Former "60 Minutes" correspondent Cecilia Vega says she was not given a reason for her termination
Cecilia Vega told a Hispanic journalists conference that she still does not know why CBS dismissed her from "60 Minutes" and said she experienced editorial pressure she described as politically biased.
Cecilia Vega, the first Latina correspondent on CBS’s "60 Minutes," said on Thursday that she has not been provided a reason for her dismissal from the program earlier this year. Speaking at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference in New Orleans, Vega told moderator John Quiñones, "I don’t know why I was fired… I was not given a reason. I still have not been given a reason."
Vega also said that, toward the end of her tenure, she perceived editorial feedback from CBS leadership as increasingly political. She cited instances where managers allegedly asked her to include footage of protesters attacking civilians, to insert a statement by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey that she could not locate, and to open a segment with a line she described as a "Trump administration talking point." Vega said her team was unable to find the requested material and that those suggestions did not appear in her final pieces.
She added that she was discouraged from interviewing Vice President JD Vance for a story on SNAP benefit cuts in West Virginia, noting that her reporting focused on residents directly affected by the policy.
A CBS News spokesperson declined to comment on Vega’s specific claims, but previously said the network respects her contributions and that her allegations of censorship and political bias are "not based in reality."