Scott Pelley Signs With CAA After His ’60 Minutes’ Ouster

(Photo by Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Scott Pelley has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) just weeks after his dramatic departure from CBS News — marking his first major career move following a bitter split from the network after 37 years.

The powerhouse agency will represent the former 60 Minutes correspondent as he looks toward the next phase of his career after his high-profile firing earlier this month, according to reports confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. There has been a great deal of industry speculation about what the 68-year-old Pelley will do next. This move suggests that he’s not planning to sit on the sidelines, and is looking to make a big splash.

His new signing with CAA places him alongside former 60 Minutes colleague Lesley Stahl, who is also represented by the agency.

The signing comes after a turbulent exit that thrust Pelley into a public clash with CBS News’ new leadership. Pelley, who worked at the show for almost four decades, was fired shortly after confronting newly appointed 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton during a staff meeting over the direction of the storied newsmagazine and the influence of new CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.

According to previously reported accounts of the meeting, Pelley questioned Bilton’s qualifications to lead the flagship program and accused Weiss of dismantling it.

He described Weiss’ early leadership as “murdering 60 Minutes.”

“She does not love this place; she was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that,” he reportedly told Bilton.

Bilton later accused Pelley of undermining his leadership, writing in a letter that the veteran correspondent had “hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt.”

Soon after, CBS News terminated Pelley’s contract.

Pelley subsequently launched a blistering public attack on the network’s new management, alleging editorial interference and political pressure inside one of America’s most influential news programs.

In a statement released after his firing, he claimed management instructed him to “inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story” and said he had refused those directions.

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