Former 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega has renewed allegations that managers sought to introduce false information and political bias into her reporting, while questioning the overhaul that led to her dismissal. Speaking to students at American University in Washington DC on Thursday evening, Vega described the changes at CBS News and the program’s declining audience as painful to witness.
Vega was dismissed in May alongside several correspondents and producers during a restructuring led by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who appointed technology journalist Nick Bilton as executive producer. Vega’s contract was scheduled to run until March 2027. She said she had received no explanation for her removal and still did not understand the decision.
Other departures included Scott Pelley, whom management dismissed for cause following clashes with Bilton, and Sharyn Alfonsi, whose contract was not renewed. Executive producer Tanya Simon and several other senior producers were also fired. Vega questioned both the reasons for reshaping the program and the broader plans for CBS News under its owner, David Ellison’s Skydance.
The changes followed a season in which 60 Minutes maintained industry-leading ratings. Its 58th season averaged 9.1 million viewers, an increase of 9% from the previous season. The latest episode attracted 5.64 million viewers, the lowest audience this century for a season’s sixth episode. At an industry conference on Wednesday, Weiss said ratings were not her focus and that she was concentrating on building the network.
Vega told the university audience that she had resisted attempts to introduce political bias into her stories. She alleged that she had been instructed to include information that was factually false, while saying she could not identify the motive behind that instruction. She said Pelley and Alfonsi had also resisted editorial pressure and expressed concern about the circumstances facing colleagues who remained.
CBS News has rejected Vega’s allegations of political bias, which she also raised at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference & Expo during the summer. In a statement in late May, a network spokesperson said: “We respect Ms Vega and her contributions, but her claims are not based in reality.”
Pelley has separately alleged that corporate pressure sought to steer coverage toward the Trump administration’s perspective. During a panel discussion on Wednesday, he said his experience and conversations with colleagues indicated an effort to make reporting more favorable to the president. He said journalists at the program opposed those demands.
Vega also voiced concern about employment and editorial independence at CBS News and CNN, which now share an owner and could merge. The 49-year-old said she had not decided whether her next step would involve another established media organization or independent work. She acknowledged that uncertainty about the industry affected both the students considering journalism careers and her own search for a job.
Vega joined 60 Minutes in early 2023 as its first Latina correspondent after working as ABC News’ chief White House correspondent and an anchor. She was recruited by then-executive producer Bill Owens, who resigned from CBS News in protest in April 2025.
