CBS News has decided not to renew the contract of a '60 Minutes' correspondent whose segment on torture in Salvadoran prisons was initially pulled before it could air. Sharyn Alfonsi informed The New York Times that her current contract expired on Saturday, and CBS News has no plans to renew it.
Alfonsi's Response
'It sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom,' Alfonsi told the publication. 'I think it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize accurate reporting.'
Alfonsi had been critical of the news division's editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, after Weiss pulled a segment late last year that focused on a notorious prison in El Salvador where President Donald Trump's administration was sending Venezuelan migrants. Weiss pulled the segment hours before it was set to air, claiming it wasn't 'ready.' Alfonsi disagreed.
'It is factually correct,' Alfonsi said in an internal email at the time. 'In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one. If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a 'kill switch' for any reporting they find inconvenient.'
The segment was finally aired the following month.
Departures Under Weiss
Since Weiss has taken over, there have been several departures within the newsroom. Bill Owens, a top executive producer on '60 Minutes,' left in April of last year over concerns the show was losing its journalistic independence.
'Over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for '60 Minutes,' right for the audience,' Owens said in a memo at the time.
And longtime '60 Minutes' correspondent Anderson Cooper gave an emotional farewell earlier this month, stressing that he hopes the network and program will maintain their journalistic independence. Cooper's final segment reportedly infuriated Weiss.
Alfonsi's Future
While Alfonsi technically remains employed at CBS, with no contract, she told The New York Times it seems unlikely she'll return to '60 Minutes.'
'I'm not resigning,' Alfonsi told the publication. 'If they want me gone because I did my job, they'll have to fire me.'
