Scott Pelley is out as lead anchor of "CBS Evening News," Page Six reported on Tuesday evening.
Pelley's office was cleared out on Tuesday while he was on assignment for "60 Minutes," the longtime CBS Sunday night newsmagazine, according to the New York Post gossip section's sources.
Pelley, who took over the anchor position from a struggling Katie Couric in 2011, will reportedly move permanently to "60 Minutes," and no replacement for him at the flagship nightly newscast has been named:
Insiders tell us that CBS News president David Rhodes "is making [Pelley] move to ‘60 Minutes,’ " and that the pair "don’t get on."
Another TV insider said while Pelley’s ratings have been down, "There’s also been friction between him and [Rhodes]."
Added a source, "[Pelley] was pushed out of the ‘Evening News.’ It’s been coming for a long time. This could have been handled better — [Pelley] is away on a story, and they’re cleaning out his office. It’s not the correct way to treat the face of CBS news."
No replacement has yet been named, but CBS has a deep bench of anchors who can fill in.
Sources say there was confusion on Tuesday among staff at CBS’s Hell’s Kitchen headquarters as workers began dismantling the office of Pelley — dubbed ‘Poison Pelley’ by Page Six after he yelled at a reporter in 2013, "You wouldn’t last 10 seconds at CBS News!"
Others insist Pelley is moving to the "60 Minutes" offices.
Pelley hasn't anchored the newscast since Thursday. Anthony Mason filled in for him on Friday, and Jeff Glor substituted for him on Monday and Tuesday.