May 28 (Reuters) - CBS News named on Thursday investigative journalist, filmmaker and best-selling author Nick Bilton as executive producer of prime time news magazine broadcast "60 Minutes," marking the first time the show has tapped a leader from outside traditional television news.
Bilton is the fifth executive producer in the show's history. He is succeeding Tanya Simon, who became the program's first female executive producer last year.
The appointment comes as CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss
pushes to reshape the newsroom with a stronger focus on streaming and digital audiences following Paramount Skydance's acquisition of her outlet, The Free Press.
"Nick embodies the energy and ambition that animated the founders of the show. We cannot imagine a better fit," Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski said in a note to staff.
Bilton previously worked as a tech journalist and filmmaker with a strong investigative background. At the New York Times, he covered how technology reshaped business and society, and later contributed investigative and feature stories to Vanity Fair.
His reporting led to investigations by the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice and Congress, according to CBS News.
"Hiring Nick represents a deliberate vision for 60 Minutes to go beyond an hour on Sunday evenings to become a 360-degree product that reaches audiences wherever they consume information," Cibrowski said.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona)
