Scott Pelley is one of the most experienced correspondents in broadcast journalism. He is the recipient of many awards for his work and has spoken with some of history’s most famous people, including Barrack Obama, Sonia Sotomayor and Alex Rodriguez, and has covered stories in Syria and at Ground Zero on 9/11. Pelley is the author of the memoir “Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter’s Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times.”
Ahead of his presentation at NECA 2022 Austin, Pelley spoke with our staff about connecting with people and working as a team.
- Journalism, like electrical contracting, is about making connections with others. How have you made lasting connections with people from around the world?
I often tell young reporters that empathy is the greatest gift a writer can have. With empathy, you can “wear the clothes” of the people you are writing about to understand their dreams and motivations. I believe empathy is key to lasting connections as well. Understanding, beyond the superficial level, creates bonds that last a lifetime.
- You have shared critical information with people throughout your career. How do you ask the right questions of the right people to get the right answers?
Preparation, preparation, preparation! To ask the right questions, you must know your subject thoroughly. To get the right answers, listen. Listen to what the person is saying and how they are saying it. The best questions I have asked on 60 Minutes were reactions to what was being said in the moment, not the questions I wrote down beforehand.
- How important is collaboration and working as a team when telling a complex and possibly ever-changing story?
Journalism is a team sport. I have never put a story on 60 Minutes without producers, editors, photographers, sound engineers and a host of others. Many of the people on my team have worked together for decades. We know each other’s jobs. We know each other’s thoughts. The better the teamwork, the better our stories.
- In your 2019 memoir “Truth Worth Telling,” you mention the importance of having values in uncertain times. In times such as these, how can we all keep our values intact?
I believe the values that should guide us—honesty, integrity, perseverance—are timeless. The more these values are challenged, the more durable they become. I often say, “Figuring out the right thing to do is usually easy. Doing the right thing is often hard.” When times get tough, our values see us through. Trust them.
- You’ve won Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards and countless others. Which one are you most proud of?
I may be most proud of one you’ve never heard of: The Alfred Hitchcock Humanitarian Award. I received it after many years of helping to raise money for cystic fibrosis (CF) research. My role was tiny, but after decades of work, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was able to fund a breakthrough drug that essentially takes the symptoms and the death sentence away from most children with CF. The majority can lead a perfectly normal life. A friend, who had a much larger role, told me, “We’ll never do anything in our lives as important as this.” I suspect he’s right.