6 days ago
EXCLUSIVE: The courthouse aliases nan boardroom could beryllium nan adjacent venue for Sharyn Alfonsi and CBS News now that nan seasoned journalist has been pinkish slipped not conscionable from 60 Minutes, but nan Bari Weiss-led section too.
One time aft going nationalist pinch nan extremity of her decade agelong domiciled astatine nan acclaimed newsmagazine show, Alfornsi has been shown nan doorway astatine CBS News itself, Deadline tin confirm.
The firing of Alfonsi comes arsenic would-be contrarian and contention courting Weiss this greeting made agelong anticipated sweeping changes astatine 60 Minutes.
New York Times alum Nick Bilton has been brought successful arsenic executive shaper of nan show, pinch Tanya Simon retired ASAP. Having already mislaid a weary Anderson Cooper, 60 Minutes has besides axed EP Draggan Mihailoivich, on pinch analogous Cecilia Vega, on pinch Alfornsi. More changes successful unit arsenic good arsenic format are successful nan offering, sources adjacent to events show me.
In position of Alfonsi, who has been successful a nationalist squabble pinch Weiss for months complete a Trump management captious 60 Minutes conception was spiked astatine nan 11th hr past year, nan journalist whitethorn not beryllium going truthful quietly.
Alfonsi has hired difficult hitting litigator Bryan Freedman, I hear. Representation that indicates a ineligible tussle is successful nan making, possibly down closed doors, possibly not.
Best known of precocious for his domiciled successful nan now somewhat settled Blake Lively andJustin Baldoni dust-up, Freedman successful galore ways made his bones representing nan likes of Megyn Kelly, Chris Cuomo and Tucker Carlson successful ensuring their forced departures (to put it politely) from their respective networks ended up being lucrative for nan hosts. Whether CBS News’ genitor institution nan David Ellison-own Paramount are consenting to spell to nan mattresses complete Alfonsi remains to beryllium seen — aliases possibly they will constitute a hefty cheque successful nan hopes Alfonsi goes distant without going to court.
Freedman did not respond to petition from Deadline connected repping Alfonsi. CBS News didn’t person thing to opportunity connected Alfronsi being retired and retired fired, isolated from to nonstop america to nan property merchandise announcing Bilton’s hiring.
Alfonsi intelligibly isn’t fearful of staking retired her ground, astatine slightest successful caller days.
“Fearless, independent reporting has ever been nan defining modular at 60 Minutes,” Alfonsi said Wednesday aft not having her 60 Minutes contract renewed. A deficiency of renewal she called “a deliberate prime to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually meticulous reporting, and it sends a chilling connection to nan full newsroom.”
That chill began successful December 2025 erstwhile planned and advertised Alfonsi-fronted 60 Minutes segment connected nan Trump administration’s deportation of migrants to convulsive and cruel El Salvador prisons was pulled from nan Sunday newsmagazine conscionable hours earlier airing.
At nan time, Weiss said nan long-vetted portion wasn’t balanced capable for primetime. By balanced, nan Free Press laminitis told colleagues she felt nan Trump cam was fixed nan due forum and clip to respond. Internally that flared up arsenic nan Alfonsi portion had been researched, reached retired nan management and past was vetted and fixed nan greenish ray to proceed — until Weiss stepped in.
While nan conception did tally weeks later, nan stain connected 60 Minutes and CBS News has not gone away.
On May 27, Alfonsi proclaimed: “The wall betwixt editorial independency and firm liking astatine CBS is being methodically torn down. Journalists consenting to situation authority are being pushed speech successful favour of those who will not. If this continues, nan consequence will beryllium a broadcast that looks like 60 Minutes but lacks nan courageousness and characteristic to nutrient publicity that matters.”
Those words onshore moreover harder coming — successful and retired of court.
