Trump lackey owners trade their integrity to obtain favorable acquisition deal
Sharyn Alfonsi’s time as a “60 Minutes” correspondent is done after she reportedly butted heads with executives when CBS News pulled her story on the notorious CECOT prison.
The message could not be clearer: my time at 60 Minutes is apparently over,” Alfonsi said in a statement obtained by Puck News.
“Over the weekend, my contract with CBS News expired, drawing to a close nearly twenty years with the network, including more than a decade at 60 Minutes,” she wrote.
Alfonsi said that her representative was met with “absolute silence” from network executives when it came time to renew her contract just six months after an “intense editorial dispute” over a story she produced detailing how U.S. immigration officials sent over 200 Venezuelan men to a prison in El Salvador without due process.
During their time at the prison, many of the men experienced some kind of physical, mental, or even sexual abuse, and some of them shared their stories with Daily Kos.
In a December email sent to colleagues, the seasoned journalist called out the “political” decision by CBS News chief Bari Weiss to pull the piece right before it was set to air.
Many journalists and “60 Minutes” alums told Daily Kos at the time that Weiss’ reasoning—in which she claimed the report wasn’t ready and was missing key interviews—lacked some crucial context
Namely, they said that any editorial content goes through multiple checks and Weiss has the opportunity to interject before reaching the final air date.
The piece accidentally aired in Canada and quickly circulated online, with the final version—including comments from the Trump administration—airing a month later.
But the state of “60 Minutes,” a show that has historically operated independently from the CBS network, is shaky.
“The wall between editorial independence and corporate interest at CBS is being methodically torn down,” Alfonsi continued in her statement. “Journalists willing to challenge authority are being pushed aside in favor of those who will not. If this continues, the result will be a broadcast that looks like 60 Minutes but lacks the courage and character to produce journalism that matters.”
A source close to “60 Minutes” previously confirmed this to Daily Kos, explaining that employees—who are navigating an already unsteady journalism job market—are now afraid to speak out.
The December dustup was followed by a big shakeup at CBS News
Related | CBS journalists are terrified of MAGA-friendly management
Weiss has conducted multiple rounds of layoffs while shutting down CBS News Radio and “World News Roundup,” one of the longest-running news shows.
Journalists who disagreed with the moves left the network and were replaced with heavily scrutinized talent. Others, who quietly disagreed, were offered buyout packages by Weiss.
Journalists who remain at CBS have received a clear message about who is in control.
“This was not a routine corporate transition; it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually accurate reporting, and it sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom,” Alfonsi wrote.
“I’ve learned exactly what it costs to hold the line right now. Hold it anyway,” she said to those still at the network. “Viewers and the people who trust us with their stories deserve nothing less.”
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