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60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract was not renewed amid a clash with the editor-in-chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss.
“It sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom,” Alfonsi, 53, told The New York Times in an interview published on Wednesday, May 27, days after her deal expired. “I think it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize accurate reporting.”
Alfonsi alleged that her agent had been inquiring with CBS News over the past several weeks and had been met with silence. She explained that she remains employed at CBS, but has no contract in place. Alfonsi alleged that she did not have an expectation of returning to 60 Minutes.
“I’m not resigning,” she said. “If they want me gone because I did my job, they’ll have to fire me.”
Alfonsi has contributed to 60 Minutes since 2015. Six months prior to her contract not being renewed, Alfonsi’s segment on torture in Salvadoran prisons was pulled off the air by Weiss, 42.
At the time, Alfonsi said in an email to colleagues that the decision was “political.” Weiss, however, denied this and said the reporting “was not ready.” Weiss claimed she had suggested a few tweaks, including that the team ask for an interview with Stephen Miller.
The segment aired one month later. At the time, there were comments from the Trump administration added to the piece.
Alfonsi appeared on 60 Minutes through the remainder of the season, which came to an end in May. While weighing in on the show’s future, Alfonsi told The New York Times that she felt it was uncertain.
“For the last 60 years it’s been the same formula: Tell the truth, hold the power accountable, don’t blink,” she said. “And it’s unclear what next season looks like.”
She continued, “There’s a feeling that the wall has come down between editorial independence and corporate interests. The concern is we’re going to end up with a broadcast that looks like 60 Minutes but doesn’t have the courage or the character to produce 60 Minutes journalism that actually matters.”
Since Weiss joined CBS, Anderson Cooper also left the program after 20 years. In his last appearance earlier this month, Cooper shared that he hoped “60 Minutes remains 60 Minutes.”
He added, “The independence of 60 Minutes has been critical. The trust it has with viewers is critical to the success of 60 Minutes.”
