Sharyn Alfonsi decries corporate meddling and editorial fear at CBS News
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 1
Sharyn Alfonsi decries corporate meddling and editorial fear at CBS News
6 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 1
Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington after receiving a Ridenhour prize, the 60 Minutes correspondent said she may lose her job over a delayed December Cecot report.
Alfonsi said she refused requests to alter the Venezuela-El Salvador segment after failing to secure Trump administration comment, arguing changes would look like censorship; the report eventually aired on 18 January largely unchanged.
She also disclosed a false SWAT call to her home after the delay and linked her experience to wider media pressure, following former 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens's resignation citing corporate interference.
If a top reporter can be intimidated at home, what hope is there for local journalists?
How many important stories are silenced by corporate fear before they ever reach the public?
When journalism is a business, is truth just another commodity?