Here’s The Text That Got ’60 Minutes’ Producer Jeff Fager Fired 

On Sunday night, The New Yorker published a story that a seventh former network employee has accused 60 Minutes producer Jeff Fager of sexual harassment. Now, the reporter who accused him has released the text that got him fired on Wednesday. 

Jericka Duncan said that she contacted Jeff after the story was published. She showed a text message on CBS evening News With Jeff Glor, which read, “If you repeat these false accusations without any of your own reporting to back them up you will be held responsible for harming me.” He went on to say, “Be careful. There are people who lost their jobs trying to harm me and if you pass on these damaging claims without your own reporting to back them up that will become a serious problem.” 

Jeff Glor told Jericka that his message was “unacceptable” and that “the entire CBS News team” supports her.  In his own statement, Jeff said that “CBS terminated my contract early because I sent a text message to one of our own CBS reporters demanding that she be fair in covering the story.”

He added that his language in the text was “harsh,” but said that “although journalists received harsh demands for fairness all the time, CBS didn’t like it.” He ended, “One such note should not result in termination after 36 years, but it did.”

Jeff Fager