The 60 Minutes story about the CECOT prison in El Salvador, pulled at the end of last year in a controversial move by CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss, aired Sunday night.
According to multiple reports, the decision to pull the segment was seen as a matter of politics over journalism by CBS insiders. At the time, Weiss said the story required more reporting and an on-camera response from the Trump administration explaining its defense of the decision to send deportees to the prison.
We wondered whether those changes were made.
The story itself included file video of previous comments from President Trump and his press secretary. Here is a partial transcript of correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi’s intro. (The bolding is ours and is meant to call attention to the original issue at the center of the controversy over the story.)
“Between March and April of last year, the U.S. sent 252 Venezuelan men to a brutal maximum-security prison in El Salvador known as “CECOT”
“You will hear from two of those men. They describe torture, sexual and physical abuse inside the prison.
“Since November, 60 Minutes has made several attempts to interview key Trump administration officials on camera about our story. They declined our requests.
“Tonight, our report from inside CECOT.”
Inside CECOT – 60 Minutes
Meanwhile, down the hall at CBS News, Connecticut native Tony Dokoupil has been getting mixed reviews in his first weeks as the anchor of the CBS Evening News.
Viewership Slips in First Week of Dokoupil – Variety
Inside Dokoupil’s Chaotic First Week – The Guardian
Dokoupil’s First Week Should Worry Bari Weiss – Salon
And then there is this interesting story that has White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warning Dokoupil and his crew of the consequences if an interview with the president did not air in its entirety:
“We’ll Sue Your Ass Off” – Fox News
Elsewhere and related – ICYMI – Hearst Connecticut columnist Susan Campbell wrote last week about the breaking of her one person boycott of actor George Clooney that began when Clooney pushed for Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
Her decision was prompted by the airing of Clooney’s Good Night and Good Luck on Netflix. Campbell writes she is happy she ended her protest and found it good to be reminded that institutions can make a difference when they stand up for what is right.
So far, neither Clooney nor his representatives have responded publicly to what some have described privately as “the Campbell situation.”
