The upheaval at CBS News — and 60 Minutes in particular — was on display at the News & Documentary Emmys on Wednesday evening, with the winner of a journalism scholarship calling out the network’s recent direction as something that “stains” its legacy.
Santiago Campos accepted the Mike Wallace Memorial Scholarship at the ceremony in New York, telling the audience, “While I want to thank CBS News for funding this generous gift towards my education, I want to also acknowledge how the recent direction of the outlet stains the legacy of Mike Wallance, the namesake of this scholarship.”
There were cheers heard in the audience.
He added, “As corporate elites take hold over the very pipes through which our information flows, journalism that serves people becomes increasingly harder to come by, yet ever more crucial, and what the people want is the truth. So if at any time you hesitate to utter the word ‘genocide’ or remain silent in the face of lies, remember to ask yourself, ‘Who is this for?’ I hope you choose us.”
The scholarship was presented by 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, who pointed out that Sharyn Alfonsi, one of the nominees, was in the audience, a nominee.
“There have been many great 60 Minutes correspondents over the years. I see Sharyn Alfonsi in the audience,” Pelley said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Alfonsi issued a blistering statement after CBS News under editor in chief Bari Weiss declined to renew her contract.
“The wall between editorial independence and corporate interest at CBS is being methodically torn down,” Alfonsi said. She had clashed with Weiss after the CBS News boss held back a 60 Minutes segment on CECOT prison in El Salvador last December. It ran a month later.
At the corporate level, Paramount is seeking approval from the Trump administration for its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. When Skydance purchased Paramount last year, it committed to hiring an ombudsman to take complaints about CBS News, but hired a former head of a conservative think tank.
After Campos’ remarks, Pelley praised him. “God, we need young people liek you right behind us. Thank you, God bless you. I know that Mike Wallace is looking down at you with pride at this very moment.”
