(Sipa via AP Images)
According to an audio recording obtained by Oliver Darcy’s Status, former 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega accused CBS News chief Bari Weiss of leading a push to include claims in stories that her reporting team could not verify, alleging she was asked to report on incidents that “never happened.”
Speaking with ABC News’ John Quiñones Thursday at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference & Expo in New Orleans, Vega publicly discussed her firing for the first time, detailing what she described as repeated efforts by CBS News’ new leadership to influence her reporting.
Discussing her coverage following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, Vega said she was encouraged to include video of protesters assaulting people they believed were undercover ICE agents. According to Vega, her team searched for evidence but found “no credible examples” of such incidents.
She also said producers were asked to include what was described as a moment during a press conference in which Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on local police to physically confront federal immigration agents and the city’s police chief reacted by rolling his eyes. After reviewing the footage, Vega said her team concluded the incident never occurred.
“That never happened,” Vega said. “We could not find any instance of the mayor saying something like that.”
Vega also recalled being asked to open a report on President Donald Trump’s war with Iran by declaring, “Who is winning the war? Iran is totally outgunned by the United States and Israel.” She said she viewed the wording as an “administration talking point.”
In another example, Vega said she intentionally focused a story about SNAP benefit cuts in West Virginia on residents affected by the policy, only to be questioned about why she had not interviewed Vice President JD Vance or referenced his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, despite the book centering on his upbringing in Ohio rather than West Virginia.
While Vega did not directly name Weiss as having personally made the requests, she pointed to changes under the network’s “new administration at CBS News,” saying things “started to change when new people started showing up in the screenings and giving their feedback on pieces.”
The post Ousted 60 Minutes Reporter Says She Was Asked To Report on Things That Didn’t Happen Under Bari Weiss first appeared on Mediaite.
