The CBS reporter who led the story removed from "60 Minutes" calls pulling it a "political" decision. [View all]

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Reposted by Mike Masnick
https://bsky.app/profile/mmasnick.bsky.social

Nathan Goldwag
‪@goldwagnathan.bsky.social‬

This is what Bari Weiss et al think "censorship" actually is; when subordinates criticize their superiors. That has been the bedrock of the entire "cancel culture" discourse in elite media; rage at the idea that students, women, journalists, interns, etc might be able to speak against the boss.

‪Don Moynihan‬
‪@donmoyn.bsky.social‬
· 49m
The CBS reporter who led the story calls pulling it a "political" decision.
"The decision was made after Bari Weiss, the new editor in chief of CBS News, requested numerous changes to the segment."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/business/60-minutes-trump-bari-weiss.html

“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” Ms. Alfonsi wrote in the note, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. “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.”
ALT
10:24 PM · Dec 21, 2025

This is what Bari Weiss et al think "censorship" actually is; when subordinates criticize their superiors. That has been the bedrock of the entire "cancel culture" discourse in elite media; rage at the idea that students, women, journalists, interns, etc might be able to speak against the boss.

— Nathan Goldwag (@goldwagnathan.bsky.social) 2025-12-22T03:24:49.555Z

Don Moynihan
‪@donmoyn.bsky.social‬

The CBS reporter who led the story calls pulling it a "political" decision.
"The decision was made after Bari Weiss, the new editor in chief of CBS News, requested numerous changes to the segment."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/business/60-minutes-trump-bari-weiss.html

“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” Ms. Alfonsi wrote in the note, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. “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.”
ALT

‪60 Minutes‬
‪@60minutes.bsky.social‬
· 6h
An Editor’s Note from 60 Minutes

The broadcast lineup for tonight’s edition of 60 Minutes has been updated. Our report “Inside CECOT” will air in a future broadcast.
ALT
10:10 PM · Dec 21, 2025

The CBS reporter who led the story calls pulling it a "political" decision.
"The decision was made after Bari Weiss, the new editor in chief of CBS News, requested numerous changes to the segment."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...

— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social) 2025-12-22T03:10:57.408Z

Anna Bower
‪@annabower.bsky.social‬

“These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their
stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.”

‪Anna Bower‬
‪@annabower.bsky.social‬
· 33m
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:

News Team,
Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier.
I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity.
Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. 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.
We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed
to kill the story.
If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we
ALT

have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient.
If the standard for airing a story becomes
"the government must agree to be
interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast.
We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state.
These men risked their lives to speak with us.
We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their
stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.
CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones.
ALT

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.
Sharyn
ALT
10:42 PM · Dec 21, 2025

“These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their
stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.”

— Anna Bower (@annabower.bsky.social) 2025-12-22T03:42:52.406Z

Anna Bower
‪@annabower.bsky.social‬

Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:

News Team,
Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier.
I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity.
Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. 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.
We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed
to kill the story.
If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we
ALT

have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient.
If the standard for airing a story becomes
"the government must agree to be
interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast.
We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state.
These men risked their lives to speak with us.
We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their
stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.
CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones.
ALT

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.
Sharyn
ALT
10:37 PM · Dec 21, 2025

Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:

— Anna Bower (@annabower.bsky.social) 2025-12-22T03:37:37.741Z

Don Moynihan
‪@donmoyn.bsky.social‬

Here is a gift link to the NYT article about Weiss killing a fact-checked story because it was not sympathetic enough to an presidential administration in the midst of deciding about another corporate merger that CBS's owners are trying to win.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/business/60-minutes-trump-bari-weiss.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-k8.OfxV.ZsKyQthh0JNi&smid=url-share

‘60 Minutes’ Pulled a Segment. A Correspondent Calls It ‘Political.’
www.nytimes.com
10:30 PM · Dec 21, 2025

Here is a gift link to the NYT article about Weiss killing a fact-checked story because it was not sympathetic enough to an presidential administration in the midst of deciding about another corporate merger that CBS's owners are trying to win.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...

— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social) 2025-12-22T03:30:48.323Z