Network Shifts Interview Rules After Criticism Over Editing

CBS News is adjusting its policies for interviews on Face the Nation after a high-profile Homeland Security official blasted the network for trimming four minutes from her Aug. 31 sit-down with the program.

A spokesperson for the network confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that Face the Nation will now air only unedited conversations.

“In response to audience feedback over the past week, we have implemented a new policy for greater transparency in our interviews,” the spokesperson said. “Face the Nation will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews (subject to national security or legal restrictions). This extra measure means the television audience will see the full, unedited interview on CBS, and we will continue our practice of posting full transcripts and the unedited video online.”

The Department of Homeland Security also responded, saying: “Americans are fed up with endless whitewashing by the media — they want the whole truth, and they deserve the whole truth. This week, Americans made that clear, and this is their victory.”

The cabinet secretary at the center of the dispute had previously accused CBS News of trying to “whitewash the TRUTH” about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man deported to El Salvador in March, after her full answer was shortened for broadcast.

CBS later uploaded the complete interview with political correspondent Ed O’Keefe on YouTube — a 16-minute, 40-second video compared to the 12-minute, 15-second version that aired.

DHS doubled down in a press release criticizing the edit. CBS initially defended its move, saying the shortened segment “met all CBS News standards.” Editing interviews for length is common practice across broadcast journalism, where shows must fit into strict time slots.

But the network’s journalistic practices have faced broader scrutiny over the past year. In November, a former U.S. president — who remains the leading figure of the Republican party — sued CBS’s parent company, Paramount, after Face the Nation aired an interview with his opponent in the 2024 election, the sitting vice president at the time. The lawsuit, seeking $10 billion, alleged that CBS had cut the interview to “tip the scales in favor of the Democratic party.”

Paramount later settled, paying the former president $16 million in July. Critics — including a Massachusetts senator known for her progressive stances and the Writers Guild of America East — argued the settlement was an attempt to appease him during Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance, which required approval from his administration. The merger was approved and finalized in early August.

Not long after, Paramount faced backlash for canceling The Late Show With Stephen Colbert just three days after the host mocked the settlement. The Massachusetts senator suggested the move was politically motivated, though the network insisted it was purely a financial decision amid a difficult late-night landscape.

And in April, The New York Times reported that longtime 60 Minutes producer Bill Owens had resigned.