Madeleine Carlisle Departs 60 Minutes Amid Ongoing CBS News Shake-up

Carlisle first joined the broadcast as an intern in 2017 before building her career with roles at The Atlantic and TIME Magazine. She eventually returned to the CBS newsroom, working behind the scenes on the investigative program. Her departure coincides with a broader period of instability at the network, which observers have characterized as a talent drain. The internal disruption intensified after a series of high-profile dismissals in May—a period staff members dubbed Black Thursday—which saw the exit of key figures including Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, Tanya Simon, and Draggan Mihailovich.

These shifts occurred following the October 2025 appointment of Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. The decision to place Weiss, who lacked prior broadcast news experience, in a top editorial role remains a point of contention within the industry. For the Colbert family, the move follows the recent conclusion of The Late Show, which CBS canceled after 11 seasons citing financial constraints. While Stephen Colbert has described the end of his nightly program as an unexpected relief, his daughter's exit further distances the family from the network's current corporate trajectory.