CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has reportedly defended her last-minute decision to hold a “60 Minutes” episode about a notorious prison in El Salvador by claiming that it wasn’t “ready.”
“60 Minutes” announced the odd and abrupt move with an editor’s note hours before the scheduled premiere, almost immediately making headlines at major news publications. Weiss reportedly decided to hold the episode for an unspecified future broadcast after claiming there wasn’t enough included from the Trump administration.
“I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready,” Weiss said in a statement, according to CNN.
However, Sharyn Alfonsi, the 60 Minutes correspondent who reported the piece, slammed Weiss’ decision to pull the segment, especially since it was cleared by 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,” Alfonsi said in an internal email, according to multiple news outlets. “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.”
