{"id":2521431,"date":"2025-12-15T15:36:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T20:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scott-pelley-blames-everyone-but-cbs-for-its-tanked-credibility\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T15:38:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T20:38:18","slug":"scott-pelley-blames-everyone-but-cbs-for-its-tanked-credibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scott-pelley-blames-everyone-but-cbs-for-its-tanked-credibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Scott Pelley Blames Everyone But CBS For Its Tanked Credibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fscott-pelley-blames-everyone-but-cbs-for-its-tanked-credibility%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2521431&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article criticizes CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley&#8217;s recent claim that corporate media journalists are victims of pressure from corporations and the Trump administration, which allegedly hinders their reporting. Instead, the piece argues that Pelley&#8217;s program, *60 Minutes*, has a long history-over two decades-of biased and deceptive journalism favoring Democrats and targeting their political opponents. It highlights controversies including distorted editing of interviews, such as the misleading portrayal of Kamala Harris in a pre-election segment, which led to legal action, an FCC investigation, and a costly settlement.<\/p>\n<p>The article also points out the departures of key CBS figures amid claims of compromised journalistic independence and increasing political pressure linked to lawsuits from former President Trump. It contends that *60 Minutes* has engaged in political propaganda,unfairly attacking Trump nominees while giving favorable treatment to certain officials. Additionally, it accuses the show and the broader CBS network of spreading misinformation, fabricating scandals about republicans, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/politico-reporter-disguises-pr-for-left-wing-group-as-journalism\/\" title=\"Politico Reporter Disguises PR For Left...Wing Group As Journalism\">promoting left-wing narratives<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The piece comments on the tenure of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, suggesting that her leadership has not restored trust but rather continued the network&#8217;s problematic coverage, as evidenced by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tv-network-ratings-drop-during-bidens-first-full-week-in-office\/\" title=\"TV Network Ratings Drop During Biden\u2019s First Full Week in Office\">town hall event<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >allegedly pressured conservative voices<\/a>. the article portrays *60 Minutes* and CBS News as deeply partisan media entities that use their platforms to advance a political agenda rather than objective journalism.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>CBS News&rsquo; Scott Pelley wants Americans to believe that corporate media correspondents like himself are the victims of a widespread effort by corporations and the Trump administration to subdue their reporting and deter future guests. On the contrary, Pelley&rsquo;s show <em>60 Minutes<\/em> has spent the last 20 years using the cushion created by a corrupt network of corporate media outlets to boost Democrats&rsquo; preferred political allies and target their political enemies.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are all experiencing trouble getting people to appear on our broadcast because of the fear that has spread across the country,&rdquo; Pelley said in his speech at the Walter Cronkite Awards over the weekend. &ldquo;And yet, given that limitation, we are still on the air telling the public these stories, no matter how difficult it is for us to do the job in the way that we would like do it.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/60Minutes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@60Minutes<\/a> Correspondent Scott Pelley: &#8220;We are all experiencing trouble getting people to appear on our broadcast because of the fear that has spread across the country.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hgPQHT1Rgt\">pic.twitter.com\/hgPQHT1Rgt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cspan\/status\/1999558400162578785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Pelley&rsquo;s show, one of the longest-running news programs in U.S. history, isn&rsquo;t struggling to find guests because of &ldquo;fear.&rdquo; It is <em>60 Minutes<\/em>&rsquo; egregious track record of deceptive editing, cutting off guests, and poor framing that&rsquo;s deterring people from the program.<\/p>\n<p>This isn&rsquo;t the first time a <em>60 Minutes<\/em> shill claimed to be the victim; in fact, it&rsquo;s not even the first time Pelley tried to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/28\/like-scott-pelleys-commencement-rant-60-minutes-is-unserious-democrat-propaganda\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fearmonger an audience<\/a> about the alleged threats posed to the show by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p>In April, <em>60 Minutes<\/em> executive producer Bill Owens <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/22\/business\/media\/cbs-60-minutes-trump-bill-owens.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resigned<\/a>, &ldquo;citing encroachments on his journalistic independence.&rdquo; Shortly after, in May 2025, CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon also left the company.<\/p>\n<p>McMahon kept the reasons for her departure vague, claiming, &ldquo;I do not agree on the path forward.&rdquo; CNN&rsquo;s Brian Stelter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/05\/19\/media\/cbs-news-wendy-mcmahon-exits-amid-trump-lawsuit-60-minutes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signaled<\/a>, without objection from McMahon or CBS, that her exit had something to do with &ldquo;President Trump&rsquo;s intensifying political pressure against the news operation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That &ldquo;pressure,&rdquo; of course, referred to Trump&rsquo;s lawsuit against CBS, which quickly turned into a Federal Communications Commission&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.fcc.gov\/public\/attachments\/DA-25-107A1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">investigation<\/a> and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/02\/cbs-news-parent-paramount-to-pay-16-million-to-settle-trump-60-minutes-lawsuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">eight-figure settlement<\/a> over <em>60 Minutes<\/em>&rsquo; deceptively edited preelection interview with Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n<p>In what Trump dubbed the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/26\/trump-cbs-editing-harris-answers-is-biggest-scandal-in-broadcast-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;biggest scandal in broadcast history,&rdquo;<\/a> CBS swapped Harris&rsquo; word salad reply to a question about Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu with a quote the outlet deemed more digestible. As Federalist Assignment Editor Elle Purnell noted, the original answer went &ldquo;conspicuously missing from the transcript that CBS released,&rdquo; and the network repeatedly declined to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/21\/cbs-news-release-the-full-kamala-harris-interview-transcript-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;release an unedited transcript<\/a>,&rdquo; prompting concerns that Harris was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/22\/is-cbs-refusing-to-release-its-full-kamala-60-minutes-interview-because-it-let-her-redo-answers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">allowed redos<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>CBS&rsquo;s bungled attempt to sell Americans a disfigured picture of Harris is no one-off. As The Federalist&rsquo;s Mark Hemingway documented, the most popular CBS news program has a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/02\/the-downfall-of-60-minutes-and-the-biggest-media-scandal-youve-never-heard-of\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two-decade-long history<\/a> of flawed and partisan reporting that only occasionally led to the exit of once-hailed correspondents such as Dan Rather and Lara Logan, whose 2013 reporting on Benghazi was eventually removed from CBS&rsquo;s list of transcripts.<\/p>\n<p>The network&rsquo;s &ldquo;most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/60-minutes-and-the-biggest-media-scandal-youve-never-heard-of\/\" title=\"60 Minutes And The Biggest Media Scandal You&#039;ve Never Heard Of\">high-profile journalistic failure<\/a> since Rathergate,&rdquo; however, Hemingway claimed, was less about one reporter&rsquo;s failure and more about <em>60 Minutes<\/em>&rsquo; cozy editorial relationship with a &ldquo;dubious and manipulative ex-CIA agent&rdquo; who tried to &ldquo;shape their coverage of the Benghazi attack, even though he was concurrently currying favor with Hillary Clinton for personal profit.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Once Trump took office in 2016, CBS&rsquo;s malfeasance not only worsened, but became more blatant. <em>60 Minutes<\/em> proudly used its prominence in the corporate media world to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/01\/02\/60-minutes-exhumes-enviro-cult-leader-for-a-new-round-of-scaremongering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fearmonger<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2017\/10\/18\/60-minutes-reporting-not-sunk-drug-czar-nominee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sink Trump nominees<\/a>, and toss <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2019\/02\/21\/6-takeaways-andrew-mccabes-double-dealing-60-minutes-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">corruption-embroiled<\/a> officials such as former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/09\/19\/corporate-media-enables-biden-family-corruption-by-deliberately-failing-to-ask-tough-questions-about-hunter-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">President Joe Biden<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/10\/03\/merrick-garlands-60-minutes-interview-was-pure-political-propaganda\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Attorney General Merrick Garland<\/a> softball questions. The show also issued <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2019\/09\/30\/cbs-60-minutes-stands-by-bogus-reporting-whistleblower-under-federal-protection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bogus reports<\/a> designed to fuel the campaign to impeach Trump, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/07\/60-minutes-wages-propaganda-war-on-moms-for-liberty-with-book-ban-lies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published propaganda<\/a> about concerned parents and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/20\/60-minutes-takes-left-wing-propaganda-to-a-new-level-with-discredited-ex-doj-lawyer-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the DOJ<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/10\/26\/lesley-stahl-is-wrong-and-trump-is-right-the-obama-administration-spied-on-the-trump-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lied<\/a> about swaths of Russia collusion hoax and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/10\/22\/heres-all-the-evidence-lesley-stahl-falsely-claimed-doesnt-exist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Biden family corruption<\/a> reporting being &ldquo;unverified.&rdquo; <em>60 Minutes<\/em> then invited <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/05\/cbss-60-minutes-invites-russia-hoax-architect-marc-elias-to-attack-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">architects of hoaxes<\/a> on to spew more falsehoods, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/04\/05\/60-minutes-ignores-democrat-governors-scandals-invents-one-about-desantis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">invented scandals<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/04\/07\/cbs-and-60-minutes-double-down-on-desantis-publix-lies-refuse-to-answer-basic-questions-about-their-bogus-smear-job\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">smears<\/a> of effective Republican politicans such as <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/04\/06\/desantis-eviscerates-corrupt-corporate-media-as-lying-smear-merchants-for-cbs-hit-piece\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/a>, and deceptively edited interviews to make Democrats&rsquo; political enemies &mdash; including <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/10\/22\/lesley-youve-discredited-yourself-trump-posts-full-60-minutes-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump<\/a> and his picks, such as former <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/05\/11\/cbss-60-minutes-lies-about-mike-pompeo-and-covers-for-communist-china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Secretary of State Mike Pompeo<\/a> &mdash; look bad.<\/p>\n<p>This propaganda problem is not isolated to <em>60 Minutes<\/em>. Rather, it has infected the entire CBS network and new Editor-In-Chief Bari Weiss.<\/p>\n<p>Weiss was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/bari-weiss-cbs-news-paramount-david-ellison-the-free-press-2025-10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pitched<\/a> to the public as CBS&rsquo;s key to &ldquo;building the most trusted news organisation of the 21st Century.&rdquo; Her short tenure, however, has yielded fruit of the contrary kind.<\/p>\n<p>In her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/canadian-parliament-declares-chinas-treatment-of-uyghurs-genocide-as-biden-remains-silent\/\" title=\"Canadian Parliament Declares China\u2019s Treatment Of Uyghurs \u2018Genocide\u2019 As Biden Remains Silent\">recent town hall<\/a> with Charlie Kirk&rsquo;s widow, Erika Kirk, Weiss ambushed the new Turning Point USA leader with an appearance from the leftist Utah Valley student who was the last person to speak to Charlie before he was assassinated. While Hunter Kozak claimed he was &ldquo;horrified by the people in my so-called camp who were cheering about Charlie&rsquo;s murder,&rdquo; he demanded Erika &ldquo;condemn the violent rhetoric of Donald Trump,&rdquo; which he dubbed &ldquo;even worse.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>The last person who ever spoke to Charlie Kirk was a Utah Valley student named Hunter Kozak. This week, he traveled to the CBS News town hall in New York City to ask Erika Kirk a question.<\/p>\n<p>Erika sat down for a CBS News Town Hall, just days after the posthumous release of her&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/si9w3i5wT8\">pic.twitter.com\/si9w3i5wT8<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; CBS News (@CBSNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CBSNews\/status\/2000023568990474376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<hr>\n<p>      Jordan Boyd is an award-winning staff writer at The Federalist and producer of &ldquo;The Federalist Radio Hour.&rdquo; Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scott Pelley claims media victimhood; 60 Minutes aids Democrats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":490,"featured_media":2521432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-15-at-9.35.37-AM-scaled-e1765813065784.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[7585,6245,36489,36829,45218],"class_list":["post-2521431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-cbs","tag-credibility","tag-journalism-ethics","tag-media-accountability","tag-scott-pelley"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-15-at-9.35.37-AM-scaled-e1765813065784.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2521431"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2521435,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521431\/revisions\/2521435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2521432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2521431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2521431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2521431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}