Barry Weiss spoke to CBS News staff on Monday after “60 Minutes” pulled a segment about Venezuelans being deported by the Trump administration. The editor-in-chief called the story “not ready” and said it failed to “move forward,” TheWrap learned from a person who attended the meeting.
“I ran a ’60 Minutes’ story because it wasn’t ready,” Weiss said. “While this report provided compelling evidence of torture at CECOT, it did not advance — The Times and other outlets have done similar work before. The public knows that Venezuelans are being treated horribly at this prison. To publish a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more.”
Weiss also said news programs need to “document and film” key interview subjects. EIC later added that “60 Minutes” viewers come first, not the show’s schedule.
“That’s my North Star, and I hope it’s yours, too,” she said.
An episode of “Inside CECOT” promises an inside look at the “cruel and torturous conditions” inside El Salvador’s giant prison known as the “Terrorist Incarceration Center,” where the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants. The episode was scheduled to premiere Sunday night on CBS, but was suddenly canceled. The schedule change occurred about two hours before the episode aired.
So far, the parts being pulled have attracted a lot of attention. Although CBS told TheWrap the story was pulled due to the need for additional reporting, reporter Sharyn Alfonsi disputed that account and called the retraction “political” in a leaked memo. She also revealed that the clip had been reviewed by CBS lawyers and the network’s standards and practices department. Weiss watched the film on Friday, and he ultimately decided to keep the story.
“If the criterion for airing a story is ‘the government must agree to be interviewed,’ then the government effectively gains control of ’60 Minutes’ broadcasts. We go from an investigative powerhouse to the nation’s stenographer,” Alfonsi wrote.
CBS’s decision to pull the story sparked immediate outrage from many in the media, including veteran reporter Bill Carter. Many also pointed to the questionable timing of a story critical of the Trump administration. Last week, Trump said on the website Truth Social that he does not have a close relationship with Paramount Skydance, the new parent company of CBS. He went on to write: “Please understand that ’60 Minutes’ has treated me much worse than they have ever treated me since the so-called ‘takeover.’ I hate to see my enemies if they are friends.”
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