Scott Pelley has been appointed Journalist in Residence at Columbia Journalism School for the 2026–27 academic year, the school announced August 3, marking his next major move following his departure from CBS News in June.
Pelley and fellow former “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi are the inaugural journalists to hold the newly created Journalists in Residence position at Columbia. During their residency, both will work closely with students through lectures, workshops, and special events focused on sharpening their investigative reporting and sourcing skills.
The appointments are part of Columbia Journalism School’s CJS2030: Democracy Initiative, a pillar of Dean Jelani Cobb’s vision to strengthen accountability reporting and journalism’s role in sustaining democracy. Both journalists will also contribute pieces to the Columbia Journalism Review.
Pelley’s appointment comes two months after CBS News fired him in early June following a contentious clash with network management. According to reporting at the time, Pelley objected to editorial decisions by newly appointed CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss during an all-staff meeting. Pelley spent 37 years at CBS News, including 27 years as a correspondent at “60 Minutes,” where he covered major domestic and international stories spanning war, politics, public health, and criminal justice.
Over his career, Pelley earned 51 Emmy Awards, three George Foster Peabody Awards, and four Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Awards. In 2001, he was reporting from the World Trade Center when the North Tower collapsed on September 11. As a political reporter, he interviewed U.S. presidents from George H.W. Bush to Joe Biden, and as a war correspondent, he reported from conflict zones in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Sudan.
Alfonsi brings more than three decades of broadcast reporting experience, having served as a correspondent for CBS News and ABC News before joining “60 Minutes” in 2015. She has earned multiple Emmy Awards and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award for reporting from the U.S.-Mexico border, and earlier this year received the Ridenhour Prize for Courage at the National Press Club.
“We’re both excited and honored to welcome two journalists of this caliber to our Journalist in Residence Program,” said Jelani Cobb, Dean and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism at Columbia. “Their distinguished track records in investigative reporting highlight the amazing opportunity our students will have to learn from them.”
Pelley responded to the appointment by emphasizing journalism’s role during uncertain times. “This is a critical time for a free press,” he said. “Columbia is leading the way in training the next generation of great journalists and I am honored to join Sharyn in that vital cause.”
Sources
- Columbia Journalism School — official announcement of Pelley and Alfonsi’s appointments as Journalists in Residence for 2026–27
- The New York Times — Pelley’s firing from CBS News and his subsequent interview on the circumstances
- NBC News — reporting on Pelley’s termination and his 37-year tenure at CBS News
- Variety — coverage of Pelley’s exit from “60 Minutes” and the broader upheaval at CBS News
