Scott MacFarlane exits CBS amid more shakeups post-merger

Anna Kaufman, USA TODAYMon, March 9, 2026 at 3:16 PM UTC

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Scott MacFarlane is bidding farewell to CBS News after five years covering Washington, D.C., and the federal courts for the network.

In a post to X on Monday, March 9, MacFarlane announced his exit, sharing a note he had sent to colleagues at CBS.

"To my incredible colleagues at CBS: I want to personally let you know that my work will soon no longer appear on CBS News. This is my decision, and I appreciate the bosses at CBS for understanding it. I will always value the opportunity I had to work alongside the talented and committed professionals here," he wrote. "I'm proud to have had the words 'CBS correspondent' next to my name - always will be. 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. I thank you all. The work will not stop, and I'll always be a call away."

Scott MacFarlane questions U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as he walks to a meeting with House Republicans at the U.S. Capitol Building on Oct. 17, 2023, in Washington, DC.

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MacFarlane joined CBS in 2021 and quickly rose to prominence for his reporting on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol ahead of President Joe Biden's inauguration and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in the lead-up to the 2024 election.

His exit from the storied news organization comes amid a major shakeup set off by a controversial merger between CBS' parent company, Paramount, and Skydance Media last year.

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After Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison named The Free Press founder and opinion writer Bari Weiss editor-in-chief in October, her hiring stirred controversy over a lack of experience in broadcast news.

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Several subsequent moves, including the network's decision to pull a "60 Minutes" segment featuring a mega-prison in El Salvador housing migrants who were deported from the United States hours before its airing in December, drew backlash and accusations that the move was politically motivated.

A town hall with Erika Kirk, the widow of late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, also caused a stir among viewers. Tony Dukoupil's tenure as "CBS Evening News" host under Weiss has also gotten off to a rocky start, including several on-air mishaps during his first broadcast.

Dokoupil's appointment as host came after the 2024 departure of anchor Norah O'Donnell, who'd held the position since 2019, as well as the departures of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois, the latter after 15 years at the network.

Contributing: Kimi Robinson, Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scott MacFarlane exits CBS as Bari Weiss faces more upheaval

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