The newest anchor of the CBS Evening News, Scott Pelley, sat down with members of the Television Critics Association to discuss his job, CBS News, and the state of journalism. Pelley is an old-fashioned journalist who insists the reporting of the news on the broadcast be unbiased. He admitted that he would not even know how to do an opinion piece, should that be asked of him. His roots are in good old-fashioned journalism and wants to bring the ‘who, what, where, when, why and how’ to the viewers.
Scott Pelley
“I started in this business at the age of 15,” Pelley told the TCA, “as a copy boy at the Lubbock Avalanche Journal, and I grew up in this business during a time when the values of CBS News were spread more widely throughout journalism in America, and it is just part of my DNA to drive stories right down the middle and to listen to all opinions and, after you've written the script, to ask yourself have we been fair to everyone? It is literally the way I grew up as an individual, and it's the only way I know how to do this.”
Pelley comes from Texas, which is a state that has produced a long line of CBS news reporters: Walter Cronkite (born in Missouri but attended the University of Texas), Dan Rather, and Bob Shieffer. All of these men have greatly influenced the world of television news.
Scott Pelley and the CBS Evening News
Pelley came to the job eager to make his mark, but also not wanting to make The CBS Evening News his own show. As a matter of fact, he wanted to name the show “The CBS Evening News” but was overruled by the powers that be so the show is called, The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley. He insists he is just a part of the evening news team.
“The piece that I do anchoring the broadcast is an enormous privilege that I have been given.” He is not only the anchor but also the managing editor. Pelley told the TCA that he is very intent on examining everything that gets on the air. “Are we being fair? Do we have original reporting? Do we have unique insight into the news? So it's not about one guy. I happen to be the most visible member of the team. But what you have to understand, what's so important for the audience to understand, is that on every story that we do, there are dozens upon dozens of people who are smarter than me who have worked on that story and informed that story, and the really important thing that I never forget is that somewhere in the world every single day somebody has risked their life for the broadcast. And those are the people that we keep in mind, and that's why it's not about me.” But being in the anchor chair does necessitate his name be in the title, to his chagrin.
When asked what direction he is taking the broadcast, he explained, “We're not targeting any particular demographic.” There is no doubt his roots in old-fashioned journalism is the foundation of his commitment to his job and will come through in the broadcast.
“We believe that original reporting and unique insight into the news are things that span all generations. Why shouldn't a young person be interested in those things just as much as a person my age, for example? And so we believe that doing the news broadcast correctly, great storytelling in the tradition of 60 Minutes, are the kinds of things that are going to bring in a wide, wide section of the American people.”
Pelley and the CBS News Team
Pelley is overwhelmed with the caliber of reporters on his team. He singled out several to name, mentioning that they are top notch in their fields.
“Bob Schieffer is my hero,” Scott Pelley acknowledged. “Name a correspondent in broadcast or print who has more experience and a greater reputation in Washington than Bob Schieffer. He is one of our solid gold assets at CBS News. And we cannot get enough of him on the CBS Evening News.” The esteem in which Pelley regards Schieffer is evident as he talked about his colleague.
Every day Scott Pelley says he asks himself and the senior producers of the show, “What are the most important things that happened in the world today? How can we cover them with original reporting and unique insight?”
While watching and listening to Mr. Pelley, I was struck by his commitment to his job and how important the news business is to him. This soft-spoken man has a lot riding on his shoulders. He seemed to me to be a very caring man who feels deeply about bringing the most important news stories of the day to the viewers.
For Scott Pelley, his high standards are what drive his broadcast. He uses traditional values when putting together the evening newscast. He wants his team, and says he has the best team in place to do this, to bring viewers the best coverage of news without any bias. “We are covering the news,” he states. And he is delighted to be sitting in the anchor chair to do it.
