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60 minutes reporter Charlene AlfonsiContract not renewed due to conflict with CBS News editor-in-chief, Barry Weiss.
“This sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom,” Alfonsi, 53, told reporters. new york times She was interviewed on Wednesday, May 27, just days after her contract expired. “I think punishing journalists who refuse to sanitize accurate reporting is a deliberate choice.”
Alfonsi claims her agent has been asking CBS News for the past few weeks but has been met with silence. She explained that she is still employed by CBS but does not have a contract. Alfonsi claims she doesn’t expect to return 60 minutes.
“I’m not resigning,” she said. “If they want me out because I do my job, they have to fire me.”
Alfonsi contributed 60 minutes Since 2015. Six months before her contract was not renewed, Weiss, 42, had Alfonsi’s segment on prison torture in El Salvador taken off the air.
At the time, Alfonsi said in an email to colleagues that the decision was “political.” However, Weiss denied this and said the report was “not ready yet.” Weiss claims she suggested some adjustments, including the team requesting an interview with Stephen Miller.
The segment aired a month later. At the time, comments from the Trump administration were added to the article.
Alfonsi appeared on “60 Minutes” for the remainder of the season, which ended in May. When weighing the show’s future, Alfonsi told The New York Times she felt it was uncertain.
“For the past 60 years, it’s been the same principles: tell the truth, hold those in power accountable, and don’t blink,” she said. “It’s unclear what next season will look like.”
She continued, “There is a feeling that the wall between editorial independence and corporate interests has come down. The worry is that we will end up with a broadcast that looks like this 60 minutes But don’t have the courage or character to create 60 minutes Journalism that really matters. “
Since Weiss joined CBS, Anderson Cooper Also left the show 20 years later. Cooper said when he was last seen earlier this month that he hope”60 minutes remains 60 minutes“.
He added: “Independence 60 minutes It’s always been critical. Audience trust is crucial to the success of the show 60 minutes“.