‘My first response is, it started in 1968 — not a bad run’: Some see the death of 60 Minutes after Pelley’s firing, ‘murder’ comments

Now, one of the show’s most famous faces, Scott Pelley, is gone too — fired after a tense confrontation with bosses. “We realize, of course, that new approaches are not always instantly accepted,” Reasoner said on that night in 1968. And Weiss’ “new approach” has been greeted with biting criticism from some corners. Moreover, the turmoil has become a top news story in itself, with competing narratives flying — none of them flattering to CBS News. The essential question percolating on Wednesday: Where does “60 Minutes” go from here? Can it stop being the story, get back to work and retain its reputation for probing journalism and its legendary success atop the news food chain? Or is its famous ticking timer, as some fear, literally running out? Is it crumbling, or evolving? To one prominent analyst of TV news, it seemed Wednesday that something had already evaporated — if only, perhaps, a long-held perception that “60 Minutes,” which manages to be both old-school and pugnacious, was something essentially untouchable. “My first response is, it started in 1968 — not a bad run,” said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture. “Because it really does look like this is systematically deconstructing what (the show) was.” But, he quickly added: “I don’t think we’re writing the obituary of ‘60 Minutes.’ I think there’s just too much value a