Inside the Bari Weiss decision that led to a ‘60 Minutes’ crisis

By Brian Stelter, CNN

(CNN) — Earlier this month, after President Donald Trump blasted “60 Minutes” for interviewing Marjorie Taylor Greene, correspondents noticed a change behind the scenes.

“Bari Weiss got personally involved,” specifically with stories about politics, a source at the program told CNN.

It was her prerogative as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News, and some conservative critics of the CBS newsmagazine would probably say it was necessary. But her presence prompted concern among “60 Minutes” journalists — and perhaps now the program’s viewers are finding out why.

Over the weekend, Weiss sparked a crisis inside “60 Minutes” by shelving Sharyn Alfonsi’s report about Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration to a notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador.

Alfonsi said in an internal memo that “the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship.” Weiss, who reports directly to Paramount CEO David Ellison, pushed back by saying the story was “not ready.”

Weiss also said in a statement, “I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”

In the meantime, there is a sudden surge of audience interest in the prison, known as CECOT, and the allegations of abuse there. Human Rights Watch said last month that “many of these abuses constitute torture under international human rights law.”

Let’s walk through the timeline of how this controversy unfolded.

Timing is everything

Alfonsi’s story, titled “INSIDE CECOT,” was many weeks in the making. Weiss first screened the segment on Thursday night, two CBS News sources told CNN. She had some notes for the producers, but the story moved forward.

In total, the story “was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” Alfonsi wrote in her memo. “It is factually correct.”

Come Friday, the staff thought the story was ready to go. Alfonsi taped her introductory remarks. Executive producer Tanya Simon gave CBS News PR the green light to publicize the segment. “60 Minutes” segments are announced in advance, usually on Fridays, for promotional purposes.

And that’s why the next turn of events generated so much turmoil inside the network news division.

On Saturday morning, Weiss messaged Simon with additional concerns about the story, two CBS sources told CNN. One of the main issues was the lack of a response from the Trump administration to the reporting. She also “took issue with the phrasing of ‘migrant detainees,’” one of the sources said.

Of course, that’s Weiss’s prerogative as the top editor. But everyone at CBS News knows how “60 Minutes” works — how the pieces are screened, when the PR listings are sent out, what the rigorous internal processes are like. Alfonsi had already flown home to Texas by the time Weiss insisted on changes, a CBS source said.

The reporter told colleagues that she “learned on Saturday” that Weiss “spiked our story.” Alfonsi and producer Oriana Zill de Granados then “asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity.”

Weiss has not responded directly to that charge.

The change in plans was not finalized until Sunday, hours before airtime, one of the CBS sources said. A planned segment by Jon Wertheim was slotted into Alfonsi’s place. A CBS spokesperson shared the revised schedule and stated, “Our report ‘Inside CECOT’ will air in a future broadcast.”

Some newsroom staffers had already heard about the abrupt change and had sent Alfonsi worried messages. Others read about the scheduling change and were astonished — even more so after Alfonsi’s memo made the rounds.

The correspondent’s account of “political” interference sounded like the earth-shattering moment that staffers have feared all year as Ellison moved to take over Paramount.

Ellison has publicly praised “60 Minutes” and spoken optimistically about restoring trust in the news media. But his hiring of Weiss rankled some at CBS, given her lack of TV expertise and traditional reporting experience.

How Weiss defended the decision

Alfonsi’s memo made its way to news outlets, including The New York Times and CNN, ensuring widespread criticism of the decision to shelve the story.

Weiss then pushed back on Sunday night by saying in a statement, “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. I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”

It’s unclear when that will be. However, it means Weiss is at odds with her own producers and editors in a visceral way. “People are threatening to quit over this,” one of the CBS sources told CNN.

On Monday morning’s CBS editorial call, Weiss seemed frustrated about the leaks but confident in her decision. “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,” she said, according to CBS.

“I held a 60 Minutes story because it was not ready,” she continued. “While the story presented powerful testimony of torture at CECOT, it did not advance the ball — the Times and other outlets have previously done similar work. The public knows that Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment at this prison. To run a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more. And this is ‘60 Minutes.’ We need to be able to get the principals on the record and on camera.”

Reading between the lines, Weiss confirmed her insistence on adding Stephen Miller or another Trump official voice to the story. But Alfonsi’s team did ask for comment, and “their refusal to be interviewed” was “a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story,” Alfonsi wrote in the memo. “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.”

Weiss said on the Monday morning call, “Our viewers come first. Not the listing schedule or anything else. That’s my north star and I hope it’s yours, too.”

But this begs the question: Why were the listings sent out, then? Why did the story get promoted on social media? Some CBS staffers are now asking whether Weiss was pressured by Paramount or by the Trump administration to hold the story once it was publicized.

The Trump complaints continue

Trump hasn’t just griped about “60 Minutes” this month — he has vented specifically about the Ellisons. He did it again on Friday night at his rally in North Carolina. “I love the new owners of CBS,” Trump said. “Something happens to them, though. ‘60 Minutes’ has treated me worse under the new ownership… they just keep hitting me, it’s crazy.”

Those complaints haven’t occurred in a vacuum. They’ve come as Paramount publicly argues that it has the inside track for government approval of its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent.

The “60 Minutes” crew came under tremendous pressure last season as the old Paramount owners were trying to get a deal done with Ellison. That same staff now perceives it’s happening again with the new owners.

And outside media observers notice, too. “It’s hard to ignore that this happened just as Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. was slipping away, with Kushner pulling out of the financing and Trump bad-mouthing CBS,” wrote The American Prospect’s executive editor David Dayen. “Time to please the king again.”

Weiss defenders have insisted this episode is being blown out of proportion. But those defenders are relatively quiet compared to alarmed CBS staffers, some of whom are drawing comparisons to the time Mike Wallace’s interview with a tobacco industry whistleblower was shelved by corporate. (That real-life drama was immortalized in Michael Mann’s 1999 film, “The Insider,” starring Al Pacino and now streaming on Hulu.)

As veteran media reporter Bill Carter observed overnight, “This decision is sure to have ripple effects.”

If CBS will only run a story if the White House grants an interview, “giving them veto power over journalism, any staff member with integrity will likely quit, because it isn’t a news division anymore. It’s TASS,” Carter wrote, referring to Russia’s state news agency.

On the other hand, as a CBS staffer texted CNN on Monday, reporters now have “direct access” to their audience, so the news can get out, one way or another. “There’s NO stopping reporting,” they said.

A version of this article first appeared in the Reliable Sources newsletter. Sign up for free right here.

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