Scott MacFarlane is an American journalist who works for CBS News as an investigative reporter and Congressional correspondent. He previously worked at Cox-TV and later as investigative reporter at WRC-TV, a local NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C.
Since 2021, MacFarlane has covered Congress, politics and federal criminal cases for CBS News. MacFarlane was the CBS correspondent who reported on the assassination attempt of Donald Trump on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. His reporting detailed how he and others at the rally sought cover beneath press scaffolding.
MacFarlane has been an in-studio correspondent for the network’s coverage of election nights and breaking news. He has covered State of the Union addresses, the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Trump legal cases and Congressional leadership races.
He is a regular contributor to CBS radio affiliates and CBS Television stations, including WCBS in New York.
MacFarlane's career began as a reporter at WTVH-TV in Syracuse, New York. He also worked at WKIP-AM in Poughkeepsie, WSYR-AM and WYYY-FM radio in Syracuse, WWMT-TV in Michigan and at WKBD/WWJ-TV in Detroit.[8]
He previously worked in D.C. as a correspondent at Cox-TV, a contributor for Sirius XM radio and WRC-TV, a local NBC affiliate. He worked at WRC-TV for 8 years, interviewing U.S. presidents, dozens of U.S. senators, governors and public officials.[9] He joined Cox media in 2005.[4] He was named congressional correspondent for CBS News in December 2021.[10][11]
MacFarlane has prominently covered the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by interviewing several defendants and members of the House committee investigating the attack.[12][1][13]
In 2017, MacFarlane produced a full length documentary titled "The Miracle Microphone: The Impossible History and History Makers of WAER Radio" chronicling the 70-year history of WAER-FM on Syracuse University campus.[7] The documentary won New York state AP Press Association award in 2019.[14][15][16]
In 2001, MacFarlane earned the Wade H. McCree award for excellence in reporting on the justice system while working at the
WKBD/WWJ-TV in Detroit.[17] In 1999, he won first place in the national William Randolph Hearst Broadcast News Competition.[8]
He was inducted to the WJPZ Hall of Fame and the WAER Hall of Fame in 2017.[18]
Personal life
Macfarlane is married to Lisa, who he met on the first day of college at Syracuse.[8] The couple has two sons.[9]