"Newsroom culture clash" at CBS News

[TheRob]

The clash escalated.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/21/media/60-minutes-cecot-bari-weiss-cbs-sharyn-alfonsi

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Here's the full text of Sharyn Alfonsi's memo about corporate censorship and a "betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism":

News Team,

Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier.

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.

Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. 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.

We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story.

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.

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.

These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.

CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones.

We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it. 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.

Sharyn

 

[only1moore]

Yes, it appears that the story got shelved without explanation. At this rate one has to wonder if CBS will try to pull more stunts like this one.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

There won’t be any stunts left to pull once they effectively neuter the 60 Minutes staff.

 

[TheBigA]

Bari Weiss responds:

“My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be. 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,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”

CBS abruptly pulls ‘60 Minutes’ segment on deportees in El Salvador’s CECOT prison as correspondent blasts Bari Weiss

“The broadcast lineup for tonight’s edition of 60 Minutes has been updated. Our report ‘Inside CECOT’ will air in a future broadcast,” the network said.

nypost.com

CBS responds to pulling ‘60 Minutes’ episode as Bari Weiss under pressure

CBS said it pulled its '60 Minutes' report on the CECOT prison in El Salvador because it needed "additional reporting."

www.newsweek.com

Her job is editor. My question is: At what time was she brought in on this story? If the story had passed through legal and S&P (which I thought had been eliminated), was she also involved? Or did the reporter not include Weiss in the editorial process? I have more questions, and I assume this will be brought up at the white house briefing today. Given the attention it's getting, there will be more "context" for the story this week.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

There is zero “context” that makes spiking a thoroughly researched and vetted story at the last minute. If she’s going to start micromanaging every story because the facts might offend the regime, they are not a news organization. They’re an arm of said regime.

 

[Don CT]

This story will get more attention now than if it was allowed to air

 

[TheBigA]

Bari Weiss had a call with show staff this morning where she elaborated on her decision:

Bari Weiss Reportedly Explains to CBS News Staff in Private Call Why She Killed 60 Minutes Segment: ‘Did Not Advance the Ball’

Weiss reportedly panned the report for producing nothing new and merely recycling the reporting pushed by the NY Times and others just “two months later.”

www.mediaite.com

Bari Weiss Tells CBS News Staffers Pulled ‘60 Minutes’ Piece Needed To “Do More,” Cites Need To Get Principals “On The Record And On Camera”

Weiss said that the segment, about Trump deportations to a harsh prison in El Salvador, needed to get principals on camera.

deadline.com

“I want to say something about trust: our trust for each other and our trust with the public,” Weiss said on the call. “The only newsroom I’m interested in running is one where we can have contentious disagreements about the thorniest editorial matters with respect. Crucially, it must be a place where we assume the best intent of our colleagues. Anything else is absolutely unacceptable.”

Weiss continued to defend her position via the call saying, “I held a 60 Minutes story 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. 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. Our viewers come first. Not the listing schedule or anything else. That’s my north star and I hope it’s yours, too.”

Personally I don't have a problem with anything she's saying. Anytime you have a change in management, there will be these kinds of disputes. I've certainly engaged in a few myself. I've seen pieces on 60 Minutes where I felt I still had unanswered questions. In other words, it felt incomplete. That sounds like the problem here. If the producers couldn't get a response from the white house, maybe Bari can. Stephen Miller seems like he's very willing to talk on these issues. There's been an ongoing thing between him and CNN.

CNN Blows Up Stephen Miller’s Claim He’s Banned From Network

The network said it would welcome the top White House aide “as the news warrants.”

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[Don CT]

Bari Weiss had a call with show staff this morning where she elaborated on her decision:

Bari Weiss Reportedly Explains to CBS News Staff in Private Call Why She Killed 60 Minutes Segment: ‘Did Not Advance the Ball’

Weiss reportedly panned the report for producing nothing new and merely recycling the reporting pushed by the NY Times and others just “two months later.”

www.mediaite.com

Bari Weiss Tells CBS News Staffers Pulled ‘60 Minutes’ Piece Needed To “Do More,” Cites Need To Get Principals “On The Record And On Camera”

Weiss said that the segment, about Trump deportations to a harsh prison in El Salvador, needed to get principals on camera.

deadline.com

Personally I don't have a problem with anything she's saying. Anytime you have a change in management, there will be these kinds of disputes. I've certainly engaged in a few myself. I've seen pieces on 60 Minutes where I felt I still had unanswered questions. In other words, it felt incomplete. That sounds like the problem here. If the producers couldn't get a response from the white house, maybe Bari can. Stephen Miller seems like he's very willing to talk on these issues. There's been an ongoing thing between him and CNN.

CNN Blows Up Stephen Miller’s Claim He’s Banned From Network

The network said it would welcome the top White House aide “as the news warrants.”

www.thedailybeast.com

So why did she wait until the last minute to pull it. Do it 2 weeks ago.

 

[TheBigA]

So why did she wait until the last minute to pull it. Do it 2 weeks ago.

As I asked in my previous post, was she involved in the editorial process as the piece was being written or brought in at the last minute? When was the white house asked for comment? At the last minute? There's a thing about giving ample time for response, or simply saying they were given a chance. There's a lot about this we don't know. But now that it's public, we'll get a lot more information, and it'll be a more complete piece.

 

[michael hagerty]

Her job is editor. My question is: At what time was she brought in on this story? If the story had passed through legal and S&P (which I thought had been eliminated), was she also involved? Or did the reporter not include Weiss in the editorial process? I have more questions, and I assume this will be brought up at the white house briefing today. Given the attention it's getting, there will be more "context" for the story this week.

Editor-in-Chief. Really VP of News, but the EIC title breaks down a wall between top brass and the news in advance.

EICs aren't usually involved on a granular level, but they can get involved and they get to win any argument.

This is exactly why Bari Weiss is there---to run interference (adding for clarity---run interference for the White House and conservative viewpoints). It's what I said the day they announced her hiring.

 

[TheBigA]

Editor-in-Chief. Really VP of News, but the EIC title breaks down a wall between top brass and the news in advance.

EICs aren't usually involved on a granular level, but they can get involved and they get to win any argument.

This is a great explanation, and perhaps the staff isn't used to having this level of management. What I noticed is that all of the corporate CBS people are all deferring all questions to Bari. And she's been very accessible for comment. This is what she signed up for. She talked about it in her call, talking about "trust for each other." That doesn't appear to exist right now. So she has a lot of personal work to do. To me, she has to show how her involvement make the piece better. That's how she earns trust of her staff.

 

[michael hagerty]

This is a great explanation, and perhaps the staff isn't used to having this level of management. What I noticed is that all of the corporate CBS people are all deferring all questions to Bari. And she's been very accessible for comment. This is what she signed up for. She talked about it in her call, talking about "trust for each other." That doesn't appear to exist right now. So she has a lot of personal work to do. To me, she has to show how her involvement make the piece better. That's how she earns trust of her staff.

This is long, but Brian Stelter's "Reliable Sources" newsletter this morning has a pretty good timeline:

Alfonsi's story, "INSIDE CECOT," was many weeks in the making. Two of my best sources inside CBS News says Weiss first screened the segment on Thursday night. The LAT's Stephen Battaglio has the same reporting: "Weiss viewed the segment late Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter." Weiss had some notes, but the story moved forward. In total, the story "was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices," Alfonsi wrote in her memo. "It is factually correct." At "60," segments are usually screened several times before air, but five screenings is an unusually high number, I'm told. Come Friday, the staff thought the story was good to go. Alfonsi taped her intro. Executive producer Tanya Simon gave CBS News PR the OK to publicize the segment. That's one of the great things about "60 Minutes": The stories are announced in advance, usually on Fridays, for promotional purposes. And that's why the next part is so baffling. On Saturday morning, Weiss messaged Simon with additional concerns about the story, two CBS sources told me. One of the main issues was the lack of a response from the Trump admin to the reporting. She also "took issue with the phrasing of 'migrant detainees,'" one of the sources said. Again, it's her prerogative. But everyone at CBS News knows how "60 Minutes" works: How the pieces are screened, when the PR listings are sent out, what the processes are like. Alfonsi, I'm told, had already flown home to Texas by the time Weiss blew everything up. Alfonsi told colleagues that she "learned on Saturday" that Weiss "spiked our story." Alfonsi and producer Oriana Zill de Granados "asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity." My sense is that the change wasn't finalized until Sunday. A planned segment by Jon Wertheim was slotted into Alfonsi's place. Then CBS PR shared the revised plan and said, "Our report 'Inside CECOT' will air in a future broadcast." Newsroom staffers who hadn't already heard about the turmoil were astonished — even more so after Alfonsi's memo made the rounds. Her account sounded like the shattering moment that staffers have feared all year...

Timing is everything, part two

Weiss pushed back on Alfonsi's memo late Sunday night by saying, "My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be. 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." It's unclear when that will be. But it means Weiss is at odds with her own producers and editors in a very visceral way. "People are threatening to quit over this," one of the CBS sources told me. On this morning's 9 a.m. editorial call, Weiss seemed frustrated about the leaking. "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," she said, according to CBS. "I held a 60 Minutes story because it was not ready," she continued. "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. 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." In other words, Weiss confirmed her insistence on adding Stephen Miller or another Trump admin voice to the story. But Alfonsi's team did ask for comment, and "their refusal to be interviewed" was "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."

 

[Don CT]

This is long, but Brian Stelter's "Reliable Sources" newsletter this morning has a pretty good timeline:

It’s not a good look for the news division and it really hurts their already shattered credibility. Journalists, especially on 60 Minutes need the ability to report the facts not be stonewalled by the president.

 

[TheBigA]

This is long, but Brian Stelter's "Reliable Sources" newsletter this morning has a pretty good timeline:

I always like Brian's reporting. It didn't say when the ask was made to the white house for comment. At no time has anyone "killed" this story. I disagree that this is giving the white house a kill switch. I think any time you put Stephen Miller on the air helps people decide how they really feel about this administration. He has a lot more to do with what's happening than the president. Make him the face of this government, not the president.

All the other information about people threatening to quit seems fairly normal to me. Once again, this happens any time there's a big change in management. The thing about 60 Minutes is that management was very stable for a long time. So this is their first time getting pushback. I bet it won't be the last.

 

[Don CT]

I always like Brian's reporting. At no time has anyone "killed" this story. I disagree that this is giving the white house a kill switch. I think any time you put Stephen Miller on the air helps people decide how they really feel about this administration. He has a lot more to do with what's happening than the president. Make him the face of this government, not the president.

This story will never air, “a later date” is just placeholder for everyone will forget about it in a few weeks.

 

[TheBigA]

This story will never air, “a later date” is just placeholder for everyone will forget about it in a few weeks.

News people don't forget.

 

[Don CT]

News people don't forget.

The general public does.

There will be a new shiny object in the news cycle in a few days to reset things.

 

[TheBigA]

The general public does.

They have lots of choices. They also vote. They need to see how their vote is affecting their information. An educated consumer is our best customer.

Weiss may be upset that this is public, and I don't blame her. But I think it's good for the public to be involved and not think everything is fine.

As people read all this, don't just blame the media, because as the reporting shows, this is an internal battle. There are a lot of different views being expressed.

 

[radiofan2023]

When a massive amount of people start canceling their Paramount+ subscriptions over it, the segment will run.