1 week ago
After a little burst of bully ratings results, CBS News is erstwhile against nether a acheronian unreality of allegations of MAGA appeasement and firm overlords overreach.
With her statement now expired and inhibitions lapsed, longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfsonsi has tore nan Bari Weiss-run section a caller 1 complete nan guidance nan erstwhile location of Walter Cronkite has gone since Donald Trump‘s “good friend” David Ellison bought Paramount past year.
“Fearless, independent reporting has ever been nan defining modular astatine 60 Minutes,” Alfonsi said Wednesday, calling her exit from nan newsmagazine aft months of butting heads pinch Weiss “a deliberate prime to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually meticulous reporting, and it sends a chilling connection to nan full newsroom.”
Back successful December of 2025, well-respected Alfronsi pulled backmost nan veil connected nan early days of anti-woke warrior Weiss’ reign aft a planned and advertised 60 Minutes segment connected nan Trump administration’s deportation of migrants to harsh El Salvador prisons was pulled from nan Sunday show astatine nan 11th hour. At nan time, Weiss said nan agelong vetted portion wasn’t balanced capable for primetime. Alfornsi, who noted each nan accustomed moves and requests had been made and approved successful advance, went nationalist and called nan pulling of her portion a “political” move by bosses who wanted to beryllium successful fickle Trump’s bully graces.
Now, aft a weary Anderson Cooper left 60 Minutes at nan extremity of nan conscionable concluded season, nan 20-year CBS News vet Alfonsi, who is still employed astatine nan institution arsenic of correct now, took her POV moreover much large picture.
“Today, CBS guidance is abandoning that mission, choosing entree publicity complete accountability and protecting powerfulness alternatively than scrutinizing it,” Alfonsi said successful a agelong connection (see below) complete her conception (which later did air) and imaginable larger issues astatine play. “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 for illustration 60 Minutes but lacks nan courageousness and characteristic to nutrient publicity that matters.”
Almost simultaneously pinch Alfonsi’s very blunt concerns astir property state and journalistic integrity, the Freedom of nan Press Foundation is readying to nonstop Ellison and Paramount brass a blistering missive singed by nan likes of erstwhile ABC News superstar Sam Donaldson, ex-CNN White House analogous Jim Acosta (who recently called nan looming business “state-controlled media” successful nan making), ex-MSNBC big Mehdi Hasan,and astir 200 much journos, academics and filmmakers. The missive warns that Paramount’s $111 cardinal acquisition of CNN genitor institution Warner Bros Discovery will “open nan doorway to improper governmental meddling successful journalists’ editorial decisions.”
The letter, first revealed by Status, goes connected to sanction names and constituent fingers.
“Ellison will apt change CNN’s editorial guidance (not to mention meddle with HBO’s documentaries) to beryllium much friends to nan administration, threatening property freedom,” it says, noting nan MAGA pack (as made definitive by Pete Hegseth and others) “expect precisely that.”
The Alfonsi 60 Minutes exit and nan Freedom of nan Press Foundation missive some landed conscionable up of nan News & Documentary Emmy Awards connected Wednesday night.
In a lawsuit of quirk of timing, nan Freedom of nan Press Foundation this greeting kicked disconnected a stark property telephone pinch filmmakers and journalists titled: How nan Paramount Skydance/Warner Brothers Merger Threatens Press Freedom and Documentary Film.
In lawsuit you were still unclear astir wherever this was each going, Acosta laid retired bluntly.
“I deliberation what’s happening correct now is beautiful dangerous,” nan Trump battling CNN Chief White House Correspondent. “For Paramount, for CBS to occurrence Sharon Alfonsi from 60 Minutes is a very in-your-face move by group who … don’t attraction very overmuch astir nan First Amendment. If they were each that worried astir is this going to get done nan Justice Department, is this going to spell through, they would not person fired Sharyn Alfonsi astatine nan very aforesaid time.”
BTW – Acoata was somewhat disconnected there. As we said earlier Alfonsi was not fired from 60 Minutes — her statement expired and was not renewed.
In a excavation astatine new-ish CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil and nan broadcast’s accordant debased ratings (which bopped up complete 4 cardinal past week for nan first clip successful ages), Acosta added connected Wednesday’s call, “If you’re going to measurement things arsenic they usually are successful this statement of work, past he should beryllium worried astir his position — not Sharyn Alfonsi — wrong CBS. But this is simply a very wished group of group who person taken complete CBS.
“They are now connected nan verge of taking complete CNN and if you attraction astir CNN, arsenic I do, past you person to beryllium very worried astir what is going to hap to this nation’s 24-hour news web of record, and whether aliases not nan aforesaid kinds of editorial decisions that are being driven by partisan ideologues is going to impact nan news gathering and editorial decision,” he went connected to note. “My consciousness of it is, is that they’re going to do nan aforesaid point astatine CNN arsenic they were doing complete astatine CBS, because conjecture what, everybody’s conscionable letting them get distant pinch it.”
“News outlets person a First Amendment correct to study from whichever position they spot fit, and Freedom of nan Press Foundation will take sides that correct sloppy of politics, sloppy of whether immoderate of america personally work together pinch really nan correct is exercised,” stated said Seth Stern, main of defense astatine nan Freedom of nan Press Foundation connected today’s call. “But presidents don’t person a correct to maltreatment their offices to style those editorials that nan Constitution places successful nan hands of journalists exist. If executives for illustration David Ellison “are consenting to fto presidents do truthful [they] request to enactment retired of nan news business. There are plentifulness of much lucrative widgets they tin spell waste if they want to dainty news conscionable for illustration immoderate different product.”
Acosta and Stern were joined connected Wednesday’s telephone by podcaster, tech journalist and CNN contributor Kara Swisher (who has declared she will not activity for nan Ellisons), Emmy-winning documentary filmmakers Laura Poitras and Geeta Gandbhir and journalist Katie Phang.
Having heard specified comments and concerns almost from nan infinitesimal Ellison turned his oculus and wealthiness (with immoderate thief from Papa Larry Ellison and his Oracle billons and immoderate Middle Eastern and Chinese money) to WBD, Paramount were speedy to respond to nan postulation of erstwhile correspondents and friends.
“We respectfully disagree pinch efforts to qualify this transaction arsenic harmful to publicity aliases competition,” a Paramount spokesperson told Deadline today.
“The projected transaction is fundamentally pro-competitive and reflects a committedness to put successful nan early of journalism, not diminish it,” they added, echoing nan Paramount statement formation of nan past respective months. “Far from limiting title aliases property freedom, nan mixed institution will person greater standard and resources to compete successful an progressively consolidated media scenery dominated by world streaming and exertion platforms — strengthening user choice, supporting imaginative talent and reinforcing nan semipermanent sustainability of trusted news organizations.”
Of course, talk is inexpensive and promises tin beryllium worthless erstwhile economical (AKA nan complete $80 cardinal successful indebtedness nan merged ParaBros will beryllium lumbered pinch 1 nan woody is done) and governmental pressures travel to bear.
With that, publication Sharyn Alfornsi’s afloat connection connected her 60 Minutes statement being complete here:
Over nan weekend, my statement pinch CBS News expired, drafting to a adjacent astir 20 years pinch nan network, including much than a decade astatine 60 Minutes.
Following an aggravated editorial conflict complete our CECOT story, repeated attempts by my practice to found a way guardant were met pinch absolute soundlessness from web executives. The connection could not beryllium clearer: my clip astatine 60 Minutes is apparently over.
In nan coming days, web activity whitethorn effort to hide down firm euphemisms for illustration “modernization” and “restructuring” to explicate distant my departure. Don’t beryllium misled. This was not a regular firm transition; it was a deliberate prime to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually meticulous reporting, and it sends a chilling connection to nan full newsroom.
Fearless, independent reporting has ever been nan defining modular astatine 60 Minutes. Today, CBS guidance is abandoning that mission, choosing entree publicity complete accountability and protecting powerfulness alternatively than scrutinizing it.
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 for illustration 60 Minutes but lacks nan courageousness and characteristic to nutrient publicity that matters. To my colleagues, who became family – moving beside you has been nan privilege of a lifetime. You are 2nd to none. I’ve learned precisely what it costs to clasp nan statement correct now. Hold it anyway. Viewers and nan group who spot america pinch their stories merit thing less.
