Column Chronicles
 
Praise for Pelley, a contemporary hero in broadcast news
 
 
Frank Cotolo
February 12, 2015
 
A speaking engagement of mine that raised eyebrows and garnered applause was my speech to the News Department of CBS when it celebrated its own Scott Pelley. Asked to speak at the exclusive dinner last winter, here is the text of my speech.
 
It's not often that I am given to praising any living broadcaster since I believe that most of the great broadcasters are dead, not to mention that a lot of the dead broadcasters were never great, but this time is different because Scott Pelley is great, alive and making the business of news return from a dark place where other living broadcasters dragged it.
 
First off, to shine in a crowded and diluted pool of broadcast news people is difficult because the sheer number of men and women cast upon the news scene is bulky and filled with empty suits and full dresses that leave most of us genuine broadcasters under the impression that broadcast journalism isn't just dead, it is in ashes from sitting in a pyre set by subjective agendas and political slants and commercially driven engines.
 
I'll give you a moment to digest that superlative sentence, one that could only be written by a master journalist and yet not near the talents of Scott Pelley.
 
[PAUSE, EIGHT OR NINE BEATS]
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Thank you and goodnight.
 
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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