Veteran Journalist Scott Pelley Accuses CBS of Bias and Falsehoods
Scott Pelley, the longtime correspondent for 60 Minutes, was dismissed on Tuesday following conflicts with the network's new management. In a public statement released Wednesday morning, Pelley accused CBS executives of silencing employees and directing him to "inject falsehoods and bias" into his reporting.
"‘60’ has been the number-one program in America for decades because our beloved audience finds integrity, quality, and humanity in our stories,"Pelley wrote in his detailed statement.
He emphasized the responsibility he and his colleagues had when they took stewardship of the program:
"When stewardship of the program passed to my colleagues and me, our responsibility was to expand energetically into a new age of media technology while preserving the values our audience expects. Now, the new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration."
Criticism of CBS Leadership and Staff Firings
Pelley sharply criticized the new leadership at CBS, stating:
"Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos."
He further explained his own experience with management directives:
"For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them."
Pelley also raised concerns about political influence on the program:
"Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done."
He added that management's incompetence and unprofessionalism have caused significant disruptions:
"Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all."
Pelley's Departure and Reflections
Concluding his statement, Pelley expressed gratitude and hope for the future:
"I depart after 37 years at CBS with one emotion – a heart brimming with gratitude for the men and women of CBS News who encouraged and enriched my work, very often at the risk of their own lives. I pray for a day when those people and their ideals are honored again – a day when sanity, competence, and courage return."
CBS News did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Pelley's statement.
Background on Pelley’s Tenure and Termination
Scott Pelley had been a correspondent on 60 Minutes since 2004. His termination on Tuesday followed a series of unexpected firings by CBS News management, which included the dismissal of the network’s executive producer, executive editor, and two correspondents without specific reasons provided.
Reports indicate that tensions escalated during a meeting involving the show’s newly appointed executive editor, Nick Bilton, and another CBS News executive. During this meeting, Pelley openly criticized opinion commentator Jericka Duncan, whom CBS News named editor-in-chief in October. Pelley reportedly stated:
"She’s murdering 60 Minutes. She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that."
The following day, Pelley was informed of his termination through a message from Bilton, who reportedly reprimanded Pelley for his conduct during the meeting. Bilton wrote:
"Yesterday, you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt."
