Bari Weiss Defends Pulling ‘60 Minutes’ Report on ‘Horrific Treatment’ of Detainees Sent by Trump White House to El Salvador Prison: ‘We Simply Need to Do More’
by Todd Spangler · VarietyBari Weiss, recently installed as CBS News‘ editor in chief, told staffers at the news outlet that she pulled a “60 Minutes” report on “horrific treatment” of detainees sent by the Trump administration to a prison in El Salvador “because it wasn’t ready.”
About three hours before airtime Sunday, “60 Minutes” announced it was delaying a segment from correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi interviewing deportees who the Trump administration sent to the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison in El Salvador. A CBS News rep said Sunday that it was halted because “We determined it needed additional reporting.”
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On an editorial call Monday morning, Weiss explained to CBS News staff why she held the piece.
“The story presented very powerful testimony of abuse at CECOT, but that testimony has already been reported on by places like the [New York] Times,” she said, as reported by CNN media analyst Brian Stelter.
Weiss continued, “The public knows that Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment in this prison. So to run a story on this subject, two months later, we simply need to do more. And this is ’60 Minutes.’ We need to be able to make every effort to get the principles on the record and on camera.”
“The only newsroom I’m interested in running is one in which we are able to have contentious disagreements about the thorniest editorial matters with respect, and, crucially, where we assume the best intent of our colleagues. Anything else is absolutely unacceptable,” Weiss said. She also said, “To me, our viewers come first, not a listing schedule or anything else, and that is my North Star, and I hope it’s the north star of every person in this newsroom.’
Variety has reached out to CBS News for additional comment.