Petition unlikely to faze CEO amid Bari Weiss saga: ex-CBS journo
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Former CBS News journalists reportedly plan to demand that Paramount CEO David Ellison ensure CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss respects “editorial independence,” but one former staffer thinks the polarizing news chief is just doing what he was hired to do.
Weiss, who was hand-picked by Ellison and irritated some insiders by noting the public’s lack of trust in CBS and other mainstream media outlets, made headlines last week when she delayed a “60 Minutes” segment about Trump’s deportation to CECOT, a prison in El Salvador.
Hours before “Inside CECOT” aired, “60 Minutes” released a statement saying the episode had been postponed because it needed “additional reporting.” The decision to postpone the episode upset many, including “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who accused Weiss of holding the episode for political reasons.
BARI WEISS SUGGESTS THE STAFF THAT THE ’60 MINUTES’ SECTION OF CECOT, WHICH HE DELAYED IN THE MEMO, IS NOT ‘FAIR’
New Paramount CEO David Ellison has tapped Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images; James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images for Free Press)
New York Post On Monday, former CBS News journalists reportedly drafted a petition to Ellison, urging him to ensure CBS News respects “editorial independence.” The petition, reportedly to be sent to Ellison on Jan. 3, states that Weiss’ decision to publish the story “marks a breakdown in editorial control and risks setting a dangerous precedent in a country that has traditionally valued press freedom,” according to the Post.
A former CBS News reporter who was not asked to sign the letter doesn’t believe it will move the needle.
“I doubt this will have much of an impact on Ellison because I think he hired her to do exactly what he did — even if he didn’t do it in a rude and self-destructive way,” the former CBS News staffer told Fox News Digital.
’60 MINUTES’ CORRESPONDENT FIGHTS BARI WEISS AFTER BREAKING NEWS IN EL SALVADOR PRISON SECTION
Bari Weiss, editor-in-chief of CBS News. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and Free Press)
“I think it would be better if they asked him for a face-to-face meeting,” they continued. “This could be a ‘town hall’ that could have an impact.”
CBS News and Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In August, Ellison officially became the owner and CEO of Paramount, which is now officially referred to as “Paramount, a Skydance company.” He hand-picked Weiss to oversee CBS News, acquiring her channel The Free Press for $150 million in the process.
Weiss decided to postpone the “60 Minutes” segment after determining that although the interviews were “strong,” the story ultimately “didn’t move the ball forward” and “wasn’t ready.” His notes included calling for more efforts to get a Trump official on camera to defend the administration’s immigration policies and criticizing a “bizarre” part of the episode that showed Berkeley students analyzing the prison.
STEPHEN MILLER CALLS FOR FIRES OF CBS PRODUCERS FOR SHELFING TRUMP’S EXTRAORDINARY STORY EPISODE
The leaked episode did not feature any interviews with Trump officials or administration statements beyond a brief clip of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and another clip of President Donald Trump praising El Salvador’s prison system.
Axis declared The White House said the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department made statements to CBS, but none of them were included in the story.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Fox News Digital’s David Rutz and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
