CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil delivered an emotional on-air tribute to 60 Minutes veteran Scott Pelley on Wednesday, June 3—just hours after Pelley was fired by newly appointed 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton following a tense confrontation w
CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil didn’t wait for the dust to settle.
On Wednesday, June 3, he used his Wednesday broadcast to honor Scott Pelley, praising the longtime 60 Minutes correspondent’s career in a moment that landed as the turmoil around Pelley’s exit was still unfolding inside CBS News.
Dokoupil opened with the memory of first seeing Pelley “in this very chair” when Dokoupil started at CBS. “He believed freedom of the press — to quote [President James] Madison — was ‘the right that guaranteed all the others.’”
The tribute came after Pelley was fired just hours earlier, following a confrontation tied to leadership changes at 60 Minutes.
On Tuesday. June 2. newly appointed 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton informed Pelley of his termination in a letter that accused him of “misconduct” and “antipathy to the future of the show.” The move followed Bilton’s first meeting with 60 Minutes staff. which reportedly turned heated after Pelley demanded answers about recent firings at the network.
In accounts of that exchange, Pelley sharply criticized both Bilton and Bari Weiss—the newly installed CBS boss he accused of “murdering 60 Minutes.” Pelley also told Bilton he would “never be welcomed” at 60 Minutes, and questioned Bilton’s “slender” qualifications for the role.
As Weiss later addressed the situation during a morning call on Wednesday, June 3, staff were told it was “the path he chose.”
Dokoupil’s segment leaned into Pelley’s body of work. featuring footage from Pelley’s reporting on the September 11 attacks. the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. and interviews with multiple U.S. presidents. The broadcast also highlighted Pelley’s Emmy-winning journalism, including reporting from conflict zones around the world.
“He was in some ways a man from another era, and that’s not a knock,” Dokoupil said. “He didn’t watch the competition, he said, because he knew who he was: a journalist who valued truth at all costs.”
He ended the tribute by bidding farewell to Pelley: “Well, Scott, from all of us, thank you.”
The contrast wasn’t lost on viewers—or on the newsroom.
Dokoupil’s own time at CBS has already been marked by scrutiny since he took over the CBS Evening News anchor chair in January. after being selected by Weiss in late 2025. In early months. colleagues reportedly raised concerns about his editorial choices. including segments viewed as overly favorable toward public figures such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio. His coverage of President Donald Trump also reportedly drew internal complaints from staff who believed the reporting lacked balance.
Insiders described the broadcast as suffering from “tumbling ratings and savage reviews,” with several staff members questioning whether Dokoupil was suited for the role.
Criticism also extends beyond editorial decisions into how Dokoupil positioned himself publicly. Colleagues reportedly reacted negatively after he said he would be “more accountable and more transparent” than legendary CBS anchor Walter Cronkite. One former executive said the remark “completely lost the room,” while another colleague described Dokoupil as “deeply lacking in self-awareness.”.
By the time Dokoupil praised Pelley’s decades-long career. the story inside CBS News had already moved fast: a June 2 termination letter from Bilton. a June 3 leadership response from Weiss. and a farewell segment delivered in real time by an anchor who himself has been facing intense internal debate.
Tony Dokoupil Scott Pelley 60 Minutes Nick Bilton Bari Weiss CBS Evening News Walter Cronkite Marco Rubio Donald Trump controversy firing tribute