The prominent figure from 60 Minutes, known for her contentious interactions with CBS executives over a controversial report on the Trump administration, has parted ways with the show.
The network opted not to renew Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract, which concluded on Saturday, as initially revealed by The New York Times.
This decision follows an incident six months prior when an Alfonsi segment was abruptly pulled. The segment aimed to expose ‘harsh and torturous conditions’ at a Salvadoran prison where officials had deported individuals suspected of illegal immigration.
In response to inquiries about her departure, Alfonsi candidly told the Times, “It sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom.”
Internal communications viewed by the Los Angeles Times reveal Alfonsi accused CBS executive Bari Weiss of making a ‘political’ decision by not airing the December segment. CBS executives interpreted these actions as ‘insubordinate,’ according to several sources who spoke to the Times.
Alfonsi, however, told the publication that she stands by her remarks, despite their rapid dissemination to the media.
Asked about CBS’s decision not to renew, she said: ‘I think it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize accurate reporting.’
Alfonsi added that she is ‘not resigning’ from CBS.
Sharyn Alfonsi, a longtime presence at 60 Minutes, slammed CBS’s decision to spike a story about a Salvadoran prison as ‘political’ in December. She is now no longer with the program, she revealed on Wednesday
Longtime 60 Minutes star Anderson Cooper recently left the program as well, reportedly due to frustrations with senior leadership
‘If they want me gone because I did my job, they’ll have to fire me,’ she said.
Fellow 60 Minutes long-timer Anderson Cooper already left last week, in part because of Editor-in-Chief Weiss, Status reported. Cooper, who remains at CNN, had been on the show for nearly 20 years.
Alfonsi joined the program in 2015 and CBS in 2011.
Her story about Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) sparked what White House deputy policy chief Stephen Miller later called a ‘revolt’, when Weiss spiked it the day before it was set to air.
The following Monday, Weiss told staffers during the day’s editorial call: ‘To run a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more.’
Alfonsi’s team also did not get enough administration officials on the record for the ‘important piece,’ she maintained.
Alfonsi, 53, immediately said the move was a form of censorship.
The story then accidentally aired on the TV app for one of Canada’s largest networks that week. Copies of the broadcast began to circulate widely on the internet.
Alfonsi – a 60 Minutes correspondent since 2015 – continued to maintain on Wednesday that the last-minute move was a form of censorship
When the segment did officially air in January, viewers were able to compare the two versions – with few differences between the two.
The end of the segment was updated to include the administration’s comment. The administration also provided pictures of tattoos that had been on two of the migrants Alfonsi had interviewed.
The final episode of 60 Minutes’ latest season aired on May 17. Alfonsi was a regular presence even after the CECOT story saga.
A February segment from Alfonsi praised a German bid to arrest internet users accused of ‘hate-filled or toxic’ rhetoric.
‘[Germany] is trying to bring some civility to the worldwide web by policing it in a way most Americans could never imagine,’ she said on-air at the time.
The segment was aired shortly after Vice President JD Vance slammed Germany and other European countries for adopting what he saw as a ‘Soviet’-style approach to censorship.
Weiss, meanwhile, was hired by Paramount CEO David Ellison back in October. Ellison is the son of billionaire GOP donor Larry Ellison. Weiss is also the founder of the right-leaning Free Press, which was purchased by Ellison when she was hired in October.
CBS has been subject to a network-wide overhaul since.
CBS News’ editor-in-chief, Free Press founder Bari Weiss, made the call to spike the story
Weiss was personally appointed by Paramount CEO David Ellison, the son of billionaire Larry Ellison. He has a vision of the prime Paramount asset reaching those who are more centrist
Ex-60 Minutes boss Bill Owens and former CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon already left the network ahead of Ellison’s ascent, citing corporate overreach after Paramount’s merger with Ellison’s Skydance was approved by the FCC in July.
Ellison, at the time, articulated a vision of the prime Paramount asset reaching people who are more centrist.
Longtime 60 Minutes journalist Lesley Stahl, meanwhile, is also reassessing her future at CBS News after being passed over for the show’s recent sit-down with Benjamin Netanyahu, which was arranged by Weiss personally, Status reported.
She, Cooper, and Alfonsi were all part a group of 60 Minutes correspondents to demand CBS name their pick for the show’s next executive producer after longtime lead Owens’s exit in April of last year.
Veteran producer Tanya Simon received the job in July, after heavy backing from the journalists.
