Prominent CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell was alleged by her own colleague to be “absolutely willing” to be “used as a propaganda tool” for the Trump administration, a CBS staffer revealed Sunday, according to journalist Justin Baragona.
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The fiery claim was made as CBS News’ “60 Minutes” aired its season-premiere episode on Sunday with an exclusive interview with an Air Force pilot who was shot down in Iran. The episode, according to insiders, didn’t sit well with CBS News staff.
“The show is dead,” said a senior CBS News staffer who spoke with Baragona on the condition of anonymity, Baragona claimed. “We’re just looking at some Frankenstein of bits sewn together of mismatched pieces.”
The interview with the downed Air Force pilot was conducted by O’Donnell, a veteran CBS News journalist who joined the network in 2011. According to another CBS News staffer, however, she was allegedly willing to compromise her journalistic ethics on the administration’s behalf, going so far as to let herself be co-opted for its messaging.
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“Norah absolutely willing to play the part of dimwit reporter used as a propaganda tool,” the CBS staffer allegedly told Baragona.
CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss has faced mounting scrutiny for her reshaping of the network since taking the helm, including the controversial firing of veteran broadcast journalist Scott Pelley and the decision to scrap a “60 Minutes” report on Trump administration deportees held at El Salvador’s CECOT prison.
Weiss has also drawn fire for allegedly pushing a false report targeting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, further fueling concerns among staffers that the network’s flagship news program has been reshaped to avoid antagonizing the White House.
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“Norah absolutely willing to play the part of dimwit reporter used as a propaganda tool,” a CBS staffer told me about the 60 Minutes Iran story.
“The show is dead. We’re just looking at some Frankenstein of bits sewn together of mismatched pieces,” a senior staffer also said.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 14, 2026
