Scott MacFarlane

Scott MacFarlane is an American investigative journalist and broadcaster who is chief Washington correspondent and anchor at MeidasTouch. He worked previously for CBS News as a justice correspondent and at NBC Washington as an investigative reporter.

MacFarlane is based in Washington, D.C. and his reports appeared on all platforms, including CBS Mornings, the CBS Evening News, CBS Saturday Morning, Face the Nation, CBS News 24/7, CBS Radio and in daily reports with major CBS TV and radio affiliates.

He previously worked as an investigative reporter at WRC-TV, a local NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C. Prior to that he was a Congressional correspondent for the Cox-TV network.

MacFarlane emerged on the national scene during his coverage of the prosecutions following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Early life and education MacFarlane grew up in Highland, New York, near Poughkeepsie In a 2023 CBS Mornings report about high school academic challenge competitions, a high school-era clip of MacFarlane from Highland, New York, was spotlighted.

MacFarlane graduated summa cum laude from Syracuse University’s S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1998. He majored in broadcast journalism and political philosophy. During his undergraduate years, he worked at WJPZ and WAER FM stations on campus. MacFarlane was later named to both of their radio Halls of Fame.

MacFarlane was a regular contributor to CBS radio affiliates and CBS Television stations, including WCBS-TV in New York, KYW (AM) radio in Philadelphia, WTOP-FM radio in Washington, WTMJ (AM) radio in Milwaukee, WJZ-TV in Baltimore and KNX (AM) radio in Los Angeles.

MacFarlane's career began as a reporter at WTVH-TV in Syracuse, New York. He also worked at WKIP in Poughkeepsie, WSYR (AM) and WYYY radio in Syracuse, WWMT in Michigan and at WKBD/WWJ-TV in Detroit.

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 eight years, focusing on several investigations into veterans' healthcare and school safety, which led to new state laws in Virginia and Maryland. He joined Cox media in 2005.

MacFarlane has prominently covered the aftermath of the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack, reporting on more than 1,500 criminal cases from the attack.

In a 2023 special report on CBS News, McFarlane broke the news of federal criminal charges against Donald Trump regarding the 2020 presidential election.

At WRC-TV in 2020, he founded and produced a news program for children called "News 4 Kids".

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. The documentary won New York state AP Press Association award in 2019.

McFarlane worked at WKIP and WRNQ radio in Poughkeepsie, NY while in high school. He was also an R&B disc jockey at WJPZ radio in Syracuse.

On March 9, 2026, MacFarlane said that he would leave CBS voluntarily amidst a shakeup following the sale of the network to Skydance and the installation of Bari Weiss as head of CBS News. Two weeks later he became the Chief Washington Correspondent and anchor for the MeidasTouch Network. He stated that the move allowed him a platform for "independent, unfiltered reporting" without the constraints of traditional television production. He is slated to host his own program, Scott MacFarlane Reports, focusing on the intersection of politics, law, and democracy.

Recognition MacFarlane has won over 20 regional Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Awards. In 1999, he won first place in the national William Randolph Hearst Broadcast News Competition.

Personal life MacFarlane is married to Lisa, whom he met on the first day of college at Syracuse. The couple has two sons.