CBS Gives Student Journalist Generous Scholarship — He Responds With Ungrateful Political Screed

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CBS Gives Student Journalist Generous Scholarship — He Responds With Ungrateful Political Screed

A student who won a generous CBS-funded scholarship publicly criticized the “recent direction” of the outlet during his Wednesday acceptance speech at the 47th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

Santiago Campos won the Mike Wallace Memorial Scholarship, an award created in honor of Mike Wallace, who was best known as longtime CBS News correspondent and original contributor to ’60 Minutes,’ one of the most successful broadcast programs in history.

The $10,000 scholarship, funded by a grant from CBS News, is awarded by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation to a student pursuing a career in television journalism.

After thanking CBS News for funding his scholarship, Campos criticized the outlet, alleging it “stains the legacy” of the very person it was named after.

Campos’s comment received mixed reactions. Several people sitting in the audience cheered loudly, while others refused to clap. Others exchanged shocked expressions.

“As corporate elites take hold over the very pipes through which our information flows, journalism that serves the people becomes increasingly harder to come by, yet ever more crucial. And what the people want is the truth,” Campos said.

“So if at any time you hesitate to utter the word ‘genocide’ or remain silent in the face of blatant lies, remember to ask yourself: Who is this for? I hope you choose us,” Campos finished.

CBS News named Bari Weiss as its editor-in-chief in October 2025. Weiss rose to public prominence after she quit The New York Times and wrote an open letter condemning the paper for self-censorship and refusal to publish pieces that went against the grain.

After leaving the Times, Weiss started The Free Press, an independent media company. When CBS News hired Weiss as editor, it also took on The Free Press as a new division. (RELATED: Bari Weiss’ CBS News Unveils Major Cuts Amid Industry Shakeup)

Weiss’s hiring, along with Paramount’s merger with Skydance, was followed by the departures of multiple high-profile employees and massive layoffs.

“The honest truth is right now we are not producing a product that enough people want,” Weiss told CBS News staff shortly after assuming the newsroom’s top job. “Our strategy until now has been clinging to the audience that remains on broadcast television, and I’m here to tell you that if we stick to that strategy, we are toast.”