Scott McFarlane, a hard-working correspondent for CBS News who is assigned to cover courts and other issues from Washington, D.C., is leaving the Paramount Skydance division, it was announced Monday, surprising his colleagues, according to people familiar with the matter.
MacFarlane posted his note via LinkedIn. “This was my decision, and I’m grateful to my bosses at CBS for understanding that,” he said. “I will always cherish the opportunity to work with the talented and dedicated professionals here. I am proud to have had the words ‘CBS Correspondent’ next to my name and always will be. In the next phase of my career, I look forward to some independence and finding new spaces to share my work in alignment with my personal goals.”
He joined CBS News in 2021 and was seen as part of a new generation of staffers who do TV reporting from home and publish information about their beats through social media.
McFarlane was at the scene of an assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. McFarlane was the first to report to CBS News about the scene of the shooting and the emergency response immediately after the shooting. He also recorded the largest criminal prosecution in U.S. history, covering 1,600 federal cases filed in the January 6, 2021, Capitol siege.
His departure comes as CBS News is in turmoil with new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who was appointed by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to overhaul the news department’s operations. While Ellison has articulated a vision to appeal to people across the country with centrist rather than extreme views, Weiss’ moves to give more airtime to Trump administration officials and lament the lack of trust in mainstream media have gone unnoticed.
Prior to joining CBS News, McFarlane was an investigative reporter for eight years at WRC-TV, an NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C., and a contributor for the Washington bureau of the affiliate news service, NBC News Channel.
Mr. MacFarlane previously served as Congressional Correspondent for Cox Media Group and its affiliated television and radio stations.
