An illustrious journalist’s career, which began in a small town in Texas, has come to an end on an iconic broadcast network program — for now.
Scott Pelley was fired by CBS from its Sunday staple, “60 Minutes,” on Tuesday evening, June 2, after a heated staff meeting in which Pelley accused CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the news institution, according to a recording obtained by The New York Times.
As USA TODAY reported, Pelley was terminated without severance or other benefits, effective immediately, after more than two decades with “60 Minutes.”
Pelley’s exit is the latest in a series of departures from CBS News, with those let go reportedly including longtime “60 Minutes” senior leaders such as executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
But before the veteran journalist became known nationwide, he began his journalistic career in Texas, particularly in Lubbock.
A humble start in West Texas and at Texas Tech
Pelley was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1957 but moved to Lubbock, Texas, where he grew up.
According to his CBS bio, he got his start in journalism at the age of 15 at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal as a copy boy – an entry-level newspaper job.
While in Lubbock, he was a Lubbock ISD student, graduating from Coronado High School and went on to study journalism at Texas Tech University, but left school a few hours short of a degree.
In 2006, the TTU College of Media and Communication inducted Pelley into its Hall of Fame and the alumni association named him a 2013 Distinguished Alumni.
He started his broadcast career at KSEL-TV — known as KAMC — in 1975. From there, he moved to two Dallas-Fort Worth television stations and began working for CBS in 1989 as a reporter, later becoming the network’s Dallas correspondent.
In 1997, he became CBS News’ chief White House correspondent and started reporting stories for “60 Minutes” in 2004, before also serving as anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News” from 2011 to 2017.
During his time as a journalist, Pelley has won 51 Emmy Awards, four Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Silver Batons, and three George Foster Peabody Awards.
Why was he fired by CBS News?
As USA TODAY reports, tensions between Pelley and CBS executives started when Bari Weiss was named editor-in-chief of CBS News.
However, tensions boiled over when Nick Bilton, a former Times technology columnist and investigative journalist, was hired to lead “60 Minutes” in late May.
At a June 1 staff meeting introducing Bilton, Pelley called Bilton’s qualifications “slender” and questioned Weiss’ commitment to the prosperity of “60 Minutes.”
According to USA TODAY, Pelley was reportedly set off by a remark in which Bilton told staffers that Weiss “loves this institution,” to which Pelley interjected, saying, “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she’s doing exactly that.”
In a letter that USA TODAY obtained about Pelley’s firing, Bilton wrote, “It is a profound disappointment that you rejected that overture and chose ambush instead.”
“Yesterday, you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt,” Bilton wrote. “Yesterday’s performative display of hostility — enacted in front of the staff instead of in a civil, private conversation — demonstrated that you have no interest in contributing to the future success of the show.”
Pelley responds to CBS firing him
In a response to his June 2 firing, Pelley took to Instagram, saying that CBS was “casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump Administration,” referring to “60 Minutes” as the legend.
Pelley also noted that the “new management” had instructed him to “inject falsehoods and bias” into his political stories, but said he was able to refuse or ignore it.
He also shed light on the workings of recent programming, saying politicians were able to choose correspondents for interviews on “60 Minutes.”
“Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how honest journalism is done,” Pelley wrote.
Pelley’s departure ends a CBS career that began in 1989 and spanned White House coverage, the “CBS Evening News” anchor chair, and more than two decades on “60 Minutes” — a long way from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal copy desk where his career began.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: From a Lubbock newsroom to CBS, Scott Pelley’s tenure ends in turmoil
Reporting by Mateo Rosiles, USA TODAY NETWORK / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mateo Rosiles, USA TODAY NETWORK | USA TODAY Network
