Scott MacFarlane, a CBS News justice correspondent best known for his extensive coverage of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, surprised his colleagues Monday morning by announcing his departure from the network, which he joined at the end of 2021.
MacFarlane is just the latest departure from the Bari Weiss-led network, although he said in a memo to colleagues (also posted on LinkedIn) that he personally made the decision to leave.
“This is my decision and I thank the bosses at CBS for understanding it,” he wrote. “I will always value the opportunity I had to work alongside talented and committed professionals here. I am proud to have had the words ‘CBS correspondent’ next to my name; I always will be.”
MacFarlane, who joined CBS News after working as an investigative reporter for NBC Washington, indicated he has no other job in mind. “For the next phase of my career, I hope to have some independence and find new spaces to share my work in accordance with my personal goals,” he wrote.
CBS News had no comment on MacFarlane’s departure, although Weiss acknowledged on the network’s morning editorial call that he had produced multiple scoops during his tenure at the network, according to a staff member who participated.
Given his extensive coverage of the Capitol insurrection, MacFarlane was said to be frustrated with the network’s decision to air only a brief mention (derided by some as demonstrating a two-sided approach) on its fifth anniversary in early January.
“President Trump today accused Democrats of failing to prevent the attack on the Capitol, while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused the president of ‘whitewashing’ him,” CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil said during the show’s January 6, 2026 episode.
“I was angry because they just marked January 6 and both sides did it during Tony’s tour,” a CBS News colleague, who was not authorized to comment, told The Guardian.
On January 7, in what was seen as a dig at the network’s coverage, MacFarlane shared a clip from his appearance on the BBC to talk about the anniversary. “Here’s my deep dive into the fifth anniversary of January 6: the continuing impact on victims, the lies… and the continuing malignant corrosion of democracy. As broadcast on… the BBC,” he wrote. (CBS News and the BBC have a news-sharing partnership.)
MacFarlane’s departure was noted by her network colleagues, including CBS News reporter Kathryn Watson.
“This is such a loss for us at CBS News,” he wrote in a post on
His departure was also noted by critics of Weiss’s leadership of the network.
Two different CBS Evening News producers recently criticized the network’s editorial direction in memos announcing their departure from the network through a voluntary buyout program.
“We have been told to target our reporting at a particular part of the political spectrum,” Mary Walsh, a veteran CBS News producer, wrote in a memo late last month. “Honestly, I don’t know how to do that.”
Kim Harvey, executive producer of the Evening News, rejected Walsh’s parting comments in a follow-up note to her staff.
