CBS faces backlash after pulling 60 Minutes report on El Salvador mega-prison

What exactly happened

On Sunday afternoon, CBS announced on social media that the 60 Minutes line-up had been changed and that the Cecot report would air at a later date.

The investigation focused on the Cecot mega-prison, where more than 200 Venezuelan migrants were sent after the Trump administration accused them of gang links. Many were deported without formal court hearings, under an agreement with El Salvador’s government.

The report included interviews with former detainees who described harsh treatment inside the prison. CBS had already promoted the segment online and listed it on its streaming platform Paramount Plus.

Editor-in-chief explains decision

Bari Weiss, who was appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News in October, addressed staff the following morning. She said she personally stopped the segment because it was “not ready”.

“I held that story and I held it because it wasn’t ready,” Weiss said, according to audio of the call reported by The Guardian. She said the testimony in the piece was strong but argued that the story needed more reporting.

Weiss added that CBS should make “every effort to get the principals on the record and on camera”, including officials from the Trump administration.

A CBS News spokesperson said earlier that the report required “additional reporting”.
Correspondent disputes move. Sharyn Alfonsi, the 60 Minutes correspondent who worked on the segment, strongly disagreed with the decision.

In a private message to colleagues, she said the episode had been reviewed multiple times and approved by lawyers and editorial standards teams.

“It is factually correct,” Alfonsi wrote, according to The Guardian. “In my view, pulling it now is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”

She said her team repeatedly requested comment from the White House, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, but received no response.

“If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a reason to spike a story,” Alfonsi said, “we have handed them a ‘kill switch’ for reporting they don’t like.”

Political and corporate concerns

The move has fuelled concerns about political pressure at CBS’s parent company, Paramount, which is seeking regulatory approval for a major merger with Skydance.

Several critics pointed to the fact that the deal requires approval from US regulators under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii wrote on X that the decision was “a terrible embarrassment” and suggested CBS was trying to avoid upsetting Trump.

What is happening to CBS is a terrible embarrassment and if executives think they can build shareholder value by avoiding journalism that might offend the Mad King they are about to learn a tough lesson. This is still America and we don’t enjoy bullshit like this.

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) December 22, 2025

Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts also criticised the move, calling it “a sad day for 60 Minutes and journalism”.

Media commentator Kara Swisher said the decision appeared designed to please Trump, noting reports that Weiss wanted the segment to include an interview with White House adviser Stephen Miller.

Wider debate in journalism

Weiss told staff that disagreement was healthy and urged colleagues to assume good faith in editorial debates.

Meanwhile, media professor Bob Thompson told The Guardian that political pressure on news organisations was not new, especially in a crowded media landscape.

“Each centre of power tries to protect its interests,” he said, adding that the idea of complete journalistic independence has always been difficult to achieve.

Despite the controversy, 60 Minutes remains one of the most watched news programmes in the US, drawing more than eight million viewers a week in its 57th season.