Scott MacFarlane is bidding farewell toCBS Newsafter five years covering Washington, D.C., and the federal courts forthe network.
Ina post to Xon Monday, March 9, MacFarlane announced his exit, sharing a note he had sent to colleagues atCBS.
"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."
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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 PresidentJoe Biden's inauguration and the attempted assassination of PresidentDonald Trumpin the lead-up to the 2024 election.
His exit from the storied news organization comesamid a major shakeupset off by a controversial merger betweenCBS' parent company, Paramount, and Skydance Media last year.
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AfterParamount Skydance CEO David EllisonnamedThe Free Press founder and opinion writerBari Weisseditor-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'sdecision to pull a "60 Minutes" segmentfeaturing 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" hostunder 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 anchorNorah O'Donnell, who'd held the position since 2019, as well as the departures ofJohn DickersonandMaurice 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