A senior White House official has plunged into a bitter internal row at CBS News, calling for the immediate sacking of producers from the flagship programme 60 Minutes. The controversy erupted after the network's editor-in-chief spiked a prepared segment at the last minute.
A Last-Minute Spike and a Staff Revolt
Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, used an appearance on Fox News this Tuesday to attack staffers who were angered by the decision. The segment in question, reported by veteran journalist Sharyn Alfonsi, focused on conditions at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a notorious prison in El Salvador. The Trump administration has been deporting migrants with suspected gang affiliations to this facility.
The report was pulled from Sunday night's broadcast by Bari Weiss, the newly installed Editor-in-Chief of CBS News, just two hours before it was due to air in the United States. Producers stated the piece would run on a "future broadcast," but it later aired "mistakenly" in Canada. In response, Alfonsi sent a furious internal memo to staff, labelling Weiss's intervention as "a political one" rather than an editorial decision. The note was swiftly leaked, and sources told CNN that "people are threatening to quit over this."
Miller's Fiery Intervention on Fox News
Weighing in on the turmoil, Stephen Miller characterised the staff pushback as a "revolt" and demanded severe consequences. "Every one of those producers at ‘60 Minutes’ engaged in this revolt. Fire them, clean house, fire them," Miller told host Charlie Hurt.
He expressed contempt for the producers' perspective, asking, "You have these 60 Minutes producers who are living in comfort and security in their West End condos trying to make us feel sympathetic for these monsters?" Miller referenced inmates' tattoos and dared staff to "invite any of the prison's inhabitants into their homes for a night," asserting that under President Trump, "we are not going to let little girls get raped and murdered anymore."
Leadership Under Scrutiny and Industry Backlash
The scandal has thrown a harsh spotlight on the leadership of Bari Weiss, who took the helm at CBS News just a few months ago. A right-leaning opinion journalist and founder of The Free Press, she has no prior experience running a major newsroom. Weiss defended her decision, telling the New York Times that holding stories for more context "happens every day in every newsroom." She reiterated concerns about a lack of response from Miller and other White House officials in a leaked Monday call with staff.
However, multiple industry executives speaking to the Daily Mail this week suggested Weiss's handling of the situation revealed her inexperience. One source called her a "chaos agent" and stated, "She has singlehandedly destroyed the legacy of CBS News in less than three months." Another lamented the demoralising effect of what they saw as "access journalism." Earlier this month, sources indicated CBS News was becoming a "laughing stock" under her command.
The internal crisis coincides with a turbulent period for CBS's parent company, Paramount, as its new owner, David Ellison, pursues a hostile bid for Warner Bros-Discovery. Ellison was responsible for installing Weiss in her pivotal role back in October.
