Scott Pelley shines in every newscast and by shines I mean he glistens and by glistens I mean he
makes the listener respect him and let's face it, that is the ultimate goal of shining and
glistening. Among his cohorts he has a similar affect. We believe what he says, though we know the
tricks he uses to say it. We also know he is worth upward of fifteen million dollars but we never
let that get into the conversation. Sure I mentioned it here but this is not a conversation. This
is a speech, me speaking to you without you speaking back. And that is what Scott Pelley does in
broadcast news. Sure, he engages in conversations when interviewing newsworthy figures but let's
face it, he is always better dressed than any of them. And isn't that the way it should be? Few
of us can dress that well or even look that well in clothing of that ilk. I admit it about me so
you should admit it about you, too.
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Something amazing to me is that Scott Pelley was born in San Antonio. That's right, Texas. He was
smitten by journalism is Texas and followed through with a job at K-S-E-L TV, even though, unlike
all other Texan broadcasters, Scott Pelley looked great in buckskin and with a holster and colt
forty-five. He was a sterling cowboy type that could have gone on to playing lead roles in cowboy
movies, maybe remakes of the great old westerns. But he donned a suit and looked sterling in
another way, in a news broadcast way.
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That was over thirty years ago and most of those years Scott Pelley spent with CBS. What does that
tell you? What does that tell me? What does that mean for any young up-and-coming journalist? It
means Scott Pelley was so good and so special that he was hurled into the big time. It also says
that CBS can pick 'em.
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I could talk for hours about how important an influence Scott Pelley is to me but CBS won't let me.
They say hours are just too long to stand here because, for one, dessert must be served. So let me
put all of my feelings into one incident.
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A while back I became despondent about my broadcasting career. So much so, that I felt unless I was
as good as Scott Pelley I would kill myself. Well, we all know I could never be as good as Scott
Pelley and we all know I didn't kill myself. And you all know how I feel because right about now
you all want to kill yourselves rather than listen to me one more minute. That is the power of
Scott Pelley.
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Thank you and goodnight.
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Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You
can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.
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