1 hour ago
3
“60 Minutes” correspondent Cecilia Vega accused CBS News of “censorship,” saying she fears for the future of the network, after she was fired by Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss in a bloodbath of top producers and reporters.
Vega sounded off in a Thursday night social media about her firing – which came even though her contract was not set to expire until next March – after three years with the storied newsmagazine.
“I have the utmost respect and admiration for my colleagues at ’60 Minutes’ and the stories that air every Sunday,” the journo wrote on Instagram. “But I very much fear what comes next for and the future of the legendary broadcast.”
Though her blistering note did not mention Weiss by name, Vega claimed that network leadership “in recent months” has attempted to “insert political bias into our stories” and erode editorial independence at “60 Minutes.”
A CBS News spokesperson told The Post in a statement: “We respect Ms. Vega and her contributions, but her claims are not based in reality.”
Thursday’s bloodbath included the ouster of executive producer Tanya Simon, whom Weiss replaced with Nick Bilton, a former New York Times columnist with no traditional broadcast news experience. He will become only the fifth executive producer in the show’s nearly 60 years on-air.
“60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi also got the boot on Thursday, after she accused Weiss of trying to “sanitize accurate reporting” when the editor pulled a segment on deportations to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. The report ultimately aired weeks later with additional comments from the Trump administration.
In her polemic, Vega alleged reporting teams have held back on pitching certain story ideas because they fear “internal repercussions.”
“Let’s call this what it is: censorship, both imposed and self-driven. It is dangerous for the show and dangerous for democracy,” wrote Vega, who previously worked at ABC News for 12 years.
The reporter said she “held the line” and “refused to incorporate suggestions that offend the conscience,” noting that she is aware of many other correspondents and producers who “have had to fight to maintain editorial independence with regularity.”
Vega added that she was proud of her work at the network, specifically noting her contributions to the CECOT episode and her role as the first Latina correspondent on “60 Minutes.”
“Today I lost an amazing job. But I still have my integrity,” she wrote. “To my former colleagues, continue to hold the line.”
The firings marked Weiss’ latest efforts to shake up CBS News. The former New York Times opinion columnist and founder of The Free Press was hired by Paramount Skydance boss David Ellison to bring balance to the network.
Tanya Simon’s no. 2 producer, Draggan Mihailovich, producer Guy Campanile and Matthew Polevoy, who ran digital operations for “60 Minutes,” were also fired Thursday.
“This is not surgical, it’s a bloodbath,” a network source previously told The Post.
Meanwhile, sources said news of Bilton’s hire sent “shockwaves” through the newsroom due to his lack of network TV chops.
English (US)