In an unexpected turn of events, a “60 Minutes” segment was pulled from the lineup just two hours before its scheduled airtime, only to be broadcast in Canada and subsequently shared widely online.
The segment, crafted by seasoned journalist Sharyn Alfonsi, delves into the experiences of a group of Venezuelan men. These individuals, under the impression they were being deported back to Venezuela, instead found themselves at the infamous El Salvador prison known as CECOT.
As the clock ticked closer to airtime, “60 Minutes” took to social media to announce a last-minute change. The notice informed audiences that the episode’s lineup had been revised and that “Inside CECOT” would now premiere in an upcoming broadcast.
Insiders at CBS News disclosed that the decision stemmed from an executive assessment that the segment required further reporting. This decision followed a series of requested adjustments from CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.
Despite the eleventh-hour decision in the U.S., the segment aired as originally planned on Global TV in Canada. Consequently, the episode, including the “Inside CECOT” feature, became accessible on Global TV’s streaming service. Viewers quickly disseminated it across various platforms, including X and YouTube, sharing their personal recordings with a broader audience.
That episode is now available on Global TV’s streaming platform, and was quickly shared on platforms like X and YouTube from viewers who posted their own recordings online.
Many had been left outraged by Weiss’ last minute decision to pull the segment, which it had advertised all week, accusing her of censorship and bowing to the Trump administration.
Alfonsi, a reporter for the news magazine since 2015, even declared that Weiss was destroying 60 Minutes’ reputation.
60 Minutes announced on Sunday it was pulling Alfonsi’s segment about the Trump administration’s deportation efforts just hours before it was set to air
The segment documented a group of Venezuelan men who thought they were being sent back to their home country – only to end up at the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador
In a fiery email to other correspondents, including Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, and Anderson Cooper, Alfonsi said she had ‘asked for a call’ with Weiss ‘to discuss her decision,’ but ‘she did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity.’
The longtime reporter then argued, in the letter cited first by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, that she and her team followed all journalistic standards, requesting comment from the White House, State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
She told her colleagues in the email that the segment 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 has denied her decision was political, arguing it is standard practice to hold back stories until they’re perfect.
‘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,’ she told The Times.
‘I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.’
She again defended her decision on Monday morning.
60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi accused new CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of censoring her work
Weiss had requested numerous changes to the segment before it was pulled from the program Sunday night
Weiss, the 41-year-old founder of The Free Press, told colleagues that she spiked the segment simply because it ‘did not advance the ball’ during the network’s typical 9am editorial call on Monday, The New York Times reported.
She pointed out how the the Times and other publications have ‘previously done similar work’ while maintaining that fresh, through-provoking content was her ‘north star.’
‘To run a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more,’ Weiss told staff.
‘And this is 60 Minutes. We need to be able to get the principals on the record and on camera.
‘Our viewers come first. Not the listing schedule or anything else,’ she argued. ‘That’s my north star, and I hope it’s yours too.’
A manager meeting was held later in day to address backlash caused by the decision, The Guardian reported.
With just two hours before the program was set to air, 60 Minutes announced on social media that the lineup ‘has been updated’ and ‘”Inside CECOT” will air in a future broadcast’
Panelists on MS NOW’s Morning Joe said Monday they viewed the segment being pulled as an affront to journalism, with Joe Scarborough pointing to Alfonsi’s claims that the piece was ‘factually correct’ and had cleared standards review five times.
CBS News employees, meanwhile, have threatened to quit over Weiss’s decision, CBS sources told CNN.
The uproar came after Alfonsi argued that the segment was only killed because the Trump administration refused to comment on the segment, saying if that is a ‘valid reason to spike a story, we 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,’ she claimed.
‘We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state.’
She then declared that the men she spoke with ‘risked their lives’ by being interviewed.
‘We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories,’ Alfonsi said. ‘Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.’
Alfonsi’s segment was set to feature her interviews with a group of Venezuelan men who were sent to the notorious CECOT prison
She argued in her email that they risked their lives to be interviewed
In the segment, a college student who was detained by US Customs before being deported to CECOT described how he was tortured upon arrival.
Another said he and others were taken to a ‘little room where there’s no light, no ventilation, nothing.’
‘It’s a cell for punishment where you can’t see your hand in front of your face. After they locked us in, they came to beat us every half hour, and they pounded on the door with their sticks to traumatize us while we were in there,’ he claimed.
Alfonsi also said in the segment that it reviewed available ICE data to confirm Human Rights Watch’s findings that suggest only eight deported men had been sentenced for violent or partially violent crimes.
The segment ends with Alfonsi saying the Department of Homeland Security ‘declined our request for an interview and referred all questions about CECOT to El Salvador.
‘The government there did not respond to our request,’ she said.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
