The editor-in-chief of CBS News filmed a “60 Minutes” story about the Trump administration's jailing of hundreds of deported Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador. Bari Weiss shortly before it was set to air on Sunday night.
The unusual decision drew sharp criticism from Sharyn Alfonsi, the article's correspondent.
Alfonsi said the decision was motivated by politics, according to an email she sent to colleagues and reviewed by the Times. Alfonsi noted that the story was ready to air after being reviewed by the network's lawyers and Standards and Practices department.
“This is factually correct,” Alfonsi wrote. “In my view, withdrawing it now – after all the rigorous internal checks have been completed – is not an editorial decision, but a political one.”
According to CBS News' description of the episode, Alfonsi spoke with released deportees who described the “brutal and torturous conditions they endured at CECOT,” one of El Salvador's harshest prisons.
In a statement, a CBS News spokesperson said the report, titled “Inside CECOT,” will air on a future “60 Minutes” broadcast. “We have determined that additional reporting is needed,” the spokesperson said.
Weiss viewed the clip late Thursday, according to people familiar with the situation but not authorized to comment publicly. She had a number of problems with the story and asked for additional reporting that could not be prepared for airing on Sunday. A press release promoting the story went out Friday.
Weiss reportedly wanted the story to feature an interview with a Trump administration official.
But Alonsi said in her email that the program “requested responses to questions and/or interviews” from the Department of Homeland Security, the White House and the State Department.
“Government silence is a statement, not a veto,” Alfonsi wrote. “Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to destroy this story.”
Alfonsi's email said she learned the story had been removed on Saturday and that she had not discussed the matter with Weiss.
Even if Weiss' concerns may be valid, the sudden delay of a 60 Minutes story after it had been promoted on air, social media and through TV listings is a major problem for the network.
It's a dangerous situation for Weiss, as her every move as a digital media entrepreneur with no TV experience is scrutinized.
As the founder of a conservative digital news site that was personally recruited by Paramount CEO David Ellison, CBS News journalists and media industry observers are ensuring that Weiss' actions do not shift editorial content to the right.
Before the company was acquired by Skydance Media, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million. to settle Trump's lawsuit, which makes the dubious claim that a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris was fraudulently edited to help her 2024 presidential campaign against him.
Trump recently said “60 Minutes” has gotten “worse” under new owner Paramount following an interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in which she sharply criticized the president and his administration.
Paramount acquired Free Press for $150 million as part of a deal to bring in Weiss. Her first serious step was going on air very nice town hall with Erica Kirk, widow of murdered right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Erica Kirk has taken over as head of Turning Point USA, the political organization founded by her husband.
