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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - CBS journalist Scott Pelley will leave the evening news anchor chair and work full-time on news magazine “60 Minutes,” the network said in a statement on Wednesday.

Anthony Mason will serve as interim anchor of “CBS Evening News” beginning in the coming weeks, the statement said.

Pelley has anchored the evening news broadcast for six years while also working as a correspondent for “60 Minutes,” which he joined in 2004. Both programs are broadcast on the CBS network, a unit of CBS Corp.

“CBS has been great to me for nearly 30 years,” Pelley said in a statement. “I’m glad to accept this assignment with continuing gratitude.”

“60 Minutes,” the highest-rated television news magazine, will start its 50th season this fall. The milestone season for the program “requires Scott’s full contribution,” CBS President David Rhodes said.