CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss is reportedly applying an “intense level of editorial scrutiny” to another “60 Minutes” report — this one involving Anderson Cooper.
The stalled report is an investigative segment in which Cooper examines the Trump administration’s decision to accept refugees from South Africa based on claims they are victims of a so-called “white genocide,” according to the Status newsletter.
Veteran “60 Minutes” producer Michael Gavshon has reportedly been left “exasperated” after Weiss provided what sources described as “extensive editorial feedback,” with one person calling the level of review “abnormal.”
Weiss’s hands-on approach at “60 Minutes,” which in decades past has traditionally had extensive autonomy over its editorial content, has fostered widespread resentment and unrest among staffers at the newsmagazine, according to Status.
The report cited sources as saying that Weiss has directly inserted herself into “60 Minutes” screenings, something Status characterized as highly unusual for the program.
But a source close to the show told The Post that historically the “60 Minutes” screening process has always included a CBS News executive.
The story was already undergoing a rigorous review led by Tanya Simon, executive producer of “60 Minutes,” which led to additional screenings where feedback is given by the show’s senior producers, a source with knowledge of the inner workings of the program told The Post.
Both Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski have been sitting in on screenings, marking a departure from long-standing practice at “60 Minutes,” which historically operated with broad editorial autonomy.
This level of top leadership involvement in behind-the-scenes preparations at “60 Minutes” began after the resignation of longtime executive producer Bill Owens, when Cibrowski started attending screenings.
A source with knowledge of the situation told The Post that while CBS News leadership — Cibrowski and Weiss — has attended some “60 Minutes” screenings, Weiss herself participated in only one screening of the South Africa refugees segment.
According to Status, it remains unclear if — or when — the Cooper segment will air.
Ironically, Weiss is reported to have coveted Cooper as anchor of “CBS Evening News” — a responsibility that she eventually assigned to former “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil.
Dokoupil’s first week in the anchor chair has been rocky, marked by an on-air teleprompter mix-up and criticism over an emotional Miami segment in which he teared up discussing his childhood — even as the revamped broadcast saw a short-term ratings bump amid the high-profile relaunch.
Weiss’s reported scrutiny of Cooper’s segment on South African refugees comes in the wake of her decision last month to pull a separate “60 Minutes” investigation by correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi examining conditions at El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, which houses migrants deported by the Trump administration.
That decision sparked internal backlash and accusations of political interference inside CBS News.
While Alfonsi’s story had already been vetted by the network’s lawyers and standards officials before being shelved, Cooper’s segment has not yet undergone legal and standards review, Status reported.
Unlike Alfonsi’s piece, CBS News never publicly announced that Cooper’s story would air.
“60 Minutes” staffers met Tuesday to discuss the delayed Alfonsi segment, which had been slated to air on Dec. 21 before Weiss pulled it, citing the absence of an on-the-record response from Trump administration officials.
Staffers discussed potential changes that might secure Weiss’s approval, though no resolution was reached, according to Status.
The hope within the news division is that the Alfonsi segment could air as soon as Jan. 18, though Status reported it “could just as easily remain in limbo longer.”
Weiss has not met directly with Alfonsi or the broader “60 Minutes” staff since pulling the piece, instead communicating through senior editors, according to Status.
David Ellison, the Skydance Media chief executive who emerged as the controlling force at CBS News following the Paramount–Skydance merger, personally selected Weiss to lead the network’s news division as part of a broader effort to remake the outlet’s editorial culture.
Ellison has publicly argued that legacy news organizations have lost the trust of large swaths of the public and has signaled a desire to steer CBS News toward what he describes as a more independent, less ideologically rigid posture — a mandate that set the stage for Weiss’s controversial arrival.
Weiss, the former New York Times opinion editor and founder of The Free Press, was installed as editor in chief in October despite having no background in broadcast journalism, a decision that immediately alarmed many longtime CBS News employees.
In the months since, Weiss’s hands-on management style and willingness to directly involve herself in sensitive reporting decisions have fueled internal unrest and outside scrutiny.
Staffers have complained of low morale, confusion over editorial standards and what they see as a political shadow hanging over coverage involving the Trump administration, while Ellison has remained publicly supportive, framing the upheaval as necessary disruption in a newsroom he believes must change to survive.
A source close to the show said historically the “60 Minutes” screening process has always included a CBS News executive.
The Post has sought comment from CBS News.
