The new MAGA-curious boss at CBS News lectured her angry staffers in a call Monday morning after pulling a 60 Minutes report at the eleventh hour.
Bari Weiss defended her intervention in a segment detailing the alleged abuse of Venezuelan men deported by Donald Trump to an El Salvador megaprison during an editorial call with staffers.
The editor-in-chief, who sources say appeared visibly frustrated over leaks, said she held the story because it “wasn’t ready,” according to a leaked transcript of the meeting.
“The only newsroom I’m interested in running is one in which we are able to have contentious disagreements about the thorniest editorial matters with respect, and, crucially, where we assume the best intent of our colleagues. Anything else is absolutely unacceptable,” she said, according to CNN.
“The story presented very powerful testimony of abuse at CECOT, but that story has already been reported on by places like The Times,” Weiss said. “The public already knows Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment in this prison,” she added, alleging that the team needed to “do more.”
“And this is 60 Minutes,” she went on. “We need to be able to make every effort to get the principals [sic] on the record and on camera. To me, our viewers come first, not a listing schedule or anything else, and that is my north star, and I hope it’s the north star of every person in this newsroom.”
But Weiss’ account paints a different picture from how some staffers viewed the decision. Several employees slammed the move as blatant censorship—and an effort to appease the Trump administration.
In a leaked memo to the 60 Minutes team, veteran correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi blasted Weiss for sidelining the segment for political reasons.
“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” Alfonsi wrote. “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.”
Alfonsi added that requests for comment had been sent to the Department of Homeland Security, the White House, and the State Department, but went unanswered, which she referred to as “a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story.”
The New York Times reported Sunday that Weiss suggested booking a 60 Minutes interview with Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s deportation policy, to balance the CECOT segment, and even forwarded Miller’s contact information to the reporting team.
This is just the latest in a string of controversies for CBS News as it attempts to remake its image following Weiss’ contentious appointment as editor-in-chief. Her promotion was orchestrated by Trump-friendly CBS CEO David Ellison, in what many saw as a concession to the White House as he pursues a deal with Netflix.
The Daily Beast has reached out to a CBS spokesperson for comment.
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