Another reporter is out of work this week. Although the announcement was completely expected, the news industry has been alight with praise for Sharyn Alfonsi and condemnation for the head of the CBS News division, Bari Weiss. The imbalanced emotional reactions and the absence of curiosity and — dare I suggest — research into the matter say so much of this industry today.
Sharyn has been at the center of a tepid media tempest this year with CBS News and Weiss, and recently, I covered how she was among those choosing to leave the network. Alfonsi was prepping for her firing; she retained an upper stratosphere lawyer to get ready for a negotiated settlement. However, as I noted, the network was likely to simply let her contract run out, and that has now taken place. Alfonsi today is being praised for her acidic exit letter.
NEW: Sharyn Alfonsi goes scorched earth on Bari Weiss:
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) May 27, 2026
"Over the weekend, my contract with CBS News expired, drawing to a close nearly twenty years with the network, including more than a decade at 60 Minutes.
Following an intense editorial dispute over our CECOT story,…
The general impressions in the news sphere have been uniform praise for her bold departure and sticking it to management. Her letter has been described as a sign Sharyn “blasts,” “rips,” and “lambastes” Bari Weiss, with whom she “tussled” and “tangled” in “a brutal takedown.” It is all very demonstrative cheerleading, and it completely ignores a central aspect to all of this: Sharyn Alfonsi justified being fired.
She delivered corrupted journalism, tried to deceive management, and then became a combative figure after the controversy. She basically was begging to be let go, and now is playing the oppressed warrior.
To briefly recap: This is the result of the quasi-controversy that began last December when Bari Weiss pulled a segment by Sharyn Alfonsi about the conditions inside the controversial CECOT prison in El Salvador, where many detained illegal aliens have been sent during deportation. It was poised to run on the December 21 episode of “60 Minutes,” but Weiss said the segment needed more work and to include comments from the Trump administration.
READ MORE: The 60 Minutes–Bari Weiss Melodrama Rests on Poorly Vetted Journalism
This decision kicked off a firestorm, both inside and outside CBS News. Alfonsi became a griping voice, claiming she was being censored. Those in the news industry were braying that Weiss was following orders from the Trump White House and spiked a story critical of the president. That all the furor was rooted in falsehoods has been proven. Alfonsi was not censored; she was tasked with ADDING to her piece (what we in the business know as “editing”), and it was still slated to go to the air.
What seemed clear in the wake of the histrionics was that the “60 Minutes” crew was used to playing by their own rules, and having an executive come in with the temerity of correcting a piece that needed more work was seen as a grievous offense to the elitists on that program. In the weeks following this dustup, Alfonsi became a more obstinate voice, and it soon became clear she was not destined long for her role at the network. Recently, she accepted an award from the Washington Press Club for “courage,” and in her speech made it known that she had her eyes on the EXIT.
Many in journalism circles are touting this journalist as she is escorted from the building (the Daily Beast refers to Alfonsi as a “star”), but what they are avoiding is that this is a reporter with a choppy history on the program. Her CECOT piece was another example of Alfonsi delivering a biased product, as can be shown.
She was the force behind the utterly laughable attempted hit on Ron DeSantis years ago. She falsely edited a video of his speech, and committed several other journalistic missteps so glaring that her entire segment had been debunked before it aired.
ALSO SEE: Poynter Institute Debases Itself in Its Assessment of the 60 Minutes-DeSantis Fiasco
Alfonsi was also the reporter who gleefully covered the efforts in Germany to clamp down on free speech. She interviewed several authorities who want to clamp down on disapproved speech on social media. She not only positioned these folks as sane and reasoned thinkers, but she also avoided bringing on anyone with a critical voice on the subject. A reporter, supporting the muzzling of free expression.
Alfonsi’s CECOT report is also a deeply flawed example of biased journalism. While loud upheaval over the decision by Weiss was heard, there was very little in the form of exploring the rationale behind her decision. It turned out that not only did Alfonsi fail to include commentary from administration officials, but it also appears she was deceptive about why.
At the time, Sharyn declared that she had reached out to officials but had not heard back from anyone.
In an email to her colleagues Sunday, "60 Minutes" correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi said the team "requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story," she said.
Except, it turns out that was not the case. As her segment was held until more information could be gleaned from the administration, it was revealed that Alfonsi had, in fact, heard back from those she had reached out to. No fewer than three sources had responded to the reporter’s request for information.
Some nuggets in here @axios:
— Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) December 22, 2025
- Can confirm WH, State Dept and DHS all provided on record comment in response to CBS News journalists’ request for comment ahead of the segment. None of those comments made airhttps://t.co/hFkRmt5Uv9
That is a rather damning development, as you not only had people in the administration willing to respond, but also doing so on the record. Worse still is the apparent attempt by Alfonsi to deceive her superiors by claiming she had not received responses in a timely fashion. This prevarication comes to sharper focus with coverage from PBS once her segment ran.
The story shown Sunday included no on-camera interviews with Trump administration officials. But it did include statements from the White House and Department of Homeland Security that were not part of what Alfonsi had used before her story was pulled. Some of statements (sic), which were carried in full on the "60 Minutes" website, were dated prior to Dec. 21.
That all adds up to a rather obvious conclusion: Sharyn Alfonsi was justifiably let go. Delivering fractured journalism, giving false details to editors and superiors, misrepresenting to the press the machinations of the editing, and then lashing out at management in sustained fashion for the following months is all grounds to be shown the door.
That Sharyn Alfonsi was expecting to be fired and then negotiating a fat settlement was another example of her weak investigation skills. Bari Weiss was content to let Alfonsi ride the bench for a few months and let her contract expire. It is doubtful that Alfonsi can apply the word “wrongfully” to any step in that process.
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