Letter to Former 60 Minutes Staff
Dear Former 60 Minutes Producers and Staff,
It’s Ben Meiselas, co-founder of the MeidasTouch Network.
Now that many of you are no longer with 60 Minutes, I want to share something that I genuinely believe. Your future is bigger than what you may be able to see right now.
It wasn’t CBS that made you. It wasn’t 60 Minutes that made you.
What made that institution special were the people—the producers, correspondents, editors, researchers, camera operators, interns, and staff who devoted themselves to finding facts, telling stories, and pursuing the truth.
Great institutions are built by great people. When corporations forget that, they begin to lose what made them valuable in the first place.
Too often, corporate media has taken for granted that its greatest asset is its people. That’s one of the reasons audiences are increasingly turning elsewhere.
They are looking for journalism that is fearless, factual, independent, and accountable. They want reporters who are willing to be in the courtroom, on the ground in communities under attack, at the front lines of wars, and wherever important stories are unfolding.
People want the truth.
At MeidasTouch, we’ve seen firsthand what is possible when journalists are empowered to pursue facts without corporate constraints.
Despite having a fraction of the resources of legacy television networks, we’ve built a reporting operation that reaches hundreds of millions of people every month and generates billions of views. We did it by building trusted sources, developing talented reporters and producers, and staying relentlessly focused on the facts.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that I hope some of you will consider joining MeidasTouch.
We are always looking for talented producers, reporters, editors, and storytellers who believe in independent journalism. But whether your next chapter is with us or somewhere else, I hope you recognize the tremendous opportunity that exists right now.
Independent media is not the future. It’s the present.
As we reflect on this moment, I also think about the words of Santiago Campos, the young journalist who recently received the Mike Wallace Memorial Scholarship. While accepting a scholarship funded by CBS News, he courageously spoke about how the network’s recent direction “stains the legacy of Mike Wallace.”
His remarks weren’t rooted in cynicism. They were rooted in a belief that journalism should always serve the public and never lose sight of its mission.
We need courageous voices like Santiago more than ever.
So if you’re wondering what’s next, know that there are people rooting for you. There are opportunities ahead of you. There are new platforms being built every day.
There are audiences hungry for great reporting. And there are communities that need journalists who are willing to tell the truth.
Whether you’re interested in joining MeidasTouch, building something on your own, or simply looking for people to bounce ideas off of, we’re here. We’re happy to be a resource. We’re happy to help.
And to all of our subscribers and supporters, thank you for allowing MeidasTouch to continue growing and for helping us create opportunities for independent journalists and storytellers. Your support makes all of this possible.
The future belongs to fearless journalism.
Sincerely,
Ben Meiselas
Co-Founder, MeidasTouch Network
We, the American public, do want the truth....only the truth. Facts. Not propaganda created to distract, destroy or otherwise mitigate facts. Thank you, independent media!
Meidas Touch is growing so fast with new and courageous talent, this is your only one stop shopping to get accurate and timely reporting. It seems every day Meidas brings on new world class people. Hope you will join this amazing team in independent media, you won’t feel any censoring you will feel liberated.