Amid upheaval at 60 Minutes, CBS News and recent changes at the outlet were the subject of criticism from the stage at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards on Wednesday night.
The student journalist recipient of the Mike Wallace Memorial Scholarship called out CBS in the wake of the recent merger of its parent company Paramount with Skydance.
“While I want to thank CBS News for funding this generous gift towards my education, I want to also acknowledge how the recent direction of the outlet stains the legacy of Mike Wallace, the namesake of this scholarship,” Santiago Campos said onstage to enthusiastic applause from the audience.
He went on to speak out against “corporate elites” affecting the spread of information and stressing the importance of “journalism that serves people.”
He added, “As corporate elites take hold over the very pipes through which our information flows, journalism that serves people becomes increasingly harder to come by, yet ever more crucial, and what the people want is the truth. So if at any time you hesitate to utter the word ‘genocide’ or remain silent in the face of blatant lies, remember to ask yourself, ‘Who is this for?’ I hope you choose us.”
