前《60分钟》记者塞西莉亚·维加在新奥尔良全国西班牙裔记者协会年会上公开指责CBS News高管向她施压，要求在新闻报道中加入政治偏见[1]。维加表示，在制作涉及移民执法、贫困等议题的报道时，她和她的制作团队遭遇了在故事中插入政治偏见的努力[1]。她强调："在我的职业生涯中，直到现在，我才感觉到这些编辑和建议来自于错误信息或政治的立场[1]。"
维加曾在5月被解雇时声称，近几个月来她的团队经历了在报道中插入政治偏见的企图[1]。去年10月，派拉蒙首席执行官戴维·埃利森任命巴瑞·韦斯为CBS News编辑总监。韦斯曾延迟播出关于委内瑞拉人被驱逐到萨尔瓦多监狱的报道[1]。此外，《60分钟》主持人斯科特·佩利也指控韦斯在会议中"摧毁"了该节目[1]。
对于维加的指控，CBS News予以否认，称"她的主张不符合事实[1]"。
Cecilia Vega, a former correspondent for the news program 60 Minutes, has accused CBS News executives of pressuring her to inject political bias into her reporting.[1] Speaking at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists annual conference in New Orleans, Vega disclosed that she and her producing teams experienced efforts to alter coverage of immigration enforcement, poverty, and other topics by inserting non-existent footage and shifting editorial angles.[1]
"But never in my career, until now, have I felt that those edits, that those suggestions, came from a place of misinformation or politics," Vega stated.[1] When she was dismissed in May, Vega elaborated: "In recent months, my producing teams and I have experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories."[1] CBS News has denied the allegations, asserting that "her claims are not factual."[1]
The controversy involves Bari Weiss, who was appointed as CBS News senior editorial director by Paramount CEO David Ellison in October of the previous year.[1] Veteran journalist Scott Pelley has also leveled criticism against Weiss, accusing her of "murdering" the 60 Minutes program during meetings.[1] Among the specific incidents cited is Weiss's decision to delay the broadcast of a report concerning Venezuelan migrants being deported to Salvadoran prisons.[1]