 Minutes, according to new claims.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the veteran broadcaster, 84, has pledged her future to CBS News amid a controversial shake-up, which has resulted in some of her long-standing colleagues being axed from the network.
Ending Speculation Surrounding Her Future
Stahl was tipped to leave '60 Minutes' after Scott Pelley's axing.
Stahl joined CBS News in 1971 and debuted on the network's flagship program in 1991, making her the longest-serving anchor currently working there.
Following the departure of Scott Pelley, speculation mounted regarding whether Stahl would remain, but she's now ended the uncertainty by agreeing a two-year extension.
Despite her age and the uncertainty at CBS, Stahl has expressed her determination to stay on board.
'84 Is 29 Celsius, And Don't Forget That'
Stahl joked about how people are obsessed with her age at a recent event.
She recently poked fun at 60 Minutes' aging audience during a recent speaking event, saying: "Actually, kids do still watch with all that's been going on — our ratings went up nine percentage points last year.
"Maybe it's because we've been in the news lately, and specifically me in the news,' Stahl said before offering the audience another quip.
"Now here's what gets me, every time my name is in the paper, they put my age right next to my name," she added. "Every time. It's like it's my middle name. Lesley Stahl, 84."
"But here's what I have to tell you about that: 84 is 29 Celsius, and don't forget that," she joked.
'We Don't Want To See ‘60 Minutes’ Die'
Stahl, along with Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim, outlined their expectations of '60 Minutes' in memo.
The lighthearted speech came after she wrote a tense joint memo last week with correspondents Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim, saying they would 'stay and fight' following the upheaval at the network.
"Here's why we are staying: We don't want to see ‘60 Minutes’ die," they said in the memo as reported by the New York Times.
The three journalists noted in their memo that their decision to stay on was not an endorsement of the network's new leadership under Ellison and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
"We're still deeply upset by the firings of Tanya (Simon) and Draggan (Mihailovich), strong leaders who everyone respected," they added about the program's former top producers.
The correspondents also complained that they never received an "explanation" as to why fellow correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi were let go on May 28.
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Pelley was fired after a fall-out with new exec producer Nick Bilton
Alfonsi has blamed CBS's decision not to renew her 60 Minutes contract on a clash with network executives in December over the network's decision to hold one of her segments critical of the Trump administration.
Pelley was fired the following day for "misconduct' and 'antipathy to the future of the show," Nick Bilton, the show's new executive, later said in a statement.
In a filmed interview with The New York Times that streamed Sunday, Pelley claimed CBS News "is on fire" and blamed figures including Bilton and Weiss.
He pointed to what he described as bias and pressure to put "a thumb on the scale for one political party over another."
