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60 Minutes star reporter nearly quit after Bari Weiss inserted herself into piece on Israeli settler violence: report
The Independent • • world
Key Points:
- Lesley Stahl, a veteran 60 Minutes correspondent, nearly quit after a contentious editorial clash with CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss over a report on Israeli settler violence against Palestinians.
- Weiss, known for her pro-Israel stance, and her deputy issued numerous broad editorial notes, leading to a heated back-and-forth and delayed airing of the piece, though Stahl ultimately succeeded in having it broadcast.
- The incident echoes a previous conflict between Weiss and correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi over a pulled segment, highlighting ongoing tensions over editorial control and perceived political biases at CBS News.
- Critics accuse Weiss of steering CBS coverage to favor the Trump administration and Israel, while CBS defends its rigorous editorial process and downplays the extent of edits to the Stahl report.
- A separate report on the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel also faced internal edits, particularly over Gaza war death toll figures, causing frustration among correspondents and raising questions about editorial independence at CBS.
