60 Minutes' Scott Pelley to Replace Katie Couric on CBS Evening News

Veteran journalist replacing first solo female news anchor beginning in June

By Josh Grossberg May 03, 2011 3:14 PMTags
Scott Pelley, Katie CouricGary Miller/FilmMagic; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

For this 60 Minutes correspondent, the countdown to his new gig begins today.

Scott Pelley, who has been with the TV news magazine since 2004, will officially succeed Katie Couric at the anchor desk of the CBS Evening News, the network announced Tuesday.

His first day is scheduled for June 6.

Pelley, 53, will continue filing the occasional report for 60 Minutes as Couric and her predecessor, Dan Rather, did outside of their main job reading the news between Big Pharma commercials.

"I am delighted to join the terrific team at the CBS Evening News," the anchorman said. "It's a privilege to work alongside the most gifted and talented journalists in the industry."

Couric, the first solo female news anchor, revealed on April 26 that she was stepping down from the post to try her hand at a daytime talk show when her contract expires on June 4, and the search was on to find her replacement. Pelley was at the top of the list.

"Scott has it all. He has the experience, the credibility and he is among the very best reporters ever to work at CBS News," CBS News honcho Jeff Fager said in a statement. "We like to think of CBS News as the 'reporter's network' and I can't think of anybody in this business better suited for the anchor chair than Scott."

After launching his journalism career at local Texas stations, Pelley joined the Eye network's New York news bureau in 1989 covering national affairs, including the presidential campaigns of Ross Perot and Bill Clinton in 1992, as well as such momentous events as the siege in Waco and the Oklahoma City bombing.

He subsequently went on to serve as White House correspondent during Clinton's second term in office, covering the Lewinsky scandal and the latter's impeachment before he was tapped in 1999 to head up 60 Minutes II. Pelley's scoops on the spinoff, which lasted six years, included an interview with President George W. Bush on the first anniversary of 9/11.

In 2004, he moved to the Sunday edition of 60 Minutes, where he's been ever since.