FCC Chairman Brendan Carr slammed Scott Pelley’s New York Times interview, calling many legacy journalists “completely out of touch.” Carr’s post on X came after Pelley discussed being fired Tuesday, urged changes involving Bari Weiss, and reacted emotionally
On Sunday, Scott Pelley sat down for an interview with the New York Times—and within hours, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr was already firing back.
Carr wrote on X that “legacy journalists” are “completely out of touch,” adding that low trust in media is driven by journalists who, in his view, don’t understand the fallout of what they say and how they act.
“One of the reasons why trust in media is so low is because many legacy journalists are completely out of touch,” Carr wrote. “You could not get away with that behavior at any run of the mill job. It is revealing to see how blind some are to that.”
Carr’s message arrived after a tweet from Fox News contributor Byron York, who quoted a section of Pelley’s interview. In it, Pelley said he did not realize he would be fired Tuesday.
Pelley’s comments didn’t stop there. He also called for the removal of Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of the network. Weiss, Pelley said, is a “lovely person,” and he praised her Free Press organization, saying it has been “very successful.” But he argued that “television’s not her thing.”
“This is like somebody walking up to me and saying, ‘There’s a 747, there are 400 people on it, we need you to fly it to Paris.’”
Pelley continued by describing why he thought the role was mismatched, saying he would “decline because I don’t have a clue.” He added, “And it would have been so much better if Bari Weiss had been offered this job and said, ‘Oh, that’s not for me, I don’t know how to do that.’”
The interview also addressed Tanya Smith, who spent 30 years with CBS before she was fired last month. Pelley said the situation is not about him, explaining that he doesn’t feel emotional about losing his own job.
“I don’t care about me. It’s not about me. I am not emotional about this because I have lost this job,” he explained. “I’ve done it for a long time. I’ve had the greatest experiences. But the people I leave behind, treated in this way?. That breaks my heart, and it’s going to take me a long time to get over it.”.
The timing—Pelley’s comments about a firing he expected to happen Tuesday. his criticism of Weiss’s role. and his reaction to Smith’s dismissal—has helped spark a fresh round of backlash from figures outside the newsroom. Carr’s response on X turned Pelley’s remarks into a broader argument about “legacy media. ” with Carr placing the blame not on any single decision. but on journalists he says are out of touch with consequences.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr Scott Pelley New York Times interview X Byron York legacy media Bari Weiss editor-in-chief Tanya Smith CBS
Legacy journalists are out of touch?? ok but FCC chair shouldn’t be talking like he’s a judge on Twitter lol
So Scott Pelley got fired and then started saying Bari Weiss shouldn’t be editor? That sounds like drama more than journalism. Also Carr calling people blind while he’s doing politics in the media…
I mean if she’s ‘not her thing’ that’s kinda messed up, but like aren’t all these networks just hiring whoever they want anyway. Also the 747 line?? I think I heard this part before. When they say low trust in media I’m like… yeah maybe because half of it is just politics. Not sure why Carr is bringing it up though
This is why nobody trusts the news anymore. One guy gets fired, another guy says someone can’t fly the plane, and the FCC chair is like ‘legacy journalists’ ugh. Sounds like everybody’s mad at everybody. Who even is Bari Weiss to be making those decisions about TV??