CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss pulled the 60 Minutes episode on El Salvador’s CECOT prison because it lacked content, specifically comments from the Trump administration.
Why it matters: Her decision has caused uproar internally, with at least one correspondent arguing the call was politically motivated.
- Weiss’ note, sent to top “60 Minutes” brass — including executive producer Tanya Simon and executive editor Draggan Mihailovich — indicates she was trying to get ahead of any confusion or controversy internally, before news about the segment change was made public.
Zoom in: Weiss argued the segment — about Trump administration deportations of Venezuelan immigrants to an El Salvador prison — left out comment and perspective from administration officials, according to a copy of the memo obtained by Axios.
- “At present, we do not present the administration’s argument for why it sent 252 Venezuelans to CECOT,” the memo says.
- “What we have is Karoline Leavitt’s soundbite claiming they are evildoers in America (rapists, murderers, etc.). But isn’t there much more to ask in light of the torture that we are revealing? Tom Homan and Stephen Miller don’t tend to be shy. I realize we’ve emailed the DHS spox, but we need to push much harder to get these principals on the record.”
- On a staff call Monday morning, Weiss continued to defend her decision, arguing the piece wasn’t ready, per a source on the call.
Well, it turns out that the 60 Minutes journalists did receive comments from the White House, State Department, and DHS.
Axios pointed out that the journalists did not include any of those comments and statements as shown in the piece, which aired in the GlobalTV app in Canada.
At the end of the segment, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi said DHS “declined our request for an interview and referred all questions about CECOT to El Salvador.”
Yeah, um, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin gave Alfonsi a 300-word statement.
Alfonsi attempted to stir the pot in a memo to her colleagues, saying, “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.”
Again, Alfonsi had at least McLaughlin’s lengthy statement.
The mess has pushed Weiss to change 60 Minutes’ standards and procedures.
“The masthead is meant to drive a more streamlined hierarchy and set of processes across show and news gathering teams that are intended to prevent disparate editorial procedures and standards,” Axios reported.
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