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By Jordan King
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CBS has said it pulled its 60 Minutes report on El Salvador's CECOT prison because it needed "additional reporting."
The news broadcaster has faced heat after it removed a link to the "Inside CECOT" segment page before it was scheduled for broadcast on Sunday.
Critics of the move include Sharyn Alfonsi, the 60 Minutes correspondent featured in the segment, who said she believes it was pulled for "political" reasons rather than "editorial."
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It comes amid concerns from progressives that CBS News’ new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, who was appointed in October, would let her political views impact the network.
Weiss, who described herself as "centre left on most things" on a 2019 Joe Rogan podcast, has said that "holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason…happens every day in every newsroom," adding that she "looks forward to "airing this important piece when it’s ready."
Newsweek has contacted CBS News, Weiss and Alfonsi, via email, outside of normal working hours, for comment.
Why It Matters
Weiss, the founder of the Free Press, was appointed CBS News’ editor-in-chief in October, after CBS News’ owner Paramount Skydance struck a deal following its takeover of Paramount and its subsidiaries. Backlash followed, from liberals and progressives who worried about Weiss’ politics. Weiss had left The New York Times in 2020 in her capacity as op-ed writer and editor, claiming she had been "bullied" by liberal colleagues for her more conservative viewpoints.
Critics said Weiss would turn CBS News, one of America’s largest broadcast news outlets, into a "mouthpiece for the Trump administration," as Democratic political commentator Marco Foster said on X. El Salvador's maximum-security prison, CECOT, is a hot political topic because migrants were deported there by the Trump administration.
What To Know
CBS News pulled its 60 Minutes report just hours before it was due to air, the program posting on X: "The broadcast lineup for tonight's edition of 60 Minutes has been updated. Our report 'Inside CECOT' will air in a future broadcast."
A CBS News spokesperson told Reuters that the episode needed "additional reporting and Weiss said in a statement to The New York Times: "My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be. Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason—that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices—happens every day in every newsroom. I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready."
But Alfonsi, who has been at 60 Minutes for nearly 11 years and won multiple awards for her work, sent a private note to CBS colleagues on Sunday, accusing the network of pulling the segment for "political" reasons.
"Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices," Alfonsi wrote in the note, obtained by the NYT.
"It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one."
Weiss saw the episode on Thursday and raised several concerns, asking for new material to be added, the NYT reported, citing "three people familiar with the internal discussions."
These included asking for a new interview with a high-ranking Trump official such as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who has been a major name in the administration’s immigration crackdown, the sources said.
Alfonsi said that she had contacted White House, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
"If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient," Alfonsi added.
What People Are Saying
Sharyn Alfonsi said in her note: "We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of ‘gold standard’ reputation for a single week of political quiet."
"I care too much about this broadcast to watch it be dismantled without a fight."
Last week, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: "For those people that think I am close with the new owners of CBS, please understand that ‘60 Minutes’ has treated me far worse since the so-called ‘takeover,’ than they have ever treated me before. If they are friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!"
Democratic political commentator Marco Foster wrote on X: "This is the now deleted teaser for the 60 Minutes report that was supposed to air tonight on the CECOT torture prison in El Salvador that Donald Trump sent hundreds of migrants to. CBS is officially a mouthpiece for the Trump administration thanks to Bari Weiss."
Independent Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald posted the original trailer for the segment on X, saying in a caption: "It's almost impressive how much damage Bari Weiss has done to CBS News in such a short period of time. Someone quickly schedule a prime-time Town Hall with Alan Dershowitz to rectify the harm.
What Happens Next
CBS has stated that the 'Inside CECOT' report will air in a future 60 Minutes broadcast after further reporting is completed. The network has not provided a new air date. Intense public and newsroom scrutiny persists over the decision and Bari Weiss’s editorial leadership.
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