Journalist Sharyn Alfonsi has called out CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss for pulling a report that was set to air on Sunday’s (December 21) 60 Minutes in what Alfonsi referred to as a “political” decision.
The 60 Minutes correspondent sent an internal memo to the CBS News team on Sunday, claiming Weiss abruptly yanked her report on the El Salvador mega-prison CECOT, focusing on men deported to the infamous facility under President Donald Trump‘s administration.
“I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity,” Alfonsi wrote in the memo, first shared by The Wall Street Journal.
Alfonsi noted that the story was “factually correct,” “screened five times,” and “cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices.”
“In my view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one,” she added.
According to Mediaite, Weiss pulled the report due to a lack of an on-camera response from the Trump administration. “My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be,” she said in a statement, noting that holding stories lacking “critical voices” was standard practice.
Alfonsi countered Weiss’ argument by claiming she had repeatedly sought comment from the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department and had received no response.
“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story,” she wrote in the memo. “If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a “kill switch” for any reporting they find inconvenient.”
She continued, “If the standard for airing a story becomes “the government must agree to be interviewed,” then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state.”
Back in July, Trump settled his lawsuit with Paramount for $16 million, and a month later, CBS’ parent company merged with Skydance Media. Paramount CEO David Ellison selected Weiss as the editor-in-chief of CBS News in October, and Trump previously praised her when he appeared on 60 Minutes in November.
“I think you have a great new leader, frankly, because the young woman that’s leading your whole enterprise is a great, from what I know. I don’t know her, but I hear she’s a great person,” Trump said in his sit-down interview with Norah O’Donnell.
However, the President might have had a change of heart last week, when he took to Truth Social to claim 60 Minutes has been treating him worse than ever.
“For those people that think I am close with the new owners of CBS, please understand that 60 Minutes has treated me far worse since the so-called ‘takeover,’ than they have ever treated me before,” he wrote. “If they are friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!”
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