CBS News Correspondent Scott MacFarlane Announced Departure After Becoming ‘Disillusioned’ and ‘Appalled’ With Network Under Bari Weiss: Report

CBS News justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane announced his decision to leave the network after becoming increasingly “disillusioned” and frustrated with its direction under controversial editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, according to a new report.

According to Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter on Tuesday, MacFarlane – who announced his departure from CBS News in a memo to colleagues this week – “had grown disillusioned with the overall direction of the network under the anti-woke warrior Weiss,” who was installed as editor-in-chief by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison, last year.

“Specifically, MacFarlane was appalled and disheartened by the way the ‘CBS Evening News’ marked the five-year anniversary of the January 6 insurrection,” reported Darcy, who wrote that MacFarlane was “aghast” after CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil marked the anniversary of the storming of the Capitol “with only a 16-second report that embraced a both sides approach.”

Guardian U.S. media reporter Jeremy Barr made similar claims on Monday, reporting “it was known that MacFarlane was unhappy with the network’s very brief mention of the Jan. 6 anniversary on the CBS Evening News.”

According to Darcy, who cited multiple unnamed sources familiar with the matter, MacFarlane had also become frustrated with his job after being “stretched thin” with an “under-resourced team.”

In a memo announcing his resignation on Monday, MacFarlane informed colleagues that his work would “soon no longer appear on CBS News.”

“This is my decision, and I appreciate the bosses at CBS for understanding it,” he said, adding, “For the next phase of my career, I look forward to some independence and finding new spaces to share my work in line with my personal goals.”

MacFarlane is just the latest in a string of CBS News employees to have left the network since Weiss took over as editor-in-chief last year.

Last month alone saw two prominent figures announce their departure from CBS News: 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper and CBS Evening News producer Alicia Hastey.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!