Storm at CBS: the channel’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, canceled the publication of a report on the deportation of Venezuelan migrants scheduled for Sunday, a choice described as “political” by the segment’s director. What to understand from this affair?
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What is the report about?
The report, titled Inside CECOTwas supposed to be broadcast on the prestigious public affairs show 60 Minutes Sunday on CBS.
The report exposed the Trump administration’s deportation of hundreds of Latin American immigrants to CECOT, a prison in El Salvador with notoriously harsh conditions.
Journalist Sharyn Alfonsi interviews two Venezuelan migrants who were deported and incarcerated at CECOT. Detentions in voting booths, sexual assaults, physical corrections: they claim to have been tortured in prison.
The Trump administration declined to comment on the matter. In the report, however, we hear White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt assert in a press scrum that the men detained at CECOT are all “monsters,” “rapists” and “criminals.”
However, the men interviewed by Sharyn Alfonso claim not to be part of any criminal organization. Their testimonies are supported by university researchers and reports from humanitarian organizations.
Where does the controversy come from?
A few hours before the report was broadcast, Bari Weiss chose to remove it from the airwaves, according to an internal message sent by Sharyn Alfonso and made public. The topo had, however, been approved by lawyers and the CBS standards and practices division, according to the message. However, the report was broadcast on Global TV in Canada, probably by accident.
According to CNN, Bari Weiss made this decision because she deplored the lack of filmed reaction from the Trump administration. She suggested that the team 60 Minutes contacted US Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and provided them with his contact information.
Sharyn Alfonso said Bari Weiss’ decision was not “editorial” but “political” in her message. “We are trading 50 years of golden reputation for a single week of political silence,” she lamented.
Was the reporting lacking balance?
No, according to Alain Saulnier, former director general of information at Radio-Canada. “The journalist covered the question well. Ethically, I don’t see a problem,” he explains.
According to the journalist, this sudden withdrawal of the report is likely the decision of David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance, and his family, who are close allies of President Donald Trump. “They are playing tricks on CBS, who already have a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads,” underlines Mr. Saulnier.
He also points out that CBS is already weakened by Donald Trump, who received $16 million from the channel last July to settle a lawsuit. The president criticized the broadcaster for approving an interview edited to “favor” Kamala Harris during the presidential race.
“We are facing fascist maneuvers,” he says. This is a president who acts to ensure that the media does not speak against him and who intimidates his opponents into silence. »
