Scott Pelley is claiming that he “lost” his job asCBS Evening Newsanchor years ago after he repeatedly complained “to management about the hostile work environment.”
During Sunday’s airing ofCNN’sReliable Sources, Pelley, 61, opened up to host Brian Stelter about working at CBS, where he previously served as anchor ofCBS Evening News with Scott Pelley(2011-17) and now works as a full-time60 Minutescorrespondent.
“We’ve been through a dark period of the last several years of incompetent management and sort of a hostile work environment within the news division,” Pelley said about CBS, which Stelter noted has seen “18 months of scandals and shakeups at CBS News and the rest of the company.”
Pelley then claimed that he was let go from his anchor position onCBS Evening Newsafter he expressed his concerns to management.
“I lost my job at theEvening Newsbecause I wouldn’t stop complaining to management about the hostile work environment,” he said. “But as you say now, everything has changed. We have a new chairman of CBS Corporation, Joe Ianniello, a visionary leader. We have the first woman president of the news division, Susan Zirinsky, and I’ve known her for 30 years. She’s been at CBS more than 40 years. She has CBS News DNA. And now we have a new executive producer, Bill Owens, at60 Minutes. It’s all blue sky from here. I’m very excited. I know these people and I know that we’re on the right track.”
When Stelter further pressed about Pelley’s alleged dismissal from the news program after he made complaints about the negative working conditions, the longtime journalist said that he first brought them forward about five years ago.
“Several years ago, four or five years ago, I went to the president of the news division and explained to him that this hostile work environment couldn’t go on for women and men,” he said.
While meeting with then-president David Rhodes, Pelley said, “he told me if I kept agitating about that internally, then I’d lose my job.”
Scott Pelley.John Paul Filo/CBS via Getty
Pelley ultimately escalated his concerns to former CBS CEO Les Moonves (hedeparted CBSin 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual misconduct).
“I went to his boss, who told me that he didn’t share my concerns. And so, having exhausted the possibilities in the news division, I went to the chairman of the CBS corporation, who listened to me very concerned for an hour, asked me some penetrating questions about what was going on,” he said about Moonves.
Said Pelley, “I didn’t hear back from him, but in the next opportunity in my contract, I was let go from theEvening News.”
“Scott was expressing his own opinion. We disagree,” the spokesperson said. “CBS News has been working hard to advocate for an inclusive, safe and dignified workplace for everyone at CBS News and Scott has been a supporter of these efforts.”
PEOPLE is out to CBS and a60 Minutesrep for comment.
In early May, it was announced thatNorah O’Donnellis thenew face ofCBS Evening News.
The veteran journalist is only the second female solo anchor onCBS Evening NewssinceKatie Couricwho held the position from 2006-2011. O’Donnell, who was previously a co-host onCBS This MorningalongsideGayle Kingand John Dickerson, will take over for Jeff Glor, who replaced Pelley.
“I am going to give this everything I’ve got,” O’Donnell said on Twitter.
source: people.com
