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CBS News is facing mounting criticism after it pulled a 60 Minutes segment on the Trump administration’s deportations of Venezuelan migrants to a controversial prison in El Salvador just hours before it was scheduled to air.
The episode, titled ‘Inside CECOT,’ was slated to feature interviews with Venezuelan deportees who described harsh conditions at the maximum-security facility, Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT.)
- CBS pulled a 60 Minutes segment on deported Venezuelan migrants in El Salvador hours before airing, citing need for additional reporting.
- Reporter Sharyn Alfonsi claimed the segment was fact-checked and the pull was politically motivated, not editorial.
- New CBS News chief Bari Weiss defended the delay, citing need for more context and missing voices before broadcast.
CBS News announced on its social media accounts that the segment would not air as planned and would be shown at a later date, with the network saying that it required “additional reporting” before broadcast.
CBS is facing criticism for pulling a segment on CECOT
Image credits: Alex Peña/Getty Images
The decision to delay the segment drew swift backlash from CBS staff and external journalists, who said the report had already passed multiple legal and editorial reviews.
Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who reported the piece, sent an internal note to colleagues saying she believed the decision was politically motivated rather than journalistic.
The internal memo, obtained by The New York Times, read, “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.”
Image credits: Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Texas Conference for Women
The decision has sparked an intense debate over editorial independence at the network and broader questions about the influence of recent leadership changes at the broadcaster.
In a statement to NYT late Sunday, newly appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News Bari Weiss defended the decision to pull the segment.
“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,” Weiss said.
The report focused on the Trump administration’s wave of deportations to El Salvador earlier this year.
Under the policy, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants accused of having gang affiliations were flown to CECOT, a practice that drew criticism from human rights groups.
Image credits: El Salvador Press Presidency Office/Anadolu via Getty Images
The segment had included testimony from released migrants detailing alleged brutal conditions inside the prison.
CBS removed promotional material for the report from its website after announcing the delay.
Sources told NYT that Weiss first reviewed the segment on Thursday and raised multiple concerns with 60 Minutes producers over the next two days about Alfonsi’s reporting.
Three people familiar with the discussions said Weiss asked for substantial new material to be added, with one suggestion being an interview with Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff and a key architect of Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Weiss also challenged the use of the term “migrants” to describe the Venezuelan men who were deported, arguing they were in the U.S. illegally, according to two of the people who spoke to NYT.
Bari Weiss was appointed after David Ellison acquired Paramount
Image credits: Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press
In her memo, Alfonsi noted that comment had already been requested from the White House, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security.
“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,” she wrote.
“We have been promoting this story on social media for days,” Ms. Alfonsi added. “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,” Alfonsi added.
The pushback over the delayed segment comes amid broader scrutiny of changes at CBS News under its new leadership after its parent company Paramount changed hands.
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Paramount merged with Skydance in August, putting the company that owns CBS under the leadership of David Ellison, whose Skydance bid was backed by his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
Weiss was appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News in October, following Paramount’s acquisition of her media company, The Free Press for $150 million.
While Weiss has described her own views as centrist or classically liberal, many commentators characterize her as right‑leaning, noting her frequent criticism of “woke” culture, cancel culture, and progressive identity politics.
The changes at the network have drawn heightened attention because Paramount’s settlement of Trump’s lawsuit over a separate 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris was finalized earlier this year, before the Skydance merger was completed.
Critics have questioned whether the agreement, which Paramount said was intended to avoid prolonged litigation, contributed to a more cautious approach to coverage involving Trump at the network.
Image credits: Alex Peña/Getty Images
The scrutiny has been intensified by the Ellison family’s publicly known relationship with Trump.
Larry Ellison, who has been a prominent supporter of Israel and Israeli causes, has previously described Trump as a friend and has hosted political events attended by him.
Trump himself said of the Ellisons in October, “They’re friends of mine. Big—they’re big supporters of mine, and they’ll do the right thing.”
It came shortly before he praised Weiss in a 60 Minutes sit-down that same month, “I don’t know her, but I hear she’s a great person.”
That praise, however, seems to have stuttered in recent weeks, with Trump continuing to criticize the program for not being favorable towards him.
Trump appears to have grown critical of the Ellison family
Trump posted on Truth Social on December 16, “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!”
Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, has also launched a hostile $108.4 billion bid for ‘Warner Bros. Discovery’ in a move widely seen as an effort to derail a competing Netflix deal for Warner’s studio and streaming assets.
Discovery’s board unanimously rejected the offer, citing insufficient financing and urging shareholders to back the Netflix transaction.
Any such takeover would be subject to regulatory and antitrust review in the U.S. and potentially other jurisdictions.
Image credits: Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty Images
In addition to the CECOT controversy, CBS News recently broadcast a high-profile interview featuring Erika Kirk, the wife of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The interview highlighted themes of national political importance and drew attention on social media, though reactions to it were mixed.
Some viewers praised the platforming of diverse voices, while others criticized the framing and editorial choices.
Coverage of the interview added to ongoing discussions about the direction of CBS’s flagship news programming amid leadership change.
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