Cecilia Vega alleges CBS News meddled in her ’60 Minutes’ reporting

Fired “60 Minutes” reporter Cecilia Vega has spoken out against her former bosses at CBS News, claiming they interfered with the show’s reporting.

Vega, who was fired by the network in May, appeared at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference and Expo in New Orleans on Thursday. According to audio recordings obtained by Status News, Vega decided to speak candidly about her experience despite initially being “scared” to do so.

“It’s not just me losing my job. There’s a lot at stake,” Vega said. Situation. “Sometimes you have to be afraid and do it anyway.”

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Vega claimed that while reporting on anti-ICE unrest in Minnesota in January, which highlighted the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, he was also encouraged to include footage of anti-ICE agitators attacking people perceived to be plainclothes ICE agents, but concluded at the time that although there was one reported example, there were “no credible examples.” Alpha News. He also said his team was asked to include comments he made about Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey allegedly calling for local police to fight ICE agents at a news conference, and that the police chief rolled his eyes in response and insisted after an extensive search that the moment was “misinformation.”

“That never happened,” Vega reportedly said. “We couldn’t find any examples of the mayor saying anything like that.”

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on January 14 press conferenceFrey said residents want police officers to “fight ICE agents on the street” and decried the idea that two government agencies are “literally fighting each other.” The police chief standing next to him can be seen raising his eyebrows in surprise at the residents’ obvious request.

CBS News has faced an overhaul since new Paramount CEO David Ellison appointed Weiss as editor-in-chief. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

Additionally, Vega claimed that she was told to submit a report on President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, saying, “Who’s winning the war? Iran is completely outmatched by the United States and Israel, even though the conflict is just days away,” and considered the quote an “administration talking point.”

When asked if the alleged interference affected his reporting, Vega said: “If you follow my articles, you will see that these examples were not included in the report.”

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While Vega declined to name Weiss, he said “new management at CBS News” was behind the various directives and that he “never had the opportunity to meet with Bari Weiss one-on-one” before he was fired.

“I don’t know why I was fired,” Vega said, according to Status. “It’s been about three months… and I don’t know. I haven’t been given a reason. I still haven’t been given a reason.”

Bill Owens, Wendy McMahon, Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley were fired from CBS News. (Getty Images)

“We respect Ms. Vega and her contributions, but her allegations are not based on fact,” a CBS News spokesperson said, noting a statement previously made to Fox News Digital following Vega’s initial speech.

CBS News also cited a comment Weiss previously told the Wall Street Journal: “What is called ‘editorial interference’ is actually the job description of an editor-in-chief.”

Vega was among several high-level “60 Minutes” staffers laid off in May, including reporter Sharyn Alfonsi and executive producer Tanya Simon. Veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley was also fired after a combative exchange with the show’s new executive producer, Nick Bilton, at a staff meeting.

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