May 29, 2026
60 Minutes Fires 3 Veteran Female Journalists: Hear How They Fired Back
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RSS Feed On Thursday, CBS News announced three senior level women with “60 Minutes” were out of a job. First, the show’s executive producer, Tanya Simon, daughter of legendary reporter Bob Simon, was fired and replaced by a technology columnist who has never worked in broadcast news. Next, correspondents Sharon Alfonsi and our former ABC colleague and present day friend, Cecilia Vega were let go as well. Wait until you hear what Vega and Alfonsi had to say as they left the network, both women claiming censorship and political bias led to their departures.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey, folks, it is Friday, May twenty ninth, and the woman in charge at CBS News just fired three women. And not just any three women. They have played significant roles at that network for decades in some cases, have been in headlines in other cases, and have made history at this show in other cases. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. One that hits a little bit different because it does involve a very very dear friend to this household. Ropes.
00:00:37
Speaker 2: Yes, among the three women who were fired yesterday, Cecilia Vega, who was a not just a colleague to you and I, but a friend and a really close friend I know with you. We had we had dinner with her not even that long ago, and it was the opportunity and I really I think the position of a lifetime. So many journalists will tell you the gold standard, the program that you would probably be most proud to be affiliated with as a journalist coming up would absolutely be sixty Minutes. And Cecilia Vega reached that goal and made history doing so.
00:01:19
Speaker 1: Ropes. She's the first Latina correspondent on sixty Minutes. Ropes, there is no we talk here about the evening news, right the Dan Rathers and the Peter Jennings and the right Tom Brookes. Sure, that is like the big job. There is one bigger. If you get to sixty minutes, you can't go higher. You have the greatest viewership, you have the greatest respect out there. And it's just this show is different. I didn't realize, roh. It's been the number one news show for like fifty years, not just like it got close to getting beat by some other show one year. This just dominates. It is what it is. This is the standard. And yes, Cecilia Vega, and I'm not betraying a trust here. She well, she she battled with that decision about going. She knew how important it was, but she was in a good position, like all of us were at Good Morning America and what do you do? What do you do? And go back and forth. I just know how much this job means to journalists, and I know firsthand how much, admit to her.
00:02:23
Speaker 2: Yes, I mean, you make a very good point. She was in such a good position at Good Morning America and we worked alongside her day in and day out. But she had taken over the Friday slot for Robin Roberts, who in her last contract, was able to get a longer extended weekend, and Cecilia was named her replacement for that Friday. That is a big deal. That is a seat in the most important chair. I would think most people would argue at that network, and she had a foot in the door, and she left it behind to pursue sixteen Minutes, which, again, as we pointed out, is really and truly a destination that most journalists can only dream about.
00:03:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, you, it's a destination. You don't leave. No, you make it here, you don't leave that place. And Robs, honestly, I don't remember, correct me if I'm wrong fired sixty Minutes correspondence.
00:03:17
Speaker 2: I don't. Not for no reason, not for like there would have to have been some specific, egregious acting. I don't call anyone. Sure people's contracts don't get renewed. And that is what happened with Sharon el Fonsi, and that was just perhaps good timing for the network who she has certainly made some waves and has made her voice known and her feelings known about the direction CBS News and sixty Minutes is taking. So it's not a huge shock that they wouldn't have renewed her contract, but she had some very choice words for the network as she was leaving, as did Cecilia Vega. And we should point out that is not normal, That is not typical when journalists leave jobs, and so many of us have been moved, contracts, not renewed, fired, YadA, YadA, YadA. You still don't burn bridges on your way out. This is a very intimate group of people who work in network news. We all know each other, and the last thing you want to do is create enemies. So most people are very respectful, even if they're upset by the loss of their.
00:04:18
Speaker 1: Job, you know, even if it's a self preservation to a certain degree in the industry, but it's also the right thing to do. Why would you want to go burn the place down right on your way out. This is different. It is hitting different ropes because they are not making just some kinds of personal complaints. They don't sound like personal grievances. There was a consistent theme in these narratives coming out of folks we're hearing at CBS News robes, and it's consistent about how they are being Yes, the word censored is being thrown around.
00:04:51
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, and you're hearing that from Cecilia Vega. You're hearing that from Sharon Alfonsi. It is interesting because among that we mentioned three women. Ton Simon, who was the show's executive producer, who was also I didn't even put two and two together, but you pointed out is the daughter of the legendary CBS sixty Minutes correspondent Bob Simon, Tanya Simon. What a cool story that she rose in her father's shadow up through the ranks of sixty minutes CBS News in sixty minutes to become the leader, and she too has been ousted. She actually did not say anything negative. She just was very positive and still acted like that cheerleader and made the point as she was leaving, keep doing your thing. Our ratings are up nine percent year to year. That's the shocking thing. You mentioned, the success of this show, This show despite all the rating decline that you see across the board and show, every broadcast program, news, entertainment, whatever you name it on television is absolutely bleeding viewers. But the fact sixty Minutes was up nine percent year to year and they're still firing prominent women who don't perhaps align with their new mission or their new vision. That's concerning and some of these women want you to know that.
00:06:13
Speaker 1: So before we get into who has now been hired at sixty minutes, let's stick with who's been fired. We'll get into Cecilia. You know you want to do Sharon Alfonse, you want to do Cecilia first.
00:06:24
Speaker 2: Let's h who are you?
00:06:25
Speaker 1: Let's share, Let's still Sicilia Cecilia. Okay with Cecilia. And again Cecilia has been there three years now, and she made clear up. Now, this is not someone who publicly like Sharon Alfonsi, who has been any kind of back and forth with her network. She's not a name you've heard out there having some issues. But Robes she put out a statement on It was on Instagram with a nine Robes. This is a very important statement that folks need to listen to. It's important because it is scary. But you have someone directly from inside reporting what is happening in there and Rose this is scary.
00:07:03
Speaker 2: And it's a big deal because, as I said, you and I have left, and we could have and I could have, and both of us could have said a lot of things, but we chose not to like most people do. So for her to speak up, that's how important this was for her to let you all know this. She said, I was fired today. My contract as a correspondent for sixty Minutes was not set to expire until March twenty twenty seven.
00:07:26
Speaker 1: I thought that was important for her to say as well. She led with that, and that's hard to say, folks, It's hard to let that come out of your mouth. I was fired. No, that's difficult, but she rose. I thought that was a great way to put it. I start off right here. Let's make this clear.
00:07:41
Speaker 2: Okay, you got our attention, Cecilia. She went on to say, I have the utmost respect and admiration for my colleagues at sixty Minutes and the stories that air every Sunday, but I very much fear what comes next for and the future of the legendary broadcast. In recent months, my producing teams and I have experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories. Reporting teams have held back on submitting story pitches about important news topics out of fear of the internal repercussions. Let's call this what it is, censorship, both imposed and self driven. It is dangerous for the show and dangerous for democracy ropes.
00:08:23
Speaker 1: That is the most important line maybe of it that efforts are being made within CBS News to insert political bias into the reporting. Robes. That is as damning of a sentence from a legitimate source, and somebody, we should listen to, Robes. You're telling me that sixty minutes now we all assumed it and maybe watching for it and whatever. But they could always push back, Robes. There is no pushing back on that as a direct accusation that sixty Minutes and CBS News is going to have to respond to.
00:08:57
Speaker 2: And she doesn't make that lightly. Oh they have. We'll get to that in a second. They didn't let this go unchecked. She went on to say I held the line and refused to incorporate suggestions that offend the conscience, a phrase I borrow from a colleague who has also fought to keep questionable editorial suggestions away from the facts. I know from many conversations with colleagues that many producing teams and correspondents working on the show today have had to fight to maintain editorial independence with regularity. I am far from the only sixty Minutes correspondent who has asked herself, what is my personal red line? How much can I push back before I pay the price. I am proud of the work I did for sixty minutes this season alone, I was part of teams that won two of the highest honors in our profession at George Polk Award at a DuPont Columbia Award for our coverage of Venezuelan migrants sent by the Trump administration to El Salvador Seacott Prison, and not for nothing, I climbed to Mount Everest. I also walk away with an honor no one can take away from me, the first Latina correspondent to ever be on sixty minutes Today. This got me, This got me. I actually get emotional reading this last line, last two lines. Today. I lost an amazing job, but I still have my integrity to my former colleagues continue to hold the line. Whoah, that makes me emotional.
00:10:26
Speaker 1: That we know how it goes, robes, we know how the business goes, and sometimes new bosses come in, they don't like you, and that's and that happens. This doesn't feel like that necessarily. Where did this come from? Why there's no reason given for why she was let go. If you want to say we're not resigning ALPHONSI, that's one thing, her contract expires. What'd you say immediately?
00:10:48
Speaker 2: It's yes, her Alfonsie's contract actually expired on Saturday.
00:10:52
Speaker 1: Okay, so somebody doesn't get resigned. That's one thing. Someone who has another year plus at a place, at a company where I didn't see. If she was doing a bad job on the show, they're no complaints about it. Actually, robes they you're not allowed to do a bad job on sixty minutes.
00:11:06
Speaker 2: That's true.
00:11:07
Speaker 1: If you make it here, you can do the job. Then why why she fired?
00:11:12
Speaker 2: Uh? That is unclear and has not been publicly revealed, and they don't have to. But CBS's response to Cecilia's post was this, we respect miss Vega and her contributions, but her claims are not based in reality.
00:11:31
Speaker 1: That sounds like out of the White House. Yep, that's a dismissive. We're not going to address it. They just stopped short of calling possibly calling her a name like what we might hear. It really did read like that. It was a dismissive. And then what are they supposed to say they were right, the organization was just insulted or an accusation hurled their way. Sure, they want to defend themselves I get it, but Robes, you have someone on the inside saying this is what's happening. The thing y'all suspect is happening, and it happened to be often here yep.
00:12:01
Speaker 2: And it's not just one person. And when we come back, we're going to tell you what Sharon Alfonsi had to say in her statement, which was very similar to what we heard from Cecilia Tanya Simon. And we're also going to tell you about the man that Barry Weiss and CBS News has hired to head up sixty Minutes. Here's a little asterisk. He's never held a broadcast news position before in his career. And welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ where we are talking about sixty Minutes and a decision by Barry Weiss to acts to fire three prominent veteran female journalists in one day. And they had some things to say that we all need to pay attention to. We told you what our former colleague and good friend, Cecilia Vega had to say, and here is what her colleague, Sharon Alphonsi wrote upon news that her contract was not being renewed. She said, 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 sixty Minutes. Following an intense editorial dispute over our prison 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 sixty Minutes is apparently over. She went on to say this was not a routine corporate transition. It was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually accurate reporting. She said, it goes on, It sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom, and I thought this was interesting. She she wanted to kind of get ahead of what CBS News might say about her or about their decision not to renew her contract. She said, in the coming days, network leadership may attempt to hide behind corporate euphemisms like modernization and restructuring to explain away my departure. Do not be misled.
00:14:20
Speaker 1: That's not going to work. We need too fewer correspondents to help us move this show that's been number one for fifty years forward. Yeah, we're kinda just start now. It's sixty minutes No.
00:14:32
Speaker 2: And to remind anyone who wasn't familiar with her story, Sharon Alfonsi had a report on the conditions of Venezuelan migrants detained at Seacott Prison and that was supposed to air in December, but just before it was about to air, Barry Wise pulled it and said they needed to have an on camera interview with the Trump administration official. And by the way, CBS News Sharon Alfonsi sixty Minutes had already asked for a response and the Trump administration declined. So then to give them this extra opportunity to say what they wanted after being able to review what was in the piece is completely not journalism, but that was insisted upon before it actually aired.
00:15:10
Speaker 1: Those promos were out, so this was last second. It was supposed to air that day, absolutely.
00:15:15
Speaker 2: And according to Alfonsi, it had already been vetted and cleared by all the producers by standards and procedures by their lawyers, like this was not an issue about the quality of the reporting, and so that was an issue, and so she sent out an email and to producers explaining this, and it got.
00:15:36
Speaker 1: Leaked, obviously, and she knew it would.
00:15:38
Speaker 2: She knew it would. She wanted folks to know why her story didn't air, and it had nothing to do with the quality.
00:15:44
Speaker 1: Of the report. So obviously I can understand why they might not renew her. They could have fired her on the spot. They could have, but that one I kind of understand. Yeah, it's a shame you can't get together and say, all right, we had a dispute here, let's figure this out. You're of value to this network. It seems a little vindiculous.
00:16:02
Speaker 2: She said. Barry Wise wouldn't return her phone calls. She said, Barry Wise wouldn't even talk to her about her piece. So yes, she made a choice to send out an email.
00:16:10
Speaker 1: She's gotten Barrywies is a busy woman. She's got every right to do that. No, you might not like it, but I don't know Robes. They're trying to go whatever direction they That's the thing we had in Morning Run this morning. And I wrote the line in the script to be silly. Yeah, if it ain't broke, fix it, who does that? Right? Sixty minutes ain't broke.
00:16:31
Speaker 2: And to that point, Tanya Simon said, and her parting words the executive producer. She said leadership has decided it is time for a new chapter. She said that the show was more than just a broadcast. It's an institution built on independence, grit and rigorous search for the truth. That is the work we did together. And with ratings up nine percent over last year, no less, you should all be proud. I mean, that was a very sweet parting gift to the staff. Probably feels very demoralized by this news, and.
00:17:02
Speaker 1: She's tooting her own horn. Of course, they just fired the person and as this institution up after fifty plus years.
00:17:12
Speaker 2: It brought in nine point one million viewers on average this season. It is one of the most watch shows on broadcast television. But look, they just lost Anderson Cooper, who had been on the show after twenty years. He just said he wanted to spend more time with his family. He did not make any political statements.
00:17:29
Speaker 1: Which is understandable.
00:17:31
Speaker 2: Yep, absolutely on that. And then remember Bill Owens left last year. It's only been one year. Think about what's happened in this year, but he only left a year ago. He left also and made it very clear based on the editorial direction, it was heady.
00:17:46
Speaker 1: Did you said do you remember did it sound at the time it was anything other than that. It didn't seem like he was being forced out. It looked like because we were shocked.
00:17:52
Speaker 2: He left in protests. Yeah, and very clearly made that, very clear that he left in protest. So who is now going to steer this ship in a new direction? His name is Nick Bilton. Who's that you ask? Well, that's what we're all asking because he is. Look and I get the idea that you want to maybe bring in someone from the outside, someone who isn't in these legacy media organizations, to shake things up, And that is what Barry Weiss is claiming she wants to do. In frankly, that's how she and why she was brought in. She also was not anyone familiar with broadcast television or broadcast news. So yes, he basically is a documentarian and he was a New York Times technology columnist. I don't know if that makes him a journalist they're claiming it does.
00:18:47
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, I give him those credentials. That's fine, but it's just odd. Never worked in broadcast television before is interesting.
00:18:54
Speaker 2: And here is what Weiss had to say about him. She said that, and I think. She alongside Tom Sabrowski, who we know and worked for many many years at ABC News, who's over at CBS now and works alongside Barry Weisse. They had a joint statement where they called Builton one of the most entrepreneurial journalists of our time and the perfect leader for one of the most entrepreneurial news brands of all times. We have huge ambition for sixty Minutes to reach new heights through deep revelatory journalism that breaks news, exposes wrongdoing, widen's public understanding, and forces accountability from every institution and every center of power. Okay, we shall see.
00:19:36
Speaker 1: Look, I'll give anybody a shot. Ropes outside the box thinking works. Sometimes they're making this decision. It seems like CBS is going to become something else. It's going to become something different, run by people who do not work in television news. Is that okay? Is that going to work? I guess the proof is only in the viewing pudding later if by ratings, but robes, I mean it's not working. Whatever is in broadcast news right now is not working. We watch it every single day and we sit here and we say the same thing. Holy hell, this is what's on now, And we are not knocking the talent, but Robes there is a talent vacuum now or we're missing there's a talent drain on television. So when you have somebody as good as Cecilia and Alfonsi being taken out of that mix to be replaced with what I'm not knocking this technology journalist, but folks are being brought on who are traditionally in this. But it's so far Robes not making the product better, not yet it could, and we wait to see what happens to sixty minutes. I'm willing to give them all a shot, Babe, I'm willing.
00:20:49
Speaker 2: But I do think and I think we can speak with I don't want to use the word authority, but with certain insight that you all should be paying attention to what Cecilia Vega and Sharon Alfonsie are saying. Yeah, what they're saying is true, and I think we need to view some of what we may see from sixty minutes through their lens.
00:21:10
Speaker 1: Okay, And I can say this, Rosen, you probably can too. Twenty five plus years in broadcast newsrooms, Rose, I cannot remember a single time like I could bash anybody I want to right now, I'm already out of these newsrooms. A single time where I was asked to include something political in my reporting. People think it's left leaning and it's biased. This and that. We do not sit up in newsrooms and have conversations about inserting this or giving this impression wrote It just doesn't happen for her to say this at sixty minutes, you almost look at the show differently, And if you're doing that, that is a problem they're going to have to address. If we think this wonderful institution is not that anymore because of what Alfonsi and Vega O telling.
00:22:01
Speaker 2: All right, well, we will obviously be continuing to watch this story and what happens over there is sixty minutes, and we always appreciate you listening to us. Thank you. I made Roebuck alongside TJ. Holmes. We will talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: Hey, folks, it is Friday, May twenty ninth, and the woman in charge at CBS News just fired three women. And not just any three women. They have played significant roles at that network for decades in some cases, have been in headlines in other cases, and have made history at this show in other cases. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. One that hits a little bit different because it does involve a very very dear friend to this household. Ropes.
00:00:37
Speaker 2: Yes, among the three women who were fired yesterday, Cecilia Vega, who was a not just a colleague to you and I, but a friend and a really close friend I know with you. We had we had dinner with her not even that long ago, and it was the opportunity and I really I think the position of a lifetime. So many journalists will tell you the gold standard, the program that you would probably be most proud to be affiliated with as a journalist coming up would absolutely be sixty Minutes. And Cecilia Vega reached that goal and made history doing so.
00:01:19
Speaker 1: Ropes. She's the first Latina correspondent on sixty Minutes. Ropes, there is no we talk here about the evening news, right the Dan Rathers and the Peter Jennings and the right Tom Brookes. Sure, that is like the big job. There is one bigger. If you get to sixty minutes, you can't go higher. You have the greatest viewership, you have the greatest respect out there. And it's just this show is different. I didn't realize, roh. It's been the number one news show for like fifty years, not just like it got close to getting beat by some other show one year. This just dominates. It is what it is. This is the standard. And yes, Cecilia Vega, and I'm not betraying a trust here. She well, she she battled with that decision about going. She knew how important it was, but she was in a good position, like all of us were at Good Morning America and what do you do? What do you do? And go back and forth. I just know how much this job means to journalists, and I know firsthand how much, admit to her.
00:02:23
Speaker 2: Yes, I mean, you make a very good point. She was in such a good position at Good Morning America and we worked alongside her day in and day out. But she had taken over the Friday slot for Robin Roberts, who in her last contract, was able to get a longer extended weekend, and Cecilia was named her replacement for that Friday. That is a big deal. That is a seat in the most important chair. I would think most people would argue at that network, and she had a foot in the door, and she left it behind to pursue sixteen Minutes, which, again, as we pointed out, is really and truly a destination that most journalists can only dream about.
00:03:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, you, it's a destination. You don't leave. No, you make it here, you don't leave that place. And Robs, honestly, I don't remember, correct me if I'm wrong fired sixty Minutes correspondence.
00:03:17
Speaker 2: I don't. Not for no reason, not for like there would have to have been some specific, egregious acting. I don't call anyone. Sure people's contracts don't get renewed. And that is what happened with Sharon el Fonsi, and that was just perhaps good timing for the network who she has certainly made some waves and has made her voice known and her feelings known about the direction CBS News and sixty Minutes is taking. So it's not a huge shock that they wouldn't have renewed her contract, but she had some very choice words for the network as she was leaving, as did Cecilia Vega. And we should point out that is not normal, That is not typical when journalists leave jobs, and so many of us have been moved, contracts, not renewed, fired, YadA, YadA, YadA. You still don't burn bridges on your way out. This is a very intimate group of people who work in network news. We all know each other, and the last thing you want to do is create enemies. So most people are very respectful, even if they're upset by the loss of their.
00:04:18
Speaker 1: Job, you know, even if it's a self preservation to a certain degree in the industry, but it's also the right thing to do. Why would you want to go burn the place down right on your way out. This is different. It is hitting different ropes because they are not making just some kinds of personal complaints. They don't sound like personal grievances. There was a consistent theme in these narratives coming out of folks we're hearing at CBS News robes, and it's consistent about how they are being Yes, the word censored is being thrown around.
00:04:51
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, and you're hearing that from Cecilia Vega. You're hearing that from Sharon Alfonsi. It is interesting because among that we mentioned three women. Ton Simon, who was the show's executive producer, who was also I didn't even put two and two together, but you pointed out is the daughter of the legendary CBS sixty Minutes correspondent Bob Simon, Tanya Simon. What a cool story that she rose in her father's shadow up through the ranks of sixty minutes CBS News in sixty minutes to become the leader, and she too has been ousted. She actually did not say anything negative. She just was very positive and still acted like that cheerleader and made the point as she was leaving, keep doing your thing. Our ratings are up nine percent year to year. That's the shocking thing. You mentioned, the success of this show, This show despite all the rating decline that you see across the board and show, every broadcast program, news, entertainment, whatever you name it on television is absolutely bleeding viewers. But the fact sixty Minutes was up nine percent year to year and they're still firing prominent women who don't perhaps align with their new mission or their new vision. That's concerning and some of these women want you to know that.
00:06:13
Speaker 1: So before we get into who has now been hired at sixty minutes, let's stick with who's been fired. We'll get into Cecilia. You know you want to do Sharon Alfonse, you want to do Cecilia first.
00:06:24
Speaker 2: Let's h who are you?
00:06:25
Speaker 1: Let's share, Let's still Sicilia Cecilia. Okay with Cecilia. And again Cecilia has been there three years now, and she made clear up. Now, this is not someone who publicly like Sharon Alfonsi, who has been any kind of back and forth with her network. She's not a name you've heard out there having some issues. But Robes she put out a statement on It was on Instagram with a nine Robes. This is a very important statement that folks need to listen to. It's important because it is scary. But you have someone directly from inside reporting what is happening in there and Rose this is scary.
00:07:03
Speaker 2: And it's a big deal because, as I said, you and I have left, and we could have and I could have, and both of us could have said a lot of things, but we chose not to like most people do. So for her to speak up, that's how important this was for her to let you all know this. She said, I was fired today. My contract as a correspondent for sixty Minutes was not set to expire until March twenty twenty seven.
00:07:26
Speaker 1: I thought that was important for her to say as well. She led with that, and that's hard to say, folks, It's hard to let that come out of your mouth. I was fired. No, that's difficult, but she rose. I thought that was a great way to put it. I start off right here. Let's make this clear.
00:07:41
Speaker 2: Okay, you got our attention, Cecilia. She went on to say, I have the utmost respect and admiration for my colleagues at sixty Minutes and the stories that air every Sunday, but I very much fear what comes next for and the future of the legendary broadcast. In recent months, my producing teams and I have experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories. Reporting teams have held back on submitting story pitches about important news topics out of fear of the internal repercussions. Let's call this what it is, censorship, both imposed and self driven. It is dangerous for the show and dangerous for democracy ropes.
00:08:23
Speaker 1: That is the most important line maybe of it that efforts are being made within CBS News to insert political bias into the reporting. Robes. That is as damning of a sentence from a legitimate source, and somebody, we should listen to, Robes. You're telling me that sixty minutes now we all assumed it and maybe watching for it and whatever. But they could always push back, Robes. There is no pushing back on that as a direct accusation that sixty Minutes and CBS News is going to have to respond to.
00:08:57
Speaker 2: And she doesn't make that lightly. Oh they have. We'll get to that in a second. They didn't let this go unchecked. She went on to say I held the line and refused to incorporate suggestions that offend the conscience, a phrase I borrow from a colleague who has also fought to keep questionable editorial suggestions away from the facts. I know from many conversations with colleagues that many producing teams and correspondents working on the show today have had to fight to maintain editorial independence with regularity. I am far from the only sixty Minutes correspondent who has asked herself, what is my personal red line? How much can I push back before I pay the price. I am proud of the work I did for sixty minutes this season alone, I was part of teams that won two of the highest honors in our profession at George Polk Award at a DuPont Columbia Award for our coverage of Venezuelan migrants sent by the Trump administration to El Salvador Seacott Prison, and not for nothing, I climbed to Mount Everest. I also walk away with an honor no one can take away from me, the first Latina correspondent to ever be on sixty minutes Today. This got me, This got me. I actually get emotional reading this last line, last two lines. Today. I lost an amazing job, but I still have my integrity to my former colleagues continue to hold the line. Whoah, that makes me emotional.
00:10:26
Speaker 1: That we know how it goes, robes, we know how the business goes, and sometimes new bosses come in, they don't like you, and that's and that happens. This doesn't feel like that necessarily. Where did this come from? Why there's no reason given for why she was let go. If you want to say we're not resigning ALPHONSI, that's one thing, her contract expires. What'd you say immediately?
00:10:48
Speaker 2: It's yes, her Alfonsie's contract actually expired on Saturday.
00:10:52
Speaker 1: Okay, so somebody doesn't get resigned. That's one thing. Someone who has another year plus at a place, at a company where I didn't see. If she was doing a bad job on the show, they're no complaints about it. Actually, robes they you're not allowed to do a bad job on sixty minutes.
00:11:06
Speaker 2: That's true.
00:11:07
Speaker 1: If you make it here, you can do the job. Then why why she fired?
00:11:12
Speaker 2: Uh? That is unclear and has not been publicly revealed, and they don't have to. But CBS's response to Cecilia's post was this, we respect miss Vega and her contributions, but her claims are not based in reality.
00:11:31
Speaker 1: That sounds like out of the White House. Yep, that's a dismissive. We're not going to address it. They just stopped short of calling possibly calling her a name like what we might hear. It really did read like that. It was a dismissive. And then what are they supposed to say they were right, the organization was just insulted or an accusation hurled their way. Sure, they want to defend themselves I get it, but Robes, you have someone on the inside saying this is what's happening. The thing y'all suspect is happening, and it happened to be often here yep.
00:12:01
Speaker 2: And it's not just one person. And when we come back, we're going to tell you what Sharon Alfonsi had to say in her statement, which was very similar to what we heard from Cecilia Tanya Simon. And we're also going to tell you about the man that Barry Weiss and CBS News has hired to head up sixty Minutes. Here's a little asterisk. He's never held a broadcast news position before in his career. And welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ where we are talking about sixty Minutes and a decision by Barry Weiss to acts to fire three prominent veteran female journalists in one day. And they had some things to say that we all need to pay attention to. We told you what our former colleague and good friend, Cecilia Vega had to say, and here is what her colleague, Sharon Alphonsi wrote upon news that her contract was not being renewed. She said, 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 sixty Minutes. Following an intense editorial dispute over our prison 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 sixty Minutes is apparently over. She went on to say this was not a routine corporate transition. It was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually accurate reporting. She said, it goes on, It sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom, and I thought this was interesting. She she wanted to kind of get ahead of what CBS News might say about her or about their decision not to renew her contract. She said, in the coming days, network leadership may attempt to hide behind corporate euphemisms like modernization and restructuring to explain away my departure. Do not be misled.
00:14:20
Speaker 1: That's not going to work. We need too fewer correspondents to help us move this show that's been number one for fifty years forward. Yeah, we're kinda just start now. It's sixty minutes No.
00:14:32
Speaker 2: And to remind anyone who wasn't familiar with her story, Sharon Alfonsi had a report on the conditions of Venezuelan migrants detained at Seacott Prison and that was supposed to air in December, but just before it was about to air, Barry Wise pulled it and said they needed to have an on camera interview with the Trump administration official. And by the way, CBS News Sharon Alfonsi sixty Minutes had already asked for a response and the Trump administration declined. So then to give them this extra opportunity to say what they wanted after being able to review what was in the piece is completely not journalism, but that was insisted upon before it actually aired.
00:15:10
Speaker 1: Those promos were out, so this was last second. It was supposed to air that day, absolutely.
00:15:15
Speaker 2: And according to Alfonsi, it had already been vetted and cleared by all the producers by standards and procedures by their lawyers, like this was not an issue about the quality of the reporting, and so that was an issue, and so she sent out an email and to producers explaining this, and it got.
00:15:36
Speaker 1: Leaked, obviously, and she knew it would.
00:15:38
Speaker 2: She knew it would. She wanted folks to know why her story didn't air, and it had nothing to do with the quality.
00:15:44
Speaker 1: Of the report. So obviously I can understand why they might not renew her. They could have fired her on the spot. They could have, but that one I kind of understand. Yeah, it's a shame you can't get together and say, all right, we had a dispute here, let's figure this out. You're of value to this network. It seems a little vindiculous.
00:16:02
Speaker 2: She said. Barry Wise wouldn't return her phone calls. She said, Barry Wise wouldn't even talk to her about her piece. So yes, she made a choice to send out an email.
00:16:10
Speaker 1: She's gotten Barrywies is a busy woman. She's got every right to do that. No, you might not like it, but I don't know Robes. They're trying to go whatever direction they That's the thing we had in Morning Run this morning. And I wrote the line in the script to be silly. Yeah, if it ain't broke, fix it, who does that? Right? Sixty minutes ain't broke.
00:16:31
Speaker 2: And to that point, Tanya Simon said, and her parting words the executive producer. She said leadership has decided it is time for a new chapter. She said that the show was more than just a broadcast. It's an institution built on independence, grit and rigorous search for the truth. That is the work we did together. And with ratings up nine percent over last year, no less, you should all be proud. I mean, that was a very sweet parting gift to the staff. Probably feels very demoralized by this news, and.
00:17:02
Speaker 1: She's tooting her own horn. Of course, they just fired the person and as this institution up after fifty plus years.
00:17:12
Speaker 2: It brought in nine point one million viewers on average this season. It is one of the most watch shows on broadcast television. But look, they just lost Anderson Cooper, who had been on the show after twenty years. He just said he wanted to spend more time with his family. He did not make any political statements.
00:17:29
Speaker 1: Which is understandable.
00:17:31
Speaker 2: Yep, absolutely on that. And then remember Bill Owens left last year. It's only been one year. Think about what's happened in this year, but he only left a year ago. He left also and made it very clear based on the editorial direction, it was heady.
00:17:46
Speaker 1: Did you said do you remember did it sound at the time it was anything other than that. It didn't seem like he was being forced out. It looked like because we were shocked.
00:17:52
Speaker 2: He left in protests. Yeah, and very clearly made that, very clear that he left in protest. So who is now going to steer this ship in a new direction? His name is Nick Bilton. Who's that you ask? Well, that's what we're all asking because he is. Look and I get the idea that you want to maybe bring in someone from the outside, someone who isn't in these legacy media organizations, to shake things up, And that is what Barry Weiss is claiming she wants to do. In frankly, that's how she and why she was brought in. She also was not anyone familiar with broadcast television or broadcast news. So yes, he basically is a documentarian and he was a New York Times technology columnist. I don't know if that makes him a journalist they're claiming it does.
00:18:47
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, I give him those credentials. That's fine, but it's just odd. Never worked in broadcast television before is interesting.
00:18:54
Speaker 2: And here is what Weiss had to say about him. She said that, and I think. She alongside Tom Sabrowski, who we know and worked for many many years at ABC News, who's over at CBS now and works alongside Barry Weisse. They had a joint statement where they called Builton one of the most entrepreneurial journalists of our time and the perfect leader for one of the most entrepreneurial news brands of all times. We have huge ambition for sixty Minutes to reach new heights through deep revelatory journalism that breaks news, exposes wrongdoing, widen's public understanding, and forces accountability from every institution and every center of power. Okay, we shall see.
00:19:36
Speaker 1: Look, I'll give anybody a shot. Ropes outside the box thinking works. Sometimes they're making this decision. It seems like CBS is going to become something else. It's going to become something different, run by people who do not work in television news. Is that okay? Is that going to work? I guess the proof is only in the viewing pudding later if by ratings, but robes, I mean it's not working. Whatever is in broadcast news right now is not working. We watch it every single day and we sit here and we say the same thing. Holy hell, this is what's on now, And we are not knocking the talent, but Robes there is a talent vacuum now or we're missing there's a talent drain on television. So when you have somebody as good as Cecilia and Alfonsi being taken out of that mix to be replaced with what I'm not knocking this technology journalist, but folks are being brought on who are traditionally in this. But it's so far Robes not making the product better, not yet it could, and we wait to see what happens to sixty minutes. I'm willing to give them all a shot, Babe, I'm willing.
00:20:49
Speaker 2: But I do think and I think we can speak with I don't want to use the word authority, but with certain insight that you all should be paying attention to what Cecilia Vega and Sharon Alfonsie are saying. Yeah, what they're saying is true, and I think we need to view some of what we may see from sixty minutes through their lens.
00:21:10
Speaker 1: Okay, And I can say this, Rosen, you probably can too. Twenty five plus years in broadcast newsrooms, Rose, I cannot remember a single time like I could bash anybody I want to right now, I'm already out of these newsrooms. A single time where I was asked to include something political in my reporting. People think it's left leaning and it's biased. This and that. We do not sit up in newsrooms and have conversations about inserting this or giving this impression wrote It just doesn't happen for her to say this at sixty minutes, you almost look at the show differently, And if you're doing that, that is a problem they're going to have to address. If we think this wonderful institution is not that anymore because of what Alfonsi and Vega O telling.
00:22:01
Speaker 2: All right, well, we will obviously be continuing to watch this story and what happens over there is sixty minutes, and we always appreciate you listening to us. Thank you. I made Roebuck alongside TJ. Holmes. We will talk to you soon.