Why did Bari Weiss wait so long to pull the '60 Minutes' story?

[ificandream]

With all stories, especially controversial ones, reporters know they must get comments from opposing sources. In this case, the target was Stephen Miller, who also happens to be White House deputy chief of staff and Homeland department security adviser in the Trump administration. Not to mention a known immigrant hater.

"60 Minutes" reporter Sharyn Alfonso, in a email to fellow staffers, wrote, "We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story.

"If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient.

"If the standard for airing a story becomes "the government must agree to be interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state."

As she noted, the government was given chances to respond. It chose not to, which is not too surprising given the Trump admin's consistent non-cooperation with the press.

In his Tuesday (12/23) Reliable Sources column, Brian Stelter wrote:

Why didn't Weiss speak up sooner? That's what the process part of this controversy is all about.

Some conservatives are coming to her defense, lamenting "liberal holdovers" at CBS who produced a biased piece, and cheering Weiss for trying to improve it.

Those arguments are predictable, but they don't engage with the big unanswered question: If you picture Weiss with a big red "STOP" button, and the ability to press it at any time, why didn't she do so until the episode was already finished and publicized?"

Indeed. And we're curious what the leak of the story online will do to the next development in this tale. Stay tuned.