Katie Couric Backs CBS Management in Scott Pelley Firing
Former CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, whose own tenure was marked by an inability to turn around the network’s ratings during her five-year stint, admitted this week that Scott Pelley gave CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss little choice but to fire him. The longtime 60 Minutes correspondent was let go after launching a fierce tirade against recent changes at the long-running program.
“I don’t think that Bari Weiss had any choice but to let Scott Pelley go,” Couric said on her video podcast. “I mean, I think it’s a classic definition of insubordination.”
Her remarks came days after CBS fired Pelley for blasting Weiss at a staff meeting over her management of 60 Minutes, a role she assumed after the network’s new owners put her in charge of the news division.
“I admired that he stood up for his principles,” Couric noted. “I just think perhaps the way that he did it, and the way he expressed himself, might have been handled differently.”
Pelley was upset over the previous week’s sudden firings of several senior 60 Minutes figures, including executive producer Tanya Simon and veteran reporters Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi.
“I think that Scott was really, really angry first and foremost about that,” Couric said, adding that his concerns over what she described as “creeping” editorial interference also played a large part in his blow-up.
Newly appointed 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton handed Pelley his walking papers via an official exit letter.
“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,” Bilton wrote. “Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you. I therefore write on behalf of CBS News, Inc. to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated for cause, effective immediately. Enclosed is your formal termination letter.”
60 Minutes has long been known for its liberal bias, which our former sister organization, Accuracy in Media, pointed out on several occasions. The new leadership will hopefully seek to provide a more balanced point of view going forward. As the network adjusts to a rapidly changing media landscape, this transition may mean additional reporters and correspondents will need to be replaced.
Don Irvine
Donald Irvine is the chairman of of Accuracy in Academia (AIA), a non-profit research group reporting on bias in education. Irvine follows his father’s legacy, Reed Irvine, to critically analyze the liberal media’s bias and brings over thirty years of media analysis experience. He has published countless blog posts and articles on media bias, in context of current events, and he has been interviewed by many news media outlets during his professional career. He currently hosts a livestream weekly show on AIA’s Facebook page which discusses current events.
Irvine graduated from the University of Maryland and rose up the ranks to become chairman of Accuracy in Media until his transition to AIA.
He resides in the suburbs around the nation’s capital and is a proud father and grandfather.
