CBS News abruptly pulled a “60 Minutes” investigation featuring Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison on Sunday, sparking swift backlash within the newsroom, including from the story’s veteran correspondent.
The canceled segment, yanked at the behest of newly appointed editor in chief Bari Weiss, focused on the notorious El Salvador prison that President Donald Trump has deported immigrants to despite reports of human rights violations within the prison. Several men now released from the prison were featured in the segment describing the conditions they endured within CECOT.
But Weiss nixed the segment just hours before it was set to air after calling for multiple additions, according to The New York Times, including an interview with top Trump adviser Stephen Miller or another top official in the Trump administration.
CBS said in a statement that the segment will air at a later date, and Weiss defended the decision to hold the segment in a statement to POLITICO.
“My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be,” Weiss said. “Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason — that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices — happens every day in every newsroom. I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”
But Sharyn Alfonsi, the veteran correspondent on the story, condemned Weiss’ decision.
In an email obtained by The New York Times and later shared on social media by Times reporter Michael M. Grynbaum, Alfonsi told her CBS colleagues that reporters on the segment had requested comment from the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department. She added that the segment had also already undergone a rigorous review and fact-checking process.
To pull the story so close to airtime, Alfonsi said, is “not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”
“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO,” Alfonsi wrote. “Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story.”
She continued, “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 convenient.”
Alfonsi added that if CBS’ new standard for airing a segment requires government interviews, then the government “effectively gains control over the ’60 Minutes’ broadcast.”
“We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it,” Alfonsi wrote. “When it airs without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of ‘Gold Standard’ reputation for a single week of political quiet.”
During an editorial call on Monday, Weiss spoke of “trust” between members of the newsroom and the public.
“The only newsroom I’m interested in running is one in which we are able to have contentious disagreements about the thorniest editorial matters with respect, and, crucially, where we assume the best intent of our colleagues. Anything else is absolutely unacceptable,” Weiss said on the call. CBS confirmed Weiss’ comments to staff.
She also reiterated that she held “Inside CECOT” because “it was not ready.”
“While the story presented powerful testimony of torture at CECOT, it did not advance the ball — the Times and other outlets have previously done similar work,” said Weiss. “The public knows that Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment at this prison. To run a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more. And this is ’60 Minutes.’ We need to be able to get the principals on the record and on camera.”
The viewers, Weiss added “come first.”
“That’s my north star and I hope it’s yours, too,” she said.
The cancellation of “Inside CECOT” is the latest in a string of controversial moves made by the media giant this year.
In July, CBS announced a $16 million settlement with Trump, who sued the company as a private citizen following his own appearance on “60 Minutes.” It was after that settlement that the Trump administration approved Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of CBS.
Weiss, founder of The Free Press, was appointed as editor in chief by Paramount owner David Ellison in October to overhaul the newsroom.
Trump has continued to express his displeasure with CBS, but that hasn’t stopped Ellison from courting the administration’s favor as he seeks to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
