The Ridenhour Prize is given each year for displaying courage via journalism, but one of its new recipients on Thursday night showed a little concern about her future.
After receiving one of the awards Thursday night in Washington D.C. — they are given to candidates “who persevere in acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest, promote social justice or illuminate a more just vision of society” — “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi told an assembled crowd that “My hope recently has been that I still have a job,” according to remarks chronicled by The Guardian, adding: “And every morning I wake up to another headline that says I’ve been fired.”
Alfonsi, who in TV-news circles has not been known for being a difficult employee or vocal detractor of her employers, has been under a microscope as of late. In December, a “60 Minutes” report she had spent weeks preparing that examined Venezuelan men deported by the U.S. to a harsh prison in El Salvador, was shelved after CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss insisted that Trump officials appear in the report to comment on camera — even though Alfonsi’s team had made good-faith efforts to secure response ahead of filing the report for legal review. In the end, when Alfonsi’s report aired in January, little was changed about the story other than remarks being added in an introduction and an afterword.
Alfonsi’s made her speech at a time when many eyes on are “60 Minutes,” with speculation rife that Weiss is prepared to overhaul the program as soon as its 58th season ends in May. “’60 Minutes’ is a powerhouse program, and the probing, serious, high-quality journalism that is its hallmark is vital to CBS News. We’re immensely excited about its future,” CBS News said in a statement to Variety in early April.
Weiss has defended her decision to hold Alfonsi’s piece. But she has acknowledged her timing was inopportune, according to a person familiar with her thinking, and recognized that she inserted herself into “60 Minutes’” editing and vetting process at a late stage.
At the time, however, Alfonsi made a strong defense of her work. “The public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship,” Alfonsi said in a December memo, nodding to several moves made by top officials at Paramount Skydance to placate President Donald Trump. Last week, Paramount CEO David Ellison held a very unusual dinner ahead of Washington’s annual White House Correspondents Association dinner that was convened to honor both Trump and CBS News’ journalists.
She echoed those remarks during her Ridenhour acceptance speech. “I will not linger on the internal mechanics of the dust-up at CBS that led to our Cecot story being pulled, but we have to be honest about what it represents,” she said Thursday night. “It wasn’t an isolated editorial argument. In my view, it was the result of a more aggressive contagion: the spread of corporate meddling and editorial fear. It’s hard to watch.”
“My stance did not make my new bosses very happy,” Alfonsi added. ” I believe I was doing my job, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. Fear is a funny thing — it can paralyze you, or it can point you to exactly what needs to be protected. Right now, our industry is afraid of the wrong things. We’re afraid of offending power. We’re afraid of losing access. We’re afraid of another baseless lawsuit. But what we should all be afraid of is silence.”
CBS News declined to make executives available to comment on Alfonsi’s remarks. Her current contract is believed to be near its end, and people familiar with the matter say the network has yet to confirm whether she will be renewed or let go. Alfonsi currently remains under contract with CBS News, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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