Following CBS News’ postponement of a “60 Minutes” segment examining the Trump administration’s deportation of Venezuelan migrants to CECOT prison in El Salvador, some media outlets have raised questions about whether the move was intended to curry favor with the government amid an escalating battle over Warner Bros. Discovery.
Paramount and its majority shareholders, the billionaire Elison family, recently made a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery increased to $108 billion. As WBD is currently moving forward with a deal to sell its film and streaming assets to Netflix, Paramount’s bid is considered hostile.
This week, Weiss sparked a furor over her decision to delay airing a “60 Minutes” segment about CECOT, an unusual move since the network had already begun promoting the package ahead of its expected Sunday night airing.
CBS INSIDERS WARN SKYDANCE MERGER BRINGS ‘HALL MONITOR’ TO NEWS DIVISION
CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss speaks on stage during a Book Club event with Peggy Noonan on November 19, 2024 in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for the Free Press/Getty Images)
Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi interviewed Venezuelan men deported to the infamous prison by the Trump administration for the segment, which leaked online Monday after airing in Canada. Alfonsi lashed out at Weiss in a memo to colleagues, saying it was a political decision and would be seen as corporate censorship.
Weiss told staff on Monday that she did not believe the story was ready to air and called on colleagues to handle disagreements in a respectful manner. In her notes to “60 Minutes” colleagues about the segment, Weiss called for more aggressive efforts to get Trump officials on camera and decried an “odd” section about analysis of the prison by Berkeley students. She has not called for the segment to end completely, but instead wants more coverage before it can air.
Liberal media think something terrible is going on, with several breathless reports claiming Weiss’s actions are tied to corporate machinations and the Ellisons’ connections to President Donald Trump.
A Tuesday report from New York Magazine’s The Intelligencer suggested that the Ellisons are vying for favorable treatment from the Trump administration by censoring the segment. Larry Ellison, the billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison and a Trump ally, has offered $40 billion of his own money as equity to sweeten the deal.
WARNER BROS BOARD RETURNS THE HIGHEST TAKEOVER BID AS SHAREHOLDERS SEE A $72BILLION NETFLIX CHOICE DECISION
“The Ellisons, who are among the richest men in the world, bought Paramount earlier this year and are now looking for an even bigger fish: They hope Trump will use his antitrust power to thwart Netflix’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery and allow Paramount to consume WB instead, creating a new entertainment and media giant,” New York Magazine claimed.
Oracle co-founder, CTO and Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, joined by US President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Despite this perceived power move, The Intelligencer argued that the Ellisons are “not yet on Trump’s good side,” and that the president “is still ruminating on 60 Minutes and still not being sycophantic toward him — not in the way he would like.”
Trump did indeed attempt ’60 Minutes’ on Truth Social last week, say the performance treated him even worse than before since David Ellison took over Paramount following its merger with Skydance Media this year.
A Monday report from a progressive outlet The Intercept was even more explicit in its accusations of corporate interference in connection with Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
The outlet claimed that Weiss’ move to increase the segment was “a perfect example of why Paramount’s new owner, David Ellison, hired her in the first place.”
PARAMOUNT STRENGTHENS ITS BID FOR WARNER BROS DISCOVERY AS WORLD AWAITS NETFLIX’S RESPONSE
“[Weiss’] Our job is to suck up to Trump, yes, but largely as a means — and not as an end in itself. If Trump favors CBS and Paramount, this could undermine the upcoming merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Undermine Discovery, help Ellison take over WBD himself, and strengthen the Ellison family’s media concentration to further advance their business interests and right-wing ideology,” The Intercept alleged.
Paramount recently completed its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery increased to $108 billion. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images)
The report further argued that Trump’s second term has seen “a total gutting of antitrust law” and that the Ellisons “have an opportunity to consolidate unprecedented control of the media in the hands of one company.”
The newspaper claimed that Trump, thanks to the strength of the federal government’s antitrust laws, could tip the balance in favor of the Ellisons in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery.
KUSHNER FIRM FALLS OUT OF PARAMOUNT’S ENEMY $108 billion WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY OFFER
According to the outlet, Weiss and Ellison’s “interference” in “60 Minutes” is not necessarily about promoting “Trumpism,” but about promoting the Ellison agenda and growing their massive media empire.
Earlier this year, Paramount completed an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, which required approval from the Trump administration.
While that was playing out, Paramount-owned CBS News settled an election interference lawsuit with Trump for $16 million over the way it edited a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. The lawsuit was called bogus by critics and the settlement was scrutinized as an effective bribee to get the merger across the finish line, while supporters said Trump was merely holding a liberal media outlet responsible for his dishonesty.
Paramount CEO David Ellison announced a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. on December 8. Discovery. (Charly Tribelleau/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The Defenders of Weiss online have said that her ideas to improve the story were completely reasonable, and reports that Alfonsi’s segment not included The on-the-record responses from the White House, State Department and Department of Homeland Security have sparked further discussion.
There is no evidence that Weiss made editorial decisions based on corporate or political pressure. Since becoming editor-in-chief of CBS News in October, her tenure has been closely watched because of her opinion background, especially her pro-Israel and anti-woke positions.
Alfonsi was also the correspondent behind a controversial “60 Minutes” segment in 2021 that alleged a pay-for-play scheme between Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. and Publix, which drew harsh criticism from Democrats and Republicans in the state.
One thing is clear, though: If Weiss hoped to generate less attention to the story by choosing to delay it, she was sorely mistaken. The segment, which can be seen herehas received infinitely more attention than if it had simply aired as planned.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Weiss and CBS News did not immediately return calls Fox New Digital‘s requests for comment.
