Tony Dokoupil on air CBS Evening News programs shared touching words about his former colleague Scott Pelley after the veteran journalist was fired on Tuesday.
During Wednesday's broadcast, Dokoupil, who was appointed evening news anchor by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss at the start of her tenure last year, took a moment to praise Pelley's career.
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«"When I started at CBS, Scott Pelley was sitting in this very chair and still doing a dozen reports a year for the program «"60 minutes". "And yet, he met with every new correspondent to share his vision of the company's mission," he said. "He believed that freedom of the press, to quote [James] Madison, was 'the right that guarantees all others.' And the stakes were always so high, because if you made it to CBS News, you were among the best in the world. He worked every day to live up to that standard.".
A compilation of Pelley's work at CBS was then shown over the years since joining the network in 1989. The video featured the journalist's on-the-ground reporting from 9/11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Russia-Ukraine War, and more, as well as his numerous interviews with presidents and the dozens of Emmy Awards he has received for his work.
«"In a sense, he was a man from another era, and that's no reproach," Dokoupil said off-camera. "He didn't watch the competition because he knew who he was. A journalist who valued the truth at any cost. And he always cherished the memory of his colleagues who died on the battlefield—a reminder that his chosen profession could be dangerous.".
At the end of his speech, the presenter also noted how Pelli changed the logo CBS Evening News From "with Scott Pelley" to "with all of us." Dokoupil added, "Well, Scott, from all of us, thank you.".
On Tuesday The Hollywood Reporter reported that the experienced correspondent of the program «60 Minutes» was fired by the network. The decision followed a clash between Pelley and the show's new executive producer, Nick Bilton, during a heated staff meeting the previous day.
At the meeting, Pelley lashed out at Weiss, accusing her of "killing the program." «60 minutes »"She doesn't like this place; she was invited to destroy it, and that's exactly what she's doing.".
Following his dismissal, Pelley released a lengthy statement, which read, in part: «The incompetence and unprofessionalism of the new leadership has caused enormous damage… The collapse of values at the highest level has become intolerable. The leadership of the program «60 Minutes» "It's no longer recognizable. The principles I hold dear are lost, so I must leave too.".
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