CBS News 60 minutes Reporter Sharyn Alfonsi is expected to be on her way out of the network, a climactic event sparked by a heated segment she worked on last year and a public clash with CBS News editor-in-chief Barry Weiss.
Alfonsi said in a statement that her contract with the network is for 60 minutes She officially lapsed over Memorial Day weekend, though she’s still technically still working for the time being as an at-will employee.
“Over the weekend, my contract with CBS News expired, coming to the end of nearly twenty years with the network, including more than a decade at the network.” 60 minutes. After an acrimonious editorial dispute over our CECOT story, repeated attempts by my representatives to chart a path forward were met with absolute silence from network executives. The message couldn’t be clearer: the time you spent on… 60 minutes Looks like it’s over.
“In the coming days, network leadership may try to hide behind corporate euphemisms like ‘modernization’ and ‘restructuring’ to justify my departure. Don’t be fooled. This was not a routine corporate move; it was a deliberate choice to punish a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually accurate reporting, and it sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom.”
Her statement continued: “Independent and courageous reporting has always been the set standardT 60 minutes. Today, CBS management is abandoning that mission, choosing access to journalism over accountability and protection of power over scrutiny. The wall between editorial independence and corporate interests at CBS is being systematically torn down. Journalists who want to challenge authority are pushed aside in favor of those who do not. If this continues, the result will be a broadcast that looks like this 60 minutes But he lacks the courage and character needed to produce important journalism.
Alfonsi went on to thank her colleagues “who have become family – working alongside you has been a lifelong privilege. You are second to none. I have learned exactly what it costs to hold the line now. Stick with it anyway. Viewers and the people who trust us with their stories deserve nothing less.”
“I will not resign,” she told television. times. “If they want me gone because I did my job, they’ll have to fire me.”
Of course, Alfonsi could find work elsewhere before CBS News makes any official move.
The clip, produced by Oriana Zel de Granados, was scheduled to air on December 21, and featured Alfonsi speaking to Venezuelans who were deported by the Trump administration to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador.
CBS News editor-in-chief Barry Weiss told network staff on Monday, December 22, that she was keeping the story because it “wasn’t ready.”
“While the story provided powerful testimony about torture at CECOT, it did not advance the ball times “Other media outlets have done similar work before,” she said on the network’s morning opening call. “The public knows that Venezuelans were treated horribly in this prison. In order for us to publish a story on this topic two months later, we have to do more. And this is 60 minutes. We need to be able to record school principals on camera. Our viewers come first. Not the listing timeline or anything else. This is my north star, and I hope it is yours too.”
Eventually, of course, the clip will be broadcast 60 minutes It was largely unchanged from its original incarnation, but the damage was done when it became an international story.
The incident became the biggest controversy that could happen 60 minutes Since the infamous tobacco case, where a tobacco company executive agreed to be interviewed as part of the case 60 minutes Launched into the industry led by Mike Wallace. CBS pulled the plug on the story due to legal concerns, as well as the pending sale of the network.
In a speech at the National Press Club in April, where she accepted a journalism award, Alfonsi referred to Weiss by name and told the audience: “Some executives don’t ask: ‘Is the story true?’ But is this good for business?
“I won’t dwell on the internal mechanics of the dispute at CBS that led to our CECOT story being pulled, but we have to be honest about what it represents,” she added. “It was not an isolated editorial argument. In my view, it was the result of a more aggressive contagion: widespread corporate interference and editorial fear. It’s hard to watch.”
In a new interview with timesAlfonsi went further: “There is a sense that the wall has come down between editorial independence and corporate interests. The worry is that we will end up with broadcasting that looks like… 60 minutes But he doesn’t have the courage or personality to produce 60 minutes Journalism that actually matters.”
Alfonsi will be second 60 minutes Reporter to exit the show, following Anderson Cooper.
In a farewell video, Cooper expressed his hope that the show’s independence would continue.
“hope 60 minutes remains 60 minutes“, he said in an interview on 60 minutes additional time. “There are very few things that have been around as long 60 minutes It has the quality that it has and it maintains it, and things can always evolve and change, and I think that’s great, and things should evolve and change, but I hope that the essence of what 60 minutes “It remains permanent.”
Weiss is said to be seeking an overhaul of the long-running, top-rated prime-time newsmagazine before the fall season. The details of this fix aren’t entirely clear (it’s possible other reporters or producers might exit), though she’s said to be interested in bringing in other reporters.
May 27, 9:18 AM Updated with Sharyn Alfonsi’s full statement.
