CBS news program 60 Minutes was meant to air a piece on Sunday evening (December 21) titled “Inside CECOT,” but the story was abruptly pulled just hours before airtime.
A press release says the story would feature correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi as she “speaks with some of the now released deportees, who describe the brutal and torturous conditions they endured inside CECOT.”
CECOT is a massive prison in El Salvador built to hold people accused or convicted of gang activity. The Trump administration sent some deported migrants, accused of gang ties, to El Salvador where they were placed in CECOT, making the prison part of a controversial USA immigration strategy.
As recently as Friday (December 19), CBS was promoting the episode, leading many to wonder…why would CBS pull the episode so close to the airtime when they just were promoting it days ago?
Several reports have emerged.
Keep reading to find out more…
Apparently, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss “requested numerous changes to the segment,” the New York Times reports. She allegedly wanted an interview with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller included, and allegedly “questioned the use of the term ‘migrants’ to describe the Venezuelan men who were deported.”
60 Minutes‘ Sharyn Alfonsi wrote a memo that has now been circulating online, telling staffers: “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.”
Weiss then responded in a statement, “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.”
Another political story has gone viral in the past few days.