The firestorm over the editorial decision made by CBS News to pull a 60 Minutes segment on migrant detentions at CECOT, the notorious Salvadoran prison, rages on. The controversy has now spilled over to the CBS Evening News, which aired a report on the growing scandal.
JERICKA DUNCAN: Well, now to a story about CBS News. A few hours before last night's edition of 60 Minutes, viewers learned that a segment that had been promoted would not air. It's about a notorious prison in El Salvador. And the Trump administration's decision to send Venezuelans and others there who it says entered the U.S. illegally. The correspondent, 60 Minutes veteran Sharyn Alfonsi, sent an email to CBS News colleagues saying the story is factually correct, and accusing CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of pulling it for political reasons. Alfonsi says that despite requests for interviews, no one in the Trump administration would participate in the story. In an email, she wrote that, quote: "If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a kill switch." In a statement, Weiss says in part, quote: "Holding stories that aren't ready for whatever reason, that they lacked 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." And CBS News released a statement saying the 60 Minutes report on “Inside CECOT” will air in a future broadcast. We determined it needed additional reporting.
. steve malzberg
. steve malzberg
