60 Minutes Legend Steve Kroft Admits He Hated the Job

Here s a behind-the-scenes reality check you probably didn t see coming: Steve Kroft, one of the staple reporters on 60 Minutes for three decades, just admitted he flat-out hated working on the show. Not disliked, not had mixed feelings—actually hated it and has zero interest in ever going back. And yes, he really said that out loud, on a podcast, in public.

Kroft Gets Candid (and a Little Brutal)

Kroft was chatting with Bill O'Reilly on O'Reilly's We'll Do It Live! podcast when the topic of returning to 60 Minutes came up. O'Reilly floated the idea, probably expecting some kind of polite TV-vet nostalgia, but Kroft didn't mince words: "No, I probably wouldn't do it again. I hated it."

That's a bold thing to say about the job most TV journalists would sell their fancy pen collection to land, but Kroft had his reasons—and honestly, some of them sound exhausting just to hear about.

The Grind Behind the Glamour

If you ever thought working for 60 Minutes was the journalism version of a cushy Hollywood gig, Kroft's description is a punchline killer:

• The work never stops—seriously, he says it was "24 hours a day".
• Forget sleep; Kroft said you might catch "a couple of hours of bad sleep" (yes, those are his words).
• Picture beepers going off at all hours, jetting all over the world, endless script-writing marathons (three or four days for a single story), nonstop screenings, and then doing it all again...and again.
• The end result? Sure, you get to tell "good stories," but it's wrapped up in burnout and writer's fatigue.

Trust Issues? Try TV News

If the grueling schedule wasn't enough, Kroft went on to talk about something that frankly sounds straight out of a workplace thriller: the social vibe in the newsroom. His take? Trust nobody. "If people seem really friendly, you need to check your wallet," he joked—which, honestly, doesn't sound like much of a joke. The environment, according to Kroft, was cutthroat and paranoid. "Everybody is so paranoid... Everybody knows the environment, and they think that somebody is behind them, going to put a shiv in their back."

Where Was Kroft Happiest?

Not on 60 Minutes, that's for sure. Kroft says his ideal job was actually over in the CBS London bureau, back when he was a correspondent based overseas. That gig, he said, was "the job I always wanted."

Big Picture: Not Just Kroft

Kroft isn't the only big name who's bowed out of 60 Minutes—it turns out Anderson Cooper and other longtime correspondents have also stepped away. Maybe that revolving door is more about survival than career moves.