Journalists Draft Protest Memo to Paramount Boss David Ellison Over Spiked 60 Minutes Report

(Sipa USA via AP)

A growing group of former CBS News journalists is preparing to confront the network’s new owner David Ellison, chief of Paramount Skydance, demanding “editorial independence” after a 60 Minutes investigation into deported migrants was abruptly pulled from air.

In a petition addressed to Ellison and published by the New York Post, signatories warn that CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss’s decision to spike the report represents a dangerous political intervention in journalism. The letter is being circulated among current and former staff and is expected to be sent in early January.

The 60 Minutes segment, examining the treatment of migrants sent to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison by the Trump administration, was pulled just hours ahead of broadcast. Weiss argued it needed more work.

“The efforts by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss to prevent this story from airing on December 21, 2025, signals a breakdown in editorial oversight, and risks setting a dangerous precedent in a country that has traditionally valued press freedom,” the petition states.

The letter goes further, criticizing the editor-in-chief’s insistence that the piece be delayed until it included a White House voice: “Weiss’ last-minute proposal that the story be delayed until it included a White House official, despite reported efforts by the ‘60 Minutes‘ team to get comment from the Administration, was inappropriate.”

“Her specific urging to interview White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller proved particularly troublesome,” the memo adds, “given that he went on to call for everyone at the CBS News network who was involved in the production of this report to be fired.”

The episode has exposed fault lines inside CBS News following Weiss’s appointment in October, seen as part of Ellison’s effort to broaden the ideological range of the network after Paramount’s acquisition of Weiss’s media venture, The Free Press.

In an internal email to colleagues at the time, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who reported the segment, argued that the report had met standards and the decision to pull it was a “political one” after President Donald Trump lashed out at 60 Minutes as being biased against him and attacked the new leadership.

Weiss has defended her call, saying: “My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be. 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.”

She added: “I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”

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