The “60 Minutes” story on the El Salvador jail that led to a rocky begin for CBS Information Editor in Chief Bari Weiss made it to air Sunday.
The section, “Inside CECOT,” detailed the Trump administration’s remedy of lots of of Venezuelan migrants who have been deported to an El Salvador jail recognized for its harsh circumstances. The story was scheduled to run Dec. 21 however was pulled the day earlier than air by Weiss who believed it wanted further reporting, together with a extra strong response from the White Home.
Sharyn Alfonsi, the “60 Minutes” correspondent who labored for months on the piece, protested the transfer by Weiss, calling it politically motivated in an e mail she despatched to colleagues.
The appointment of Weiss, made in October by Paramount Chief Government David Ellison, is seen by many CBS Information insiders as a transfer to placate the Trump administration. The corporate needs a easy regulatory path because it pursues the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Pulling a “60 Minutes” section essential of the administration after it had already been promoted solely intensified that notion.
CBS Information maintained that the story would ultimately run.
“CBS Information management has at all times been dedicated to airing the 60 MINUTES CECOT piece as quickly because it was prepared,” the community mentioned in an announcement. “Tonight, viewers get to see it, together with different necessary tales, all of which communicate to CBS Information’ independence and the facility of our storytelling.”
Weiss insisted Alfonsi’s story wanted extra reporting and remarks from a speaking head from the White Home. The model of the section that aired Sunday has three and a half minutes of further data however no new interviews.
The White Home did present statements, which have been learn by Alfonsi on the prime and finish of the section. Information on the variety of criminals apprehended by ICE was added to the story.
This system additionally revealed that one of many prisoners who described the abuse inside CECOT to Alfonsi had a swastika and three sixes tattoos on his physique, that are related to the Aryan Brotherhood, a gang of white supremacists.
The administration has used tattoos as a way to find out if an undocumented migrant is a gang member. The interview topic denied that he belonged to a gang and mentioned he had no data of what the tattoos represented.
The choice to drag the CECOT piece turned a serious media business story. Weiss initially performed down its significance saying it was a “sluggish information week.” But it surely was broadly believed contained in the information division that Weiss’ transfer was a serious snafu that mirrored her lack of expertise as a TV information govt and consciousness of the fishbowl nature of an business the place each motion is scrutinized.
Individuals near Weiss say she since acknowledged she was not acquainted with the method the place the contents of a information program are distributed for promotional functions and on-screen TV listings forward of airtime. Weiss has additionally instructed colleagues she ought to have been concerned earlier within the screening and vetting course of for Alfonsi’s story. She didn’t see it till the Thursday earlier than the Dec. 21 “60 Minutes” air date.
Trump has lengthy criticized “60 Minutes,” usually accusing this system of treating him unfairly. He extracted a $16 million settlement from CBS Information after he sued over an interview together with his opponent within the 2024 presidential race, Kamala Harris.
Trump claimed this system was deceptively edited to assist Harris’ election efforts. Whereas CBS Information would have seemingly prevailed in court docket, the corporate made the fee to clear the best way for Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media.
Weiss joined CBS Information after Paramount acquired her digital information web site the Free Press, which gained a following with its sharp critiques of leftist insurance policies. Her first main transfer on the community was to supply a prime-time city corridor for Erika Kirk, the widow of slain right-wing activist Charile Kirk.
Weiss has additionally overseen the so-far inauspicious revamp of “CBS Night Information” with its new anchor Tony Dokoupil. The early days of this system had technical glitches and was criticized for protection that was too pleasant to the Trump administration. One longtime senior producer, Javier Guzman, was fired after repeatedly expressing his disagreements with the path of this system.
This system has had numerous embarrassing moments together with President Trump telling Dokoupil that he wouldn’t have gotten the anchor job if Harris had gained the 2024 presidential race.
