CBS’s 60 Minutes Reflects Modern Journalism’s Defeatism |
CBS’s 60 Minutes Reflects Modern Journalism’s Defeatism
No matter the story, the one thing that most journalists today want to see is Trump lose, even if that means America loses, too.
Allan J. Feifer | March 21, 2026
No matter the story, the one thing that most journalists today want to see is Trump lose, even if that means America loses, too.
I passionately believe that every citizen should be a patriotic booster for our country and pray to God every day that America will stand for the same vital concepts and beliefs embodied in our Constitution for another 250 years. It’s particularly difficult for me to view media darlings pontificating a not-so-subtle belief that America, at a time of armed conflict is going to get it in the neck again, that we’ve learned nothing, and all those America haters around the world are probably right; we’re no better and probably worse than a lot of people and countries we don’t hold in high esteem.
I watched 60 Minutes (as much as I could stand anyway) last Sunday. They had two segments that made me angry. The first was “Choke Point,” reported by lefty quip-artist Cecilia Vega, and the second was “Laser Focus,” by long in the tooth Leslie Stahl.
In a broad sense, this was CBS covering important topics at a time of conflict. Except, I carefully listened to what should have been a factual report that was, instead, cleverly but definitely slanted to support a position against our involvement in Iran, and to imply that the boogeyman was coming to get us again. Comments by both reporters reeked of elitism and disdain for anything and everything connected to Trump.
60 Minutes itself has been mired in controversy for years for sensationalizing the news and featuring hard-left correspondents who subtly project an anti-American image and align with all the usual international left-wing causes.
This is not new either. Let me share with you past conduct that is emblematic of CBS’s sophisticated but just as false reporting:
The most serious and damaging manipulation aired by 60 Minutes was its 2013 Benghazi report, in which correspondent Lara Logan relied on a security contractor whose dramatic “eyewitness” account was later proven false. The source, Dylan Davies, told the FBI a completely different story than the one he told 60 Minutes, and CBS failed to properly vet him before presenting his claims as verified fact. After other outlets exposed the contradictions, CBS issued a rare full retraction, apologized on air, and placed Logan and her producer on leave. Media analysts and CBS’s own internal review concluded that the segment represented a major breakdown in basic journalistic standards, making it the most serious credibility crisis in the program’s history. Notably, Laura Logan remained with the network for another five years.
And, if you think this was a one-off, you’d be wrong. There was:
Rathergate, Bush National Guard scandal
The Jeffrey Wigand / Big Tobacco Editing Dispute
The DeSantis / Publix COVID Vaccine Story
The Toyota Sudden Acceleration Story
Taken individually, we all make mistakes. Taken as a whole, it’s a pattern and practice of not simply incompetence but of manipulating the facts to suit an agenda.
Leslie Stahl and Cecilia Vega use their position of public trust in but a single direction—whatever helps their ratings by sensationalizing their segments while always presenting news and information in a hard-left manner that asks questions designed to make our country and President Trump look like buffoons, liars, and crooks.
It’s the public airways, ladies and gentlemen. 60 Minutes represents itself as:
“America’s most watched television program and #1 newscast for more than half a century”
A show that offers “hard-hitting investigative reports, newsmaker interviews, feature stories, and in-depth profiles.”
A newsmagazine built on reporter-centered investigation, a format created by Don Hewitt in 1968.
Somewhere along the line, 60 Minutes and CBS lost their way from what used to be described as legitimate journalism to the newest definition of journalism.
Thus, many journalism schools have moved away from teaching “objectivity” as the core identity of a reporter and now emphasize a new definition: reporters are truth-seekers who are transparent about their perspective, not neutral observers pretending to have no viewpoint.
Bari Weiss (formerly of the New York Times opinion section) was installed as Editor-in-Chief of CBS News in 2025 with a mandate to redefine the CBS News brand, restore public trust, shift aggressively toward streaming, and reposition the network as a home for “balanced and fact-based” journalism aimed at politically homeless Americans.
This is drawn directly from CBS corporate statements and Weiss’s own remarks.
My original intention when writing this essay was to condemn CBS News and 60 Minutes for their defeatist views and for providing aid and comfort to our enemies at a time of war. However, as I researched this piece, it became evident to me that CBS News is doing nothing new and largely reflects journalism schools’ new mantra of being truth-seekers and not neutral observers, with a caveat: they aren’t required to leave their political beliefs at the door. And in doing so, they have become the semi-secret propaganda arm of the Democrat party.
Many readers might say, “Yeah, we already knew that.” But there is a disconnect here. By subtly and not so subtly carrying water for our enemies, undercutting our leaders, and fraudulently attacking conservative and business institutions, there is a cost that can be measured not just in dollars, but also in actual lives and devaluing and undercutting our core beliefs in the process.
I hope that Bari Weiss turns CBS around, but I’m not holding my breath. Just last Friday, CBS News announced layoffs that were expected to affect roughly 6% of its workforce. The entrenched reporters, producers, and network leaders are not pro-American, and that’s not going to change regardless. Weiss is their fig leaf. I wish her well.
As for CBS, every American should understand the harm it represents and boycott it. Yes, I’ll miss some of their good segments that defined 60 Minutes, but I’ll be glad not to have to listen to their biased positions and the superior-sounding reporters who led to its destruction as a legitimate news source.
Image created using AI.
Author, Businessman, Thinker, and Strategist. Read more about Allan, his background, and his ideas to create a better tomorrow.
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