I need to talk about what happened at CBS News this past week.
You may not know that early in my career, I covered Russian politics for about ten years, spanning the second half of Boris Yeltsin’s presidency and the early Vladimir Putin years.
As a freelancer for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in the early 2000s, I extensively covered Putin’s crackdown on the Russian media. Again and again, the Kremlin used corporate media owners or shareholders to impose editorial changes on unfriendly outlets, especially private television networks. I saw many examples of self-censorship or bosses interfering with outlets that criticized the authorities.
So I was alarmed (though not surprised) when Bari Weiss, the inexperienced editor in chief of CBS News, intervened to stop “60 Minutes” from airing a segment featuring Venezuelan men who were tortured this year in an El Salvador prison.
Weiss suggested the story lacked “sufficient context” and was “missing critical voices.” She later told CBS News staffers, “We need to be able to get the principals on the record and on camera.”
Sharyn Alfonsi, who reported the story for “60 Minutes,” was on target when she warned in an internal email, “Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient.”
In a December 24 email to CBS News staff, Weiss defended her decision, claiming most Americans “do not trust the press.” She went on:
To win back their trust, we have to work hard. Sometimes that means doing more legwork. Sometimes it means telling unexpected stories. Sometimes it means training our attention on topics that have been overlooked or misconstrued. And sometimes it means holding a piece about an important subject to make sure it is comprehensive and fair.
I work hard to provide Iowa political news you can’t find anywhere else: topics others overlooked, or a deeper dive on a big story of the day.
I couldn’t count the number of times government officials have ignored my inquiries. For example, in August and September 2020 I tried four times over a two-week period to get answers about Governor Kim Reynolds’ decision to use federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay part of her staff salaries.
In October 2020, I tried six times over three weeks to find out why those CARES Act funds were routed through another state agency, instead of being recorded on public databases as going to the governor’s office. The governor’s spokesperson also did not respond to my later questions about the decision to tap COVID-19 relief funds for that purpose.
Journalists should seek comment from official sources, as I regularly do. But you can’t hold the government accountable if you give them the power to decide what to publish. While I have sometimes delayed stories waiting for comment, or spiked stories I couldn’t nail down, you have my word that I will never yank a story because the “principals” refused to go on the record.
Weiss isn’t demanding “comprehensive and fair” reporting. She is demonstrating that she will bend CBS News coverage to suit the the Trump administration. Whether she’s mainly concerned with her own standing in Trumpworld or trying to boost her billionaire patron’s next corporate acquisition, I have no idea. The impact on “60 Minutes” is the same.
This episode, like the recent sale of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, has reminded me how lucky I am to have my own platform. That wouldn’t be possible without support from readers, which secures my editorial independence.
So whether your celebration of choice is Chanukah, the winter solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or New Year’s Day, I am grateful that you are here. Wishing you health, happiness, and fulfillment this holiday season.
Top image: Sign on the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City, photographed in January 2025 by George Wirt, available via Shutterstock.