Three hours before Sunday’s “60 Minutes” broadcast, CBS took the rare, last-minute step of removing a segment on Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration to what was described as a “brutal” El Salvadoran prison, leading to criticism from “60 Minutes” journalists.
“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” wrote “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who reported the story, in an email to CBS colleagues. “It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now — after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”
The decision to pull the report came from Squirrel Hill native Bari Weiss. The newly appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News said Alfonsi’s piece “needed additional reporting,” per The New York Times. CBS News said the report would air at a later date.
“My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be,” Weiss said in a statement. “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.”
Weiss reportedly asked for the addition of new material, including an interview with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, architect of the administration’s immigration crackdown (Weiss provided Miller’s contact information to “60 Minutes” staffers), and she questioned the use of the word “migrant” to describe the Venezuelan men who were deported, noting they were in the U.S. illegally, The New York Times reported.
Trade publication Variety reported that on an editorial call with CBS News staff Monday morning, Weiss said she held the “60 Minutes” piece because “powerful testimony of abuse” at the Venezuelan prison had been reported elsewhere.
“To run a story on this subject, two months later, we simply need to do more,” Weiss said. “And this is ‘60 Minutes.’ We need to be able to make every effort to get the principals on the record and on camera.”
Weiss continued, saying, “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.”
Alfonsi wrote in her email to colleagues that her reporting team previously requested comment from the White House, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO,” Alfonsi wrote in her email to colleagues. “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.”
Because the story was promoted on social media for days, Alfonsi wrote, “When it fails to air 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. I care too much about this broadcast to watch it be dismantled without a fight.”
In a social media post to X on Sunday, CNN’s Brian Stetler wrote, “People are threatening to quit over this.”
Reporting suggests Weiss first watched the “60 Minutes” report Thursday, offered some notes, and on Friday staffers believed the story was ready for air. On Saturday, Weiss delivered new concerns. But because it was so close to air, the segment had been delivered to Canada’s Global TV network and uploaded on the network’s app. It’s since been removed, but not before someone recorded and posted it online. It’s unclear if what was recorded from the Global TV app is the whole report or a portion of the completed segment.
A former New York Times opinion writer and founder of the online site The Free Press, Weiss has little traditional reporting experience and no broadcast news management background. For some observers, her center-right, anti-woke political views appeared to be a mismatch with CBS News culture from the start.
This “60 Minutes” imbroglio comes at the same time CBS’s new parent company, Skydance, seeks to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, for which it will need government approval. That backdrop makes pulling a “60 Minutes” report critical of the current administration seem calculated to grease the wheels for that hostile takeover bid and comes a week after President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post, said, “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. If they are friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!”
On Monday, Skydance’s Paramount revised its offer for WBD in a way that could sway the WBD board from its initial preferred buyer, Netflix.
The Bari show
Even before the “60 Minutes” dust-up, Weiss’ makeover of CBS News had gotten off to a rocky start. Her sit-down interview with Erika Kirk, widow of the late conservative pundit Charlie Kirk, failed to draw much of an audience on Dec. 13.
Nevertheless, Weiss announced plans for more similar programs under a “Things That Matter” banner, a series of town halls and debates sponsored by Bank of America.
No dates were announced for the 2026 programs, but they will include town halls with Vice President JD Vance, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and debates on “Gen Z and the American Dream” (Isabel Brown and Harry Sisson), “God and Meaning: Does America Need God?” (Ross Douthat and Steven Pinker) and “The Sexual Revolution: Has Feminism Failed Women?” (Liz Plank and Allie Beth Stuckey).
‘Evening News’ visit
Last week, “NBC Nightly News” broadcast from Pittsburgh. Next month, “CBS Evening News” will be in town.
As part of the launch of “CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil,” the new anchor installed by Weiss will embark on a tour of American cities, mostly those with CBS-owned stations, including Pittsburgh.
Dokoupil will broadcast from Pittsburgh on Jan. 16.
Channel surfing
Bowen Yang exited “Saturday Night Live” as a cast member following the Dec. 20 episode, midway through his eighth season on the NBC series. … TVTechnology.com offered a deep dive into the nitty-gritty details that led to the arrangement that now allows WQED-TV, Channel 13, to simulcast on over-the-air Channel 12 in Pittsburgh.
