Moments before Santiago Campos took the stage at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards in New York City to accept a CBS News-funded scholarship in front of some of the most powerful people in TV news, veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley took the time to offer the high school senior some advice.
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“He told me not to leave the stage immediately after doing my remarks to stand there,” Campos recalled. “Let it all soak in.”
Pelley appeared to follow his own advice as he introduced Campos to accept the Mike Wallace Memorial Scholarship, first recognizing fellow “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi from her seat in the audience before describing the teenager as “passionate, careful, and hands-on.”
Then, after yielding the podium to Campos, the legendary journalist stood close as Campos used his speech to criticize CBS News’ direction under Paramount Skydance owner David Ellison and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, which he viewed as a threat to journalistic independence. In his speech, he said “the recent direction of the outlet stains the legacy of Mike Wallace,” referring to the scholarship’s legendary CBS News namesake, and spoke out against “corporate elites” taking over journalism.
After his 90-second speech, Pelley put his arm around Campos and shook his hand in front of the applauding crowd, before telling the teenager: “We need young people like you right behind us.”
“I know that Mike Wallace is looking down on you with pride at this very moment,” Pelley added.
The 18-year-old high school senior from the Washington, D.C., area told NBC News that at the time he wondered whether Pelley knew about his speech. Days later, after Pelley was fired amid escalating turmoil at CBS News, the exchange took on new significance.
In the days after the Emmys, Alfonsi confirmed that her CBS News deal had expired, and several other key senior staff members were also let go. Tensions between “60 Minutes” staffers and management reached an all-time high during a Monday meeting to introduce executive producer Nick Bilton, where Pelley openly challenged leadership and accused Weiss of “murdering” the storied newsmagazine that debuted in 1968.
The next day, Pelley was fired after a nearly 40-year run at CBS News.
Pelley’s departure has left “60 Minutes,” which just ended its 58th season, in limbo as staffers grapple with questions about the program’s future.
The show’s employees now feel “completely adrift” and are struggling with “great uncertainty” about what might happen to the three remaining full-time correspondents, Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim, a source with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity previously told NBC News. (Stahl, Whitaker and Wertheim have not publicly commented on Pelley’s ouster.)
On Wednesday, Weiss tried to temper fears and explain the decision to fire Pelley in a call with network employees, saying newsroom leaders could not “find a way back” with the veteran journalist.
“I hope I speak, I know I speak for myself, and I hope I speak for everyone here when I say that I’m only interested in working in a newsroom that is built on trust and mutual respect. We cannot do our work without it,” Weiss told CBS News employees Wednesday.
Pelley, however, rejected that characterization in a statement and insisted that at no point during his Tuesday meeting did anyone “suggest that there could be steps taken by either side that would lead to a resolution.”
CBS News spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pelley’s statement.
Noting that he felt compelled to make his own now-viral speech because he believed that his silence about CBS “would be complicit about what’s going on,” Campos called Pelley’s decision to speak out the “right thing to do.”
“I think a lot of people can misinterpret the outcome as something, something negative and something to be afraid of,” Campos said. “I think he did what the situation demanded of him and faced the consequences. Even if the consequences were not just.”
The teenager, who is set to attend Georgetown University in the Fall, added that Pelley’s comments should embolden CBS staffers to “fight for a greater cause.” When asked about his scholarship, Campos added that “the money is basically secured” and does not believe “CBS has any way of pulling a scholarship.”
“Fear is understandable, but it’s not an acceptable excuse to be complicit in what’s going on,” Campos added. “They need to put their jobs on the line in order fight for a change in a greater cause.”
