It sounds broken record-ish to keep saying this, but it's worth repeating all the same that journalists continue to demonstrate that they learned nothing from the 2024 elections.
The latest example, of course, is the fallout from CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss pulling a "60 Minutes" segment that sympathetically portrayed deported illegals who had spent time at the CECOT prison in El Salvador, with Weiss wanting to see an on-the-record interview from a high-ranking Trump administration official in the piece before it aired.
Though critics of Weiss, including the reporter at the center of the story, Sharyn Alfonsi, accused her of shelving it for "political" reasons, it's important to note that Weiss never said the story shouldn't run; just that all sides in the debate should be represented, and that certain language (like calling the illegals "migrants") should be adjusted to reflect the actual facts.
SEE ALSO: Meltdown at CBS News: 60 Minutes Dumps Fawning Illegal Alien Deportation Segment at Last Second
Another twist came when it was revealed that on-the-record comments from administration officials had been obtained, but strangely had not been included in the original segment - even though Alfonsi asserted they had declined to comment. That they actually did, but that the comments were left out, seemed to confirm what critics of the report suspected, that it was designed to be an anti-Trump hit piece rather than balanced reporting, an inconvenient fact Weiss has hinted at in her statements on the issue.
As if that didn't prove the point enough, actions taken by former CBS News journalists would seem to underscore it a bit more. A new report notes that they are circulating a petition among current staff to demand "editorial independence" from Weiss, and they are taking their Hurt Feelings Report straight to the top:
Former CBS News journalists are preparing a petition urging Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to uphold editorial independence at the network after editor in chief Bari Weiss yanked a “60 Minutes” segment on migrants sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Post on Monday.
A group of “prominent journalists” signed the text – which they plan to send on Saturday, Jan. 3 – and are circulating it among current and former CBS News employees, asking for their signatures, sources told The Post.
“The efforts by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss to prevent this story from airing on December 21, 2025, signals a breakdown in editorial oversight, and risks setting a dangerous precedent in a country that has traditionally valued press freedom,” the petition states.
CBS News journalists to urge David Ellison to protect ‘independence’ after Bari Weiss pulled ‘60 Minutes’ report on Salvadoran prison https://t.co/Hs56zeyXf4 pic.twitter.com/AZQCofDsis
— New York Post (@nypost) December 29, 2025
You don't have to be a journalism expert here to read that and think, "You have got to be kidding me." I mean, pretty much everything we've learned about how this unfolded lends credence to the suggestion that the original report that was pulled was anything but "independent reporting," because it lacked balance and pushed media/leftist-driven narratives about criminal illegal immigrants who have been deported under this administration.
Perhaps most notably, it left out on-the-record quotes from administration officials who undoubtedly tried to counter the spin "60 Minutes" was pushing.
Relatedly, newsrooms and the opinion side of any purported "news outlet" are typically kept separate and have different standards for a reason. The opinion side, naturally, is where a biased viewpoint on any particular issue can be freely expressed one way or another. That's not what's supposed to happen on the news side, yet that appears to be exactly what happened in this case (and many others on "60 Minutes," as we've previously documented).
RELATED: 'I'm Punching Back': DeSantis Makes Clear He Is Not Done Owning '60 Minutes'
Bari Weiss, in a nutshell, is trying to save CBS News from woke newsroom scolds by bringing back traditional journalism that tells both sides of a story and allows the reader/viewer to draw their own conclusions without the corporate media telling them how they should think. That current and former journos at the network are pushing back so hard against this and are demanding "independence" from editorial standards is very telling - and not in a good way - for them.
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