CBS is facing criticism for pulling a segment about an El Salvadorian holding center for migrants off 60 Minutes this weekend. Some of the heat is coming from Connecticut lawmakers.
The segment was about the conditions at a notoriously harsh El Salvadorian prison where migrants are being detained after being deported from the United States. Hours before it was supposed to air, CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss made multiple change requests, and then the segment was ultimately pulled before airing in the U.S.
Sharyn Alfonsi, who reported the story, said in a message to colleagues obtained by The New York Times that it had been cleared by rigorous internal reviews and was pulled for political reasons.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) agreed.
“The segment didn't air because Trump has effectively taken editorial control of CBS,” Murphy said. “What happened a few months ago is that CBS’s parent company got bought. It got bought in a sale in which Trump basically said to the company that was buying it, if you want CBS, you've got to make CBS be more conservative. And you've essentially got to answer to me.”
In a three-minute social media video, Murphy went on to say media company mergers were making it more difficult for news organizations to report fairly.
“It previews what's coming in American media as more and more networks get bought up by these giant, billion-dollar corporations that care only about profit and are willing to give Donald Trump editorial control in order for their CEOs and investors to make billions off of these sales,” Murphy said. “This is how democracy dies.”
In a statement, Weiss said the piece would air at a later date after more reporting was done.
"Holding stories that aren't ready for whatever reason - that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices - happens every day in every newsroom," Weiss said in a statement.
The piece aired in Canada and has since circulated online.
