The Dictatorship
“60 Minutes” holds off on airing critical piece on Trump deportation policy
An internal CBS News battle over a “60 Minutes” story critical of the Trump administration has exploded publicly, with a correspondent charging it was kept off the air for political reasons and news chief Bari Weiss saying Monday the story did not “advance the ball.”
Two hours before airtime Sunday, CBS announced that the story where correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi spoke to deportees who had been sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prisonwould not be a part of the show. Weiss, the Free Press founder named CBS News editor-in-chief in October, said it was her decision.
The dispute puts one of journalism’s most respected brands — and a frequent target of President Donald Trump — back in the spotlight and amplifies questions about whether Weiss’ appointment was a signal that CBS News was headed in a more Trump-friendly direction.
Alfonsi, in an email sent to fellow “60 Minutes” correspondents said the story was factually correct and had been cleared by CBS lawyers and its standards division. But the Trump administration had refused to comment for the story, and Weiss wanted a greater effort made to get their point of view.
“In my view, pulling it now after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one,” Alfonsi wrote in the email. She did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Alfonsi said in the email that interviews were sought with or questions directed to — sometimes both — the White House, State Department and Department of Homeland Security.
“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO,” Alfonsi wrote. “Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. 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.”
“Spike” is a journalist’s term for killing a story. But Weiss, in a statement, said that she looked forward to airing Alfonsi’s piece “when it’s ready.”
Speaking Monday at the daily CBS News internal editorial call, Weiss was clearly angered by Alfonsi’s memo. A transcript of Weiss’ message was provided by CBS News.
“The only newsroom I’m interested in running is one in which we are able to have contentious disagreements about the thorniest editorial matters with respect and, crucially, where we assume the best intent of our colleagues,” Weiss said. “Anything else is completely unacceptable.”
She said that while Alfonsi’s story presented powerful testimony about torture at the CECOT prison, The New York Times and other outlets had already done similar work. “To run a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more,” she said. “And this is ‘60 Minutes.’ We need to be able to get the principals on the record and on camera.”
It wasn’t clear whether Weiss’ involvement in seeking administration comment was sought. She reportedly helped the newscast arrange interviews with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff this past fall to discuss Trump’s Middle East peace efforts. Trump himself was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell on a “60 Minutes” telecast that aired on Nov. 2.
Trump has been sharply critical of “60 Minutes.” He refused to grant the show an interview prior to last fall’s election, then sued the network over how it handled an interview with election opponent Kamala Harris. CBS’ parent Paramount Global agreed to settle the lawsuit by paying Trump $16 million this past summer. More recently, Trump angrily reacted to correspondent Lesley Stahl’s interview with Trump former ally turned critic Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“60 Minutes” was notably tough on Trump during the first months of his second term, particularly in stories done by correspondent Scott Pelley. In accepting an award from USC Annenberg earlier this month for his journalism, Pelley noted that the stories were aired last spring “with an absolute minimum of interference.”
Pelley said that people at “60 Minutes” were concerned about what new ownership installed at Paramount this summer would mean for the broadcast. “It’s early yet, but what I can tell you is we are doing the same kinds of stories with the same kind of rigor, and we have experienced no corporate interference of any kind,” Pelley said then, according to deadline.com.
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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
As awards season progresses, celebrities continue to speak out against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown — especially in Minneapolis. Though some stars have opted for a slight nod of resistance with pins that say “ICE out,” others have been more vocal in their stances.
Upon accepting the Grammy Award for Best Música Urbana Album on Sunday night, Bad Bunny got straight to the point.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” the Puerto Rican performer said as soon as he approached the podium with award in hand.
After a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd, he continued.
“We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”
This is not the first time the artist has spoken out against the Trump administration’s rhetoric against immigrants in the United States. Last year, he announced he would no longer tour in the U.S., which drew criticism from some right-wing commentators.
Despite that pushback, Bad Bunny scored the headlining spot at this year’s Super Bowl and said he decided to “do just one date in the United States.”
The album Bad Bunny accepted the award for, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” also won Album of the Year, becoming the first primarily Spanish-language album to win the distinction in the ceremony’s 68-year history.
Kathleen Creedon is a platforms editor for MS NOW. She previously worked as a web producer for Vanity Fair.
Despite a brutal critical reception“Melania,” the documentary about the first lady released on January 30, outperformed expectations in its opening weekend.
“Melania” earned more than $7 million at the domestic U.S. box office, the highest opening for a non-concert documentary in decades. Most recently, the best-performing film in the same genre was Stephen Gray and Chris Radtke’s “After Death,” which opened at around $5 million domestically in 2023. With an opening box office of almost $24 million, Michael Moore’s 2004 film “Fahrenheit 9/11” remains the highest-grossing political documentary.
Critics, however, have been less kind to “Melania.” The documentary has received an aggregate rating of 10% among professional critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (which is owned by Versant, MS NOW’s parent company), and negative reviews from major news outlets abound. Writing for MS NOW, media critic Jen Cheney said the film is “so devoid of substance that it feels wrong to call it a documentary” and suggested “This thing is basically ‘Let Them Eat Cake: The Movie,’” invoking Marie Antoinette, the French queen beheaded during the revolution.
Still, the film about the model-turned-political figure found its audience. Media analytics company Comscore reported that roughly 72% of Melania’s audience during opening weekend were women, and 72% were over the age of 55. The majority of the movie-goers were also white.
Directed by Brett Ratner in his first film since he faced accusations of sexual abuse (allegations he has denied), “Melania” outperformed expectations out of the gate but has far to go before it becomes profitable: Amazon’s MGM Studios paid $40 million to license the film and another $35 million to promote it.
“We’re very encouraged by the strong start and positive audience response, with early box office for ‘Melania’ exceeding our expectation,” said Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM Studios’ head of domestic theatrical distribution.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
The Dictatorship
British prime minister says Prince Andrew should testify to Congress over Epstein ties
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the disgraced British royal formerly known as Prince Andrew, to testify before the U.S. Congress over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Firstly, I have always approached this question with the victims of Epstein in mind. Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority. As for whether there should be an apology, that’s a matter for Andrew,” Starmer told press on Saturday during an official visit to Tokyo, Japan.
“But yes, in terms of testifying, I have always said anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that. You can’t be victim-centered if you’re not prepared to do that.”
The statement comes after the Justice Department on Friday released more than 3 million pages of documents related to its investigation into Epstein as part of its mandate to fulfill the requirements of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Among the documents are photographs that show a barefoot Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over and touching the stomach and waist of an unidentified female figure whose face has been redacted.
Also among the newly released documents, the Guardian identified email exchanges between him and Epstein dated 2010. In them, Epstein tells Mountbatten-Windsor, “I have a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with” and refers to a 26-year-old Russian woman. Andrew replied that he would be “delighted to see her” and told Epstein to give her his contact information.
Mountbatten-Windsor has been unable to distance himself from the scandal over his friendship with Epstein, the American financier who ran a sex-trafficking ring.
Amid ongoing revelations about his history with Epstein, Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles last year by his older brother, King Charles III. Andrew was also evicted from his home at Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion located on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Virginia Giuffreone of Epstein’s victims, sued Mountbatten-Windsor in 2021, claiming she was forced to have sex with him. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2022with no admission of wrongdoing. Giuffre died by suicide last April. Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied the allegations against him. In a now-famous BBC Newsnight interviewhe claimed he was at a PizzaExpress in Woking with his daughter, Princess Beatrice, at the time of the alleged assault.
MS NOW is reviewing the documents released by the Justice Department in collaboration with journalists from NBC, AP, CNBC and CBS. Journalists from each newsroom worked together to examine the documents and share information about what is in them. Each outlet is responsible for its own independent news coverage of the documents.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
- Billie Eilish rips ICE at Grammys: ‘No one is illegal on stolen land’
- GOP rep: ‘Senate is very, very corrupt’
- Bad Bunny denounces ICE in Grammys speech: ‘We’re not savages’
- Portland mayor tells ICE to leave city after federal agents use tear gas on protesters
- Trevor Noah roasts Nicki Minaj’s Trump support at Grammys
- ‘ICE out’: Bad Bunny uses Grammy speech to speak out
- ‘Melania’ documentary beats expectations at box office
- British prime minister says Prince Andrew should testify to Congress over Epstein ties
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