CBS News has been plunged into a major internal and external crisis after its flagship programme, 60 Minutes, abruptly pulled a hard-hitting investigation into a notorious prison in El Salvador at the last minute. The segment, titled 'Inside Cecot', was scheduled to air on Sunday night but was pulled just hours before broadcast, sparking accusations of political interference and damaging the network's journalistic credibility.
Editorial Decision or Political Pressure?
The controversial decision was announced by the network's official account on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday afternoon. It stated the report would now air at an unspecified future date. The segment, reported by veteran correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, featured interviews with recently released detainees who described "brutal and torturous" conditions inside the Cecot mega-prison.
This facility became a focal point earlier this year when the Trump administration deported over 200 Venezuelan migrants from the US to El Salvador. They were accused of being gang members and sent to Cecot, which holds terrorism suspects, often without full legal due process.
The move to spike the story has been directly linked to Bari Weiss, the newly appointed and contentious editor-in-chief of CBS News. Weiss, whose conservative media startup The Free Press was acquired by CBS's parent company Paramount, addressed staff on Monday, stating, "I held that story and I held it because it wasn't ready." She argued the report, while containing powerful testimony, covered already-known issues and needed more context, specifically interviews with Trump administration officials.
Internal Revolt and Accusations of a 'Kill Switch'
This explanation was met with fury within CBS. In a private note to colleagues, Sharyn Alfonsi revealed the report had been screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and its Standards and Practices department. She stated unequivocally that it was factually correct.
"In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one," Alfonsi wrote. She warned that if an administration's refusal to comment becomes grounds for killing a story, it hands them a "'kill switch' for any reporting they find inconvenient." Her team had repeatedly sought comment from the White House, State Department, and Department of Homeland Security, to no avail.
The internal dissent is reported to be so severe that some journalists at the network are threatening to quit. The controversy arrives amid a complex corporate battle, as Paramount Skydance—the entity formed after Paramount's July merger with Skydance—seeks regulatory approval for a rival bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, which owns CNN.
External Backlash and the Shadow of Trump
Criticism from outside the network was swift and damning. US Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, called the incident a "terrible embarrassment" for CBS, suggesting executives were avoiding journalism that might offend "the Mad King"—an oblique reference to Donald Trump. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts linked the decision to corporate dealmaking, noting the Trump administration's role in approving Skydance's $8bn deal to buy Paramount.
Media commentator Kara Swisher was more direct, posting on Threads: "This is entirely to please Trump, who has voiced criticism of 60 Minutes under the new owners." She criticised reported pressure from Weiss to interview Trump's anti-immigration adviser, Stephen Miller, for the segment, calling it a "suck up gimme."
In her address to staff, Weiss appealed for unity, calling for a newsroom where "thorniest editorial matters" could be debated with respect and assuming good intent. However, for many observers and staff, the damage appears done. The incident highlights the intense pressure on legacy media like 60 Minutes, which still averages over 8 million viewers weekly, from political and corporate forces seeking influence in a fragmented media landscape.
