In a shocking move, CBS News is firing two of its longest-tenured journalists and correspondents. The massive shake-up comes amid a larger overhaul at the company that could include more departures.
Which 60 Minutes correspondent has CBS fired?
Correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecila Vega, along with senior executive producers Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailoivich, have been terminated from their posts at CBS News, according to Variety. The moves come as CBS News’ Bari Weiss seems to be implementing significant changes at the company. Alongside the shake-up, CBS News has appointed Vanity Fair writer Nick Bilton to lead 60 Minutes.
According to a separate report from THR, Alfonsi technically remained an at-will employee after her contract expired this weekend, but CBS has terminated that status as well. In a statement by Alfonsi, she confirmed her exit from the company she had been with for over a decade.
“Over the weekend, my contract with CBS News expired, drawing to a close nearly twenty years with the network, including more than a decade at 60 Minutes. Following an intense editorial dispute over our CECOT story, repeated attempts by my representation to establish a path forward were met with absolute silence from network executives. The message could not be clearer: my time at 60 Minutes is apparently over,” said Alfonsi.
“In the coming days, network leadership may attempt to hide behind corporate euphemisms like ‘modernization’ and ‘restructuring’ to explain away my departure. Don’t be misled. This was not a routine corporate transition; it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually accurate reporting, and it sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom.”
As Alfonsi notes, the beginning of the end of her time with CBS began last year. Alfonsi had worked on a story that involved speaking to Venezuelans who had been deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison. At that time, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss stated that the story was not ready, indicating that CBS had to “do more” to advance it.
While the story would eventually air, the decision to initially withhold it had already become a major issue. Alfonsi would also reference the story multiple times throughout the year, including in a speech at the National Press Club in April, where she accepted a journalism award and criticized Weiss by saying, “Some executives are asking not, ‘Is the story true?’ But, ‘Is it good for business?’”
Alfonsi began her career in 1995 for KHBS-KHOG-TV in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and in 2002 joined CBS News. She left the company in 2008 to work for ABC News but returned to CBS in 2011 and began working on 60 Minutes in 2015.
