CBS News editor Bari Weiss defended her decision to pull a controversial “60 Minutes” segment about El Salvador’s prisons, telling staffers on Monday that the segment “wasn’t ready” and needed more coverage — rebutting accusations that the last-minute move was politically motivated.
Weiss addressed the backlash on a network-wide editorial call, saying she hosted the show because “we just need to do more,” according to recordings reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Bari Weiss became editor-in-chief of CBS News in October. Getty images for Uber, X and Free Press
“I withheld a ’60 Minutes’ story, and I withheld the story because it wasn’t ready,” Weiss told the CBS News crew on Monday. When contacted by The Washington Post, CBS News confirmed the accuracy of the Journal report.
Prisoners in their cells at El Salvador’s notorious Secote prison. AFP via Getty Images
Weiss said the story “has been picked up by people like [New York] To this day, the public knows that Venezuelans were treated horribly in this prison. So to publish a story on this topic two months from now, we just have to do a little more. “
A prison agent guards inmates at CECOT. via Reuters
She said the only newsroom she wanted to run was one where editors could raise “controversial disagreements” while assuming their colleagues’ “best intentions” — a veiled criticism of “60 Minutes” reporter Sharyn Alfonsi.
“The only newsroom I’m interested in running is one where we are able to disagree controversially on the toughest editorial issues, and where we are able to do so in a respectful manner and, most importantly, where we assume the best intentions of our colleagues,” Weiss said on an editorial call Monday.
Gang members wait to be taken to cells at CECOT on February 24, 2023. Image source: Reuters
Alfonsi blasted the decision in an email to senior reporters on Sunday, writing that she had learned just a day earlier that Weiss had “sharply targeted our story” and believed the move was political, not editorial.
The heavily promoted segment was originally scheduled to air on Sunday, but CBS abruptly pulled it three hours before it aired — an unusually late programming change that sparked internal turmoil, The New York Times reported.
“60 Minutes” reporter Sharyn Alfonsi criticized the network’s decision to cancel CECOT. Facebook/Charlene Alfonsi
“Our story was screened five times and endorsed by CBS lawyers and the Standards and Practices Department,” Alfonsi wrote, according to the Times.
“Withdrawing it now…is not an editorial decision, it is a political decision.”
Weiss first reviewed the segment on Thursday and requested multiple changes in the following days, including asking producers to seek a new interview with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller or another senior Trump administration official, the Times reported.
Weiss also expressed concern about referring to deported Venezuelans as “immigrants,” people familiar with the matter told The Times, noting that they entered the United States illegally.
Alfonsi countered internally that her team had sought comment from the White House, State Department and Department of Homeland Security, and warned that allowing the administration to delay reporting by refusing to participate would put a “kill switch” on reporting for officials, the Times reported.
CBS said the segment will air at a later date.
A guard presses a weapon to the back of a CECOT prisoner. Reuters
Weiss rejected Alfonsi’s characterization during a morning conference call Monday, saying the Times and other outlets had already reported on conditions at the jail and that airing a similar story months later would require additional coverage, including “making every effort” to get the principals responsible on the record and on camera.
“To me, our audience comes first, not the launch schedule or anything else,” Weiss said Monday.
“That’s my North Star and I hope it’s everyone’s North Star in this newsroom.”
The Washington Post has sought comment from the White House and CBS.
