CBS News anchor Jericka Duncan was put in the awkward position of covering her new boss Bari Weiss’ shocking eleventh-hour decision to hold a 60 Minutes report.
Duncan, a veteran CBS anchor, found herself on Monday night’s CBS Evening News explaining how Weiss pulled a report on the grisly conditions inside an El Salvador megaprison used to detain Venezuelan men deported by Donald Trump.
“Well, now to a story about CBS News,” Duncan said about halfway through the broadcast, audibly taking a breath. “A few hours before last night’s edition of 60 Minutes, viewers learned that a segment that had been promoted would not air.”
Duncan went on to explain that Sharyn Alfonsi, her CBS colleague and the 60 Minutes correspondent who reported the story, was told Weiss had pulled the segment because the Trump administration had declined to participate.
Alfonsi then accused Weiss of being politically motivated, according to a leaked email she sent to her colleagues. “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 wrote.
Duncan then read statements from her boss, Weiss, and CBS News addressing the controversy, which critics say has thrown the network’s flagship program into doubt.
“In a statement, Weiss says in part, ‘Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason, that they lacked 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,’” Duncan said. “And CBS News released a statement saying, ‘The 60 Minutes report Inside CECOT will air in a future broadcast. We determined it needed additional reporting.’”
Weiss, who founded the conservative-leaning outlet The Free Press before her stunning promotion to CBS News editor-in-chief in October, screened the segment for the first time last Thursday and initially approved it, according to sources.
Staffers said she offered feedback but signed off on the episode, as well as social media promotion and listings. The story was reportedly screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and the Standards and Practices department.
The following day, Trump took aim at Weiss’ boss—Trump ally David Ellison—and 60 Minutes during a rally in North Carolina, as Ellison continues to position himself as a close Trump ally while pursuing a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the media conglomerate that owns CNN, HBO, HGTV, and a vast film and television library.
Only after Trump’s remarks did Weiss raise a new list of concerns about the segment, sources told CNN, ultimately pulling it from broadcast just hours before it was scheduled to air.
The yanked segment later aired on Canadian broadcaster Global News and was quickly hit with copyright takedown notices from CBS.
The Daily Beast has reached out to CBS for comment.
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