June 8, 2026

UNDERSTATEMENT ALERT: Scott Pelley Isn’t a Serious Journalist.

In Britain, news anchors have traditionally been called “newsreaders.” That’s because this is what they are. Their job is to make sure that their hair is coiffed when they read from the teleprompter. Pelley was a male bimbo: a himbo.

Over the years, he made many absurd and bombastic statements. For example, in 2006 he presented a completely uncritical two-part report on climate change. When critics asked him why he didn’t speak to anyone who questioned the assertions of those who said that climate change was an existential threat to humanity, he responded by saying that this idea was akin to Holocaust denial.

By contrast, Pelley’s new bosses are serious journalists. Both forged meaningful careers as writers and editors. Bari Weiss, who is Bilton’s boss and the editor in chief of CBS News, made a name for herself through her work as a writer and editor at the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. After leaving the Times, she started and built up the Free Press, which has two million subscribers and top writers like Sir Niall Ferguson and Nellie Bowles. Bilton also wrote for the Times, and he has been a contributor to Vanity Fair and a documentary filmmaker for HBO. They are genuine writer-editors.

Who will replace Pelley in the talking-head role? There’s been online chatter that Weiss and Bilton are considering trying to recruit Joe Rogan as a replacement for Pelley. While the chatter is probably just that—chatter—the deal has provoked an outburst of dismay in the media establishment. To which I would say: Why not? The job of on-camera talent is that of a performer. Pelley was known to end some broadcasts by taking off his glasses for effect as the camera dramatically panned into him. That was his way of ending on a weighty yet “intimate” note.

I used to edit future CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil’s writing at New York Press. Tony is someone of intelligence, character, and sensitivity. However, let’s be honest: His on-air value starts with his good looks. This is what news personalities ordinarily are required to display. Rogan is a different fish. Yet, while he may not be pretty, he’s shown that he can command an audience. So, would he be any less qualified than Pelley? Or might he be more qualified?

Who’s to say? What can be stated is a provable fact: The main reason 60 Minutes continues to be America’s most-watched news program is its lead-in, NFL football.

Related:

“He did something jaw-dropping to me. He read a statement from his phone.” It’s telling that Pelley claims he had a meltdown over that, considering he makes (or made) bank by reading words off of teleprompters. When ABC hired a young Leonard Di Caprio to interview Al Gore for a 2000 “Earth Day” special, Jonah Goldberg wrote:

For example, in 2000, ABC News selected Leonardo DiCaprio to interview Bill Clinton about the environment for Earth Day. The staff, including Sam Donaldson, and outside critics erupted in a barrage of outrage. How dare ABC suggest that a dim-bulb movie star can do the same job as a seasoned journalist? The defensiveness was telling. Because the truth is that most news readers are little more than actors. That’s one reason so many attractive young women want to be an actress/model/news anchor when they grow up.

Consider Barbara Walters. In the ’70s and ’80s, it was drummed into us that she was the Susan B. Anthony of American journalism. Even today, whenever her bona fides as a serious journalist are questioned, she gets her hackles up and plays the angered feminist. Then she returns to asking Hollywood movie stars what kind of tree they would be if they could be a tree and hosting that paragon of Cafe Vienna Moment journalism, The View.

Indeed, the current host of The View, Meredith Vieira, is NBC’s first choice to replace Couric. Vieira has another job: She hosts the daytime version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Ms. Vieira’s official bio touts up front that she won a Daytime Emmy as a game-show host and buries the fact she won five real Emmys for her work as a 60 Minutes reporter.

Is Pelley off to Substack-land? Maybe. But who will do the writing?

UPDATE:

Posted at 2:22 pm by Ed Driscoll