Fired 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega claims CBS bosses pushed misinformation into her reporting
Fired “60 Minutes” correspondent Cecilia Vega accused CBS News management of trying to inject misinformation and political talking points into three of her reports before Bari Weiss ousted her from the storied newsmagazine.Vega, the first Latina correspondent on “60 Minutes,” broke her silence Thursday during an appearance at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference & Expo in New Orleans, describing the “the stitches” from her May firing as “still fresh.”She told ABC News correspondent John Quiñones that she was “scared to be talking” about her experience but felt compelled to speak publicly, according to the Status newsletter.“It’s not that I just lost a job.There is a lot at stake,” Vega said.
“Sometimes you got to be scared and do it still.”Vega detailed three episodes in which she said the “new administration at CBS News” pushed changes that she believed were rooted in politics or false information.She did not directly identify Weiss as the person behind the requests.But Vega said the culture changed when new executives began attending screenings and offering feedback on “60 Minutes” pieces.Weiss has cleaned house at “60 Minutes” since taking control of CBS News, firing executive producer Tanya Simon, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Vega, senior executive producer Draggan Mihailovich, veteran producer Guy Campanile and digital operations chief Matthew Polevoy.Veteran correspondent Scott Pelley was later ousted after confronting Weiss and newly installed executive producer Nick Bilton during a staff meeting.According to Vega, the first dispute involved a report produced after the fatal shootings of Rene Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.Vega said her team was encouraged to include footage showing protesters violently attacking people they believed were Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents working in plain clothes.Her team could find “no credible examples” of such attacks at the time, ...