Veteran journalist Scott Pelley has been fired from CBS News after publicly accusing the network’s new management of instructing him to inject falsehoods and bias into his reporting. Pelley, a longtime correspondent for 60 Minutes, was dismissed on Tuesday following clashes with executives.
In a statement posted on social media, Pelley said new management had told him to include unverified assertions in a politically sensitive story. He also claimed that politicians had been allowed to choose correspondents for interviews, a practice he described as unprecedented and damaging to the programme’s integrity.
Pelley’s termination came a week after CBS News fired its executive producer, executive editor and two correspondents without explanation. He described the moves as a betrayal of the network’s values, saying that good people had been silenced for standing up for fairness and professionalism.
Bari Weiss, a CBS News executive, addressed Pelley’s departure on a staff call, stating that the network had tried to find a way forward but Pelley had chosen to leave. Pelley later disputed this, saying no attempt at reconciliation was made during the meeting in which he was effectively fired.
CBS News has not commented on Pelley’s allegations. The journalist concluded his statement by expressing gratitude for his colleagues and hoping for a return to “sanity, competence and courage” at the network.
