CBS' Bari Weiss justifies removing '60 Minutes' Salvadoran prison report in new Christmas memo

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, once again defended her decision not to air the '60 Minutes' segment about the El Salvador prison in a Christmas memo to her colleagues on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24.

As per a copy obtained by the New York Post, Weiss explained to her news staff that she wanted to restore people’s trust in the press, adding that they also needed to work hard to gain back the public’s trust.  

Bari Weiss indicates 'Inside CECOT' was pulled to win back public trust 

The New York Post obtained an email sent by Bari Weiss on Wednesday, and co-signed by CBS News President Tom Cibrowski, former Wall Street Journal Deputy Editor Charles Forelle, and former New York Times Opinion Editor Adam Rubenstein. 

The email discussed Weiss’s decision to pull the ‘60 Minutes’ segment that earned her backlash from her colleagues, the justification of which the CBS editor-in-chief had previously provided as well.

In the latest email, Weiss doubled down on her claims, noting that she pulled the story to "win back" the public’s trust. She added that they needed to ensure that the subject they were talking about was “comprehensive and fair.”

She also said that such decisions could “cause a firestorm,” especially during slow weeks, and would feel “controversial to those used to doing things one way.” 

The CBS editor-in-chief also wrote that “no amount of outrage” would derail the organization, regardless of who it was from.

She said that CBS was not out to “score points” from political parties or gain followers online.

“We are out to inform the American public and to get the story right,” she added. 

Sharyn Alfonsi claims the removal of 'Inside CECOT' was political

The ‘60 Minutes’ segment was set to air on Sunday. The segment provided a closer look at the Trump administration deporting hundreds of Venezuelan men to a prison in El Salvador.

According to the correspondent leading the story, Sharyn Alfonsi, the segment had been screened and approved by the attorneys and editors.

Alfonsi claimed that Weiss’s decision to push the piece to a later date was political, and Tanya Simon, the executive producer of ‘60 Minutes’, reportedly echoed her thoughts. 

However, Weiss denied Alfonsi’s claims, noting that the piece was not ready. She argued that the same thing had been reported on by multiple organizations and that if they were going to report on something from two months ago, they needed “more.”