Scott Cameron Pelley is American journalist and TV anchor, currently working as the managing editor of the program ‘CBS Evening News’ as well as a correspondent for ’60 minutes,’ the CBS news magazine.
Scott is known for his in-depth reporting of international and national stories of importance and for interviewing people central to such events.
Early Life and Career
Pelley was born on July 28 1957 in San Antonio, Texas. He went to the Coronado High School in Lubbock and later enrolled at the Texas Tech University in Lubbock for a major in journalism. He left the university without getting a degree, but currently serves on the professional advisory board of the College of Media and Communication of the university. He was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2006 and in 2013 was honored as the ‘Outstanding Alumnus of Texas Tech University.’
Pelley got his first journalism job at the age of 15 years when he started working at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal as a copyboy.
- Scott’s career in broadcast journalism began in 1975 at KSEL-TV in Lubbock. In 1978, he began working for KXAS-TV located at Fort Worth. Four years later he moved to WFAA-TV in Dallas and stayed there for 7 years.
- Scott began his career at CBS in 1989 in NYC. He moved to the Dallas-based CBS bureau and covered national affairs from there. Some of the events that he reported on include the Gulf war of 1990-91; the 1992 presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton and Ross Perot; the World Trade Center bombing in 1993; the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995; and the siege of Branch Davidian near Waco, Texas.
- From 1997 to 1999, Pelley was the Chief White House Correspondent for CBS News. During this period he covered the impeachment proceedings of President Clinton and was the first one to provide several breaking news like the subpoena to President Clinton to testify in front of the grand jury and the turning of Monica Lewinsky into a cooperating witness.
- Scott joined 60 Minutes II in 1999 after leaving the White house. He then became the first person to interview George W. Bush, the newly elected president in 2000. He began reporting for 60 Minutes on Sunday in 2003 and moved to the show a year later. In June 2011, he replaced Katie Couric as the anchor of CBS Evening News. Since then its viewership has jumped an astounding 21 percent jump.
- Some of the events that he covered and some of his news making interviews include coverage of the 2008-09 economic crisis; interviewing Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman in 2008; climate change reporting from the Arctic and Antarctica; reporting of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; interviewing a Navy Seal who was a part of the team that killed Osama Bin Laden; reporting on the battle against ISIS from the front lines; interviewing the nurses responsible for treating the first patient of Ebola in the US; and the 2014 interview of James Comey, the FBI Director.
Personal Life and Trivia
- The 5 feet 10 inch tall Pelley married Jane Boone in 1983. The couple have 2 children.
- The teams on which Scott has been a correspondent has won 31 national Emmy Awards.
Scott Pelley – Net Worth and Salary
Pelley gets a salary of $7 million per year and his net worth is estimated to be about $16 million.
