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60 minutes On Sunday, he ran a story about the Trump administration’s eviction that was suddenly taken from the magazine’s collection a month ago.
Reporter Sharyn Alfonsi made no mention of her debate with CBS News anchor Barry Weiss about the story of deportees sent to El Salvador’s notoriously brutal CECOT prison.
When the unit was struck on December 21 on Weiss’ orders, Alphonse told her. 60 minutes “It wasn’t an editorial decision, it was political,” colleagues said.
Weiss argued that the story did not adequately reflect the administration’s views or advance reporting that had previously been done by other news organizations.
The story that aired Sunday did not include any on-camera interviews with Trump administration officials. But Alfonsi included statements from the White House and the Department of Homeland Security that were not part of her story before it was pulled.
Some statements that are fully borne by 60 minutes Website, dated before December 21st.
“Since November 60 minutes He made several attempts to interview key Trump administration officials on camera about our story,” Alfonsi said. “They refused our request.
Alfonsi did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press on Sunday. In her email, she said the administration’s refusal to do an on-camera interview was a tactic designed to kill the story.
CBS says it always went to airroom.
In a statement, CBS News said: “Management has always been committed to airing. 60 minutes As soon as the CECOT piece is ready. Tonight, viewers will see it, along with other important stories, all about CBS News’ freedom and the power of our stories.
Alfonsi’s report was the second of three on Sunday’s show, the lead story being Cecilia Vega’s report from Minneapolis about ICE enforcement efforts and protests against the tactics.
The appointment of Free Press founder Weiss, who had no previous experience in television news, and the initial decision to sideline Alfonsi CECOT’s story, sparked criticism that the network’s new corporate leadership represented an attempt to curry favor with Trump.
Alfonsi’s first story was mistakenly found online when it went off the air in December. CBS News feeds the news magazine version to Global Television, an over-the-air network 60 minutes In Canada, he posted it on his website before pulling out the last minute switch.
That keen eye allowed viewers to see what Weiss didn’t, giving him the chance to compare it to what he was. 60 minutes Finally, put it in the air.
The body of the story has not changed. It included a short clip of President Donald Trump telling the prison’s operators to “don’t play games,” and one from White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt saying “horrible monsters, thugs, murderers, sex offenders, predators who have no right to be in this country.”
Alfonsi’s entry was updated on Jan. 3 for leading a U.S. raid to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is currently in a U.S. prison. She changed the end of the story to include comments from the administration, including not providing details on the refugees sent to El Salvador.
The administration also provided photographs of the tattoos Alfonsi wore on the two refugees he interviewed, including one swastika that the interviewer had gotten when he was a teenager.
CBS-management relations improved.
Since Vice’s appointment, Trump administration officials have appeared frequently on CBS News in interviews she has sometimes facilitated. The president himself interviewed Nora O’Donnell 60 minutes On November 2.
The New York Times reported on Saturday after Trump was interviewed last week CBS Evening News Anchor Tony Dokupil, Levitt told the network if the exchange didn’t air in its entirety, “we’re going to sue your ass.”
The entire 13-minute interview aired Tuesday, a rare move for one of the broadcast networks’ evening news, a half-hour roundup of the day’s biggest stories. CBS told the Times it had decided to run the interview unedited at the time it was scheduled.
Trump has objected in the past to how his interviews have been edited — including the release of an unedited transcript of an interview conducted by Leslie Stahl. 60 minutes In 2020.