‘60 Minutes’ finally aired the story that stirred up a storm inside CBS News

Nearly a month ago, new CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss tried her best to break her new toy by making the extraordinary decision to yank a “60 Minutes” story right before it was set to air. Even though the story — about Venezuelan men deported by the U.S. to a notorious prison in El Salvador — went through five internal screenings, Weiss held the story by claiming it wasn’t ready for air.

Those inside CBS News were furious that Weiss, who has no TV news experience, was telling “60 Minutes,” the gold standard of TV news, what was appropriate to air. Sharyn Alfonsi, the correspondent on the story, called the decision “political.”

CBS News (i.e., Weiss) said at the time that it looked forward to airing the story when it was ready.

Apparently, it was ready this past Sunday. “60 Minutes” ran the story: “Inside CECOT.” Although I’ll point out that it aired at the same time as the Los Angeles Rams-Chicago Bears NFL playoff game that likely will end up being the most-watched TV program of the week.

But, the story aired.

In a statement on Sunday, CBS News said it was always committed to running the segment, adding, “Tonight, viewers get to see it, along with other important stories, all of which speak to CBS News’s independence and the power of our storytelling.”

As far as the story that actually aired?

The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr wrote that “the tweaked version that aired on Sunday, which included a few minutes of new material, still did not have an on-camera comment from an administration official. ‘Since November, 60 Minutes has made several attempts to interview key Trump administration officials, on camera, about our story,’ Alfonsi told viewers. ‘They declined our request.’ Alfonsi also noted that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refused to provide the records of the 252 Venezuelan men who were sent to Cecot. ‘DHS deflected all questions about abuse allegations at Cecot,’ she added.”

The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum reported, “CBS News added two short segments, at the beginning and the end of the report, that included new comments from the Trump administration and additional details about the criminal backgrounds of the Venezuelan men who were sent to the prison, addressing two concerns that Ms. Weiss had previously expressed.”

Grynbaum added, “The decision by CBS to air the segment came after days of tense discussions among top personnel. Ms. Weiss wanted to make changes within the piece that was originally scheduled to run last month; Ms. Alfonsi refused, arguing that it would set a poor precedent for the program’s editorial independence, according to two people briefed on internal discussions. Ms. Weiss and her allies believed the changes they requested were reasonable, and they were frustrated by Ms. Alfonsi’s unwillingness to adjust her report, according to two people familiar with their thinking.”

The original story that didn’t make it to air in the United States was aired in Canada.

Barr wrote, “Alfonsi’s opening comments were changed and updated to note the 3 January capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, though the segment included a lot of the same material. It included interviews with the same subjects, including Luis Muñoz Pinto, who described extremely harsh conditions at the prison, and Juan Pappier, America's deputy director at Human Rights Watch. The segment also included a statement from the White House that was issued on 18 December, in time for its original air date, though it was not included in the original version of the segment.”

In addition, apparently Alfonsi’s post-story comments were longer in the new version.

But in the end, you have to ask if the difference of what aired and what was originally supposed to air was significant enough for all the controversy it stirred up? More importantly, this episode has only sewn distrust of Weiss inside and outside of CBS News.

Speaking of Weiss

The New Yorker’s Clare Malone has a new piece out: “Inside Bair Weiss’ hostile takeover of CBS News.” In the story, Malone writes that many at CBS News see Weiss as an “uneasy fit.”

There’s a lot to Malone’s story, including the time before Weiss joined CBS News, so be sure to check it out.

But one of the more interesting nuggets included how CBS News staffers said that it was “offensive” that Weiss had bodyguards.

I’ll sue you

Last week, new “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil landed an interview with President Donald Trump. The interview itself was more sizzle than steak, and was much ado about nothing.

Until it was over, apparently.

The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum and Benjamin Mullin reported that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered this message from Trump to Dokoupil immediately after the interview:

Leavitt told Dokoupil, “He said, ‘Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full.”

Dokoupil told Leavitt, “Yeah, we’re doing it, yeah.”

Leavitt then said, “He said, ‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off.’”

Again, there was really nothing in the interview even close to controversial. Yet, Trump surely was reminding CBS News about the time he sued the network over a 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris — a suit that resulted in CBS’s parent company agreeing to pay Trump $16 million.

In a statement to the Times, CBS News said, “The moment we booked this interview, we made the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety.”

Leavitt told the Times, “The American people deserve to watch President Trump’s full interviews, unedited, no cuts. And guess what? The interview ran in full.”

The Times accurately wrote, “Not long ago, the notion of a White House press secretary casually threatening a lawsuit if a journalist does not obey her orders would be shocking. But Mr. Trump has made abundantly clear that he is serious about pursuing legal or regulatory action against media outlets whose coverage displeases him.”

Meanwhile, The Independent’s Justin Baragona reported on an interesting interaction that Trump had with new CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss last November. Trump was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell for “60 Minutes.” In that interview, Trump said he didn’t know Weiss, but praised her hiring and the direction of CBS News.

Baragona wrote, “Following the initial end to the sitdown, O’Donnell and Trump engaged in a bit of small talk, which saw the president once again express how excited he was about the new leadership at CBS News and ‘how great’ Weiss would be for the network. Besides praising Weiss during the interview, Trump had also applauded Paramount chief David Ellison, who had recently purchased CBS News’ parent company and is the son of his close pal Larry Ellison.”

Turns out, Weiss was on location for the interview. A source told Baragona, “He was so happy to see her and she was so excited to meet him, they both leaned in and exchanged kisses on the cheek.”

A difference of opinion

We’re now getting a better understanding of why Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro did not end up as Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election, thanks to a new memoir from Shapiro. The book — titled “Where We Keep the Light: Stories From a Life of Service” — is set to be released on Jan. 27.

While the book reportedly talks about Shapiro’s family, his Jewish faith, his time as governor, the April 2025 attack on his home and his conversations with President Donald Trump following that attack, Shapiro also talks about the vetting he underwent when Harris was considering a running mate.

According to The Washington Post’s Yasmeen Abutaleb and Colby Itkowitz, who obtained a copy of the memoir, Shapiro and Harris clashed from the start.

Shapiro said he assured Harris he could campaign and continue his role as governor, but Harris wanted him solely focused on the campaign. Harris also wanted Shapiro to apologize for past comments about pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Pennsylvania, but Shapiro said he would not.

However, the biggest clash came over the role of a vice president.

The Post wrote, “Shapiro writes that he was struck by how much Harris appeared to dislike the job. Shapiro told Harris that he wanted to be able to state his case on any issue and that if she disagreed with him, ‘I’d run right through a brick wall to support her decision and make sure it succeeded. As long as I was heard.’ He writes that Harris was ‘crystal clear’ that was not the type of relationship she was looking for and that Shapiro would primarily work with her staff.”

In addition, Shapiro was shocked at one question he was asked by Dana Remus, President Joe Biden’s former White House counsel. Shapiro wrote, “Had I been a double agent for Israel? Was she kidding? I told her how offensive the question was.”

The Atlantic’s Toluse Olorunnipa wrote, “The exchange became even more tense, he writes, when Remus asked whether Shapiro had ever spoken with an undercover Israeli agent. The questions left the governor feeling uneasy about the prospect of being Harris’s No. 2, a role that ultimately went to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. … In his book, Shapiro says that the decision may not have been fully hers; he says he had ‘a knot in my stomach’ throughout a vetting process that was more combative than he had expected. Shapiro wrote that he decided to take his name out of the running after a one-on-one meeting with Harris that featured more clashes, including about Israel.”

Harris wrote her own memoir following the election called “107 Days.” Before that book was released, you might recall that Shapiro was informed of how Harris described their meeting, including a part where she claimed Shapiro asked about featuring Pennsylvania artists in the vice-presidential residence. Shapiro said to The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta, “She wrote that in her book? That’s complete and utter (expletive). I can tell you that her accounts are just blatant lies.”

While the section on Trump is not prominent, Shapiro did recall the events following his home being set on fire by a man who later told prosecutors that he blamed Shapiro for the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza. Shapiro said he heard from former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama immediately, but did not hear from Trump for about a week. Trump left a voicemail and gave Shapiro his personal cellphone number. Shapiro called back and Trump answered.

When Shapiro asked Trump how he was doing, Trump “launched him into a monologue” about how great the economy was, how low gas prices were and how Trump “was doing so well.” Shapiro said Trump also talked about which Democrats could run for president in 2028, but Shapiro did not say who Trump talked about. He also said Trump told Shapiro he “shouldn’t want to be president given how dangerous it had become to hold the office now.”

Media tidbits

• Semafor’s Max Tani with “Die Welt editor departed amid internal inquiry.”
• Trump posted on social media over the weekend that he’s going to sign an executive order that would block every other network from showing a college football game at the same time as the annual Army-Navy game. The Athletic’s Ralph D. Russo wrote that a problem could arise if college football decides to expand the playoff tournament to more than its current 12 teams. Russo wrote, “It’s unclear whether a presidential executive order has the power to secure an exclusive television window, but administrators working on expansion already had been considering ways to work around the Army-Navy game.”
• OK, if there are any errors in today’s Poynter Report, please do not blame the editor of this newsletter, Ren LaForme — managing editor of Poynter. Ren is a Buffalo native, and of course, a diehard Bills fan. And while all Bills fans knew that heartbreak was coming because that’s just how it works, Buffalo’s overtime loss to Denver on Saturday in the NFL playoffs was, well, heartbreaking. Anyway, the Bills fired their head coach, Sean McDermott, on Monday morning. Here’s Awful Announcing’s Sean Keeley with “‘Good Morning Football’ and ‘Get Up’ reacting live to Sean McDermott’s firing made for fascinating TV.”

Hot type

• Valentino Garavani, known simply as Valentino — one of the most legendary fashion designers in history — has died. He was 93. Here’s The New York Times’ Vanessa Friedman with “Valentino Garavani, Regal Designer and Fashion’s ‘Last Emperor,’ Dies at 93.” And here’s the Times with “Valentino: A Life in Photos.”

More resources for journalists

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