Ousted 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega on overhaul at CBS News: ‘It hurts to watch’
Summary
Former 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega said she still does not know why CBS News fired her during a spring overhaul and said it hurts to watch the program’s changes and declining ratings. She repeated her allegation that newsroom managers asked her to include information she considered factually untrue, while CBS News has denied her claims of political bias.Key Facts
- CBS News fired Vega in May as part of an overhaul led by editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who hired Nick Bilton as executive producer.
- Vega said her contract was set to run through March 2027 and that CBS gave her no reason for her dismissal.
- CBS also fired executive producer Tanya Simon and several producers, parted ways with Scott Pelley for cause, and did not renew Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract.
- Vega said managers asked her to put information she considered factually untrue into a story, but she said she could not identify their motive.
- CBS News said Vega’s claims were not based in reality and denied her allegations of political bias.
- The previous season averaged 9.1 million viewers, up 9% from the season before; a recent episode drew 5.64 million viewers.
- Weiss said at an industry conference that ratings were not her focus and that she was focused on building the network.
- Vega joined 60 Minutes in 2023 after working at ABC News and was the program’s first Latina correspondent.
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