\n<\/p>\n
Nearly a month after CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss ignited controversy by shelving a 60 Minutes segment about Venezuelan prisoners, telling staffers that it needed more reporting, the piece finally aired on Sunday night.<\/p>\n
Weiss had originally instructed 60 Minutes to hold the segment about the Cecot prison in El Salvador, which had already been scheduled, in part because it lacked \u201cthe administration\u2019s argument\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sharyn Alfonsi, the correspondent who reported the segment, had described Weiss\u2019 decision as \u201cpolitical\u201d in a leaked email to colleagues, and noted that the Trump administration had declined to make officials available for interview.<\/p>\n
But 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. \u201cSince November, 60 Minutes has made several attempts to interview key Trump administration officials, on camera, about our story,\u201d Alfonsi told viewers. \u201cThey declined our request.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. \u201cDHS deflected all questions about abuse allegations at Cecot,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
While the original segment didn\u2019t air on CBS, it could be watched online because it was inadvertently aired by a network in Canada, providing a clear basis of comparison to Sunday\u2019s version of the piece.<\/p>\n
Alfonsi\u2019s opening comments were changed and updated to note the 3 January capture of Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, though the segment included a lot of the same material. It included interviews with the same subjects, including Luis Mu\u00f1oz Pinto, who described extremely harsh conditions at the prison, and Juan Pappier, Americas deputy director at Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Alfonsi\u2019s comments at the end of the segment were much longer in the new version \u2013\u00a0a length one CBS News staffer, not authorized to speak publicly, said was unusual.<\/p>\n
Weiss, a provocative opinion writer and editor with no experience working in broadcast television was appointed to lead CBS News in October.<\/p>\n
David Ellison, who controls the network\u2019s parent company, Paramount Skydance, and bought Weiss\u2019 Substack-based publication the Free Press in a reported $150m deal, said at the time she would bring \u201ca relentless commitment to amplifying voices from all corners of the spectrum\u201d \u2013 although staffers swiftly expressed concern.<\/p>\n
While CBS normally announces the program\u2019s lineup at least a day in advance, it did not formally confirm that the segment would air until early Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
The network re-affirmed that it had always intended to air the segment. \u201cCBS News leadership has always been committed to airing the 60 Minutes Cecot piece as soon as it was ready,\u201d it said. \u201cTonight, viewers get to see it, along with other important stories, all of which speak to CBS News\u2019 independence and the power of our storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the episode was closely watched by media industry observers interested in seeing how it differed from the original version, it likely lost some viewers to NBC, which was airing a divisional playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears.<\/p>\n
\u201c60 will not have the audience it normally does,\u201d a second network staffer, also not authorized to speak publicly, predicted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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