India, June 3 -- Nick Bilton, a 49-year-old tech journalist who was named the new boss of '60 Minutes' in a major reshuffle, wrote a scathing letter to correspondent Scott Pelley as CBS News fired him, saying Pelley's "antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you."

Therefore, he wrote, "your employment with CBS is terminated for cause effective immediately."

The letter referenced Pelley's decision to question and criticize Bilton in a staff-wide meeting on Monday morning, June 1. Pelley's scathing comments leaked to news outlets outside, triggering a crisis inside CBS, CNN reported.

Justifying Pelley's termination, Bilton wrote to Pelley, "You hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparag...