“CBS Evening News” anchor John Dickerson used Wednesday’s show to address the elephant in the room. Dickerson took a portion of the news program to talk about the $16 million settlement CBS parent company Paramount made with President Donald Trump.
“The Paramount settlement poses a new obstacle. Can you hold power to account after paying it millions? Can an audience trust you when it thinks you’ve traded away that trust?” Dickerson wondered aloud in his Reporter’s Notebook segment. “The audience will decide that. Our job is to show up to honor what we witness on behalf of the people.”
Dickerson’s commentary marks a break in ranks, as the CBS reporter publicly discussed the actions of his parent company. Plus, his sentiments could very well be shared by many newspeople under the Paramount umbrella.
Trump sued Paramount over the pre-election airing of a “60 Minutes” interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Trump asserted that the segment was edited in such a light to boost Harris’ profile and make her look better, while simultaneously causing him “mental anguish.”
Dickerson acknowledged the strange position he’s been put in since, using his platform to comment on the ramifications of a fellow CBS news program. Still, he felt the story was too significant to ignore as a reporter (the segment was included on Paramount+, but did not technically air on TV).
“Journalists don’t like to report on themselves. Sometimes that’s false humility. Mostly, it’s a practical limitation. Reporters try to find order in chaos. We prefer to explain the cause of a bombing, the intent of a bill, the marvel of a new discovery. Putting chaos in preliminary order helps viewers make sense of their world,” Dickerson said. “They tell us this, at airports, restaurants, at church — the audience brings us their fears, their questions, their good faith view of things. It reminds us that we are stewards of that concern. It’s a grace to receive another’s trust, but also to have a mission that shapes your work. Mission. That can sound grandiose.”
Trump initially sued Paramount for $20 billion over the “60 Minutes” editing. The $16 million settlement will help cover “plaintiffs’ fees and costs,” with the remainder being donated toward a “future presidential library.” “60 Minutes” will also release transcripts of interviews with U.S. presidential candidates going forward. However, an apology from CBS and Paramount was not included in the settlement.
Dickerson further asserted that the interview “was done in accordance with long-held CBS News standards and widely accepted journalistic practices.” In the light of such a settlement, he commented on the fallibility of both reporters and their parent organizations.
“We are not all that. Public figures have taught us that misguided mission can do more harm than brute force. We pride ourselves on our BS detector, so it ought to work on ourselves, too. When it doesn’t, the stakes are real — a loss of public trust, the spread of misinformation,” he said. “A visitor to our newsrooms might wonder why we debate a single word for so long, why it takes hours to answer the simple question, ‘What is this story about?’ Why there’s a cry of frustration when a detail is off by an inch. That is what work looks like when it is deeply felt, when the audience’s concerns become ours, passed by bucket brigade from the subjects of our stories, to correspondence, to producers, to editors, fact checkers and writers.”
This week’s settlement is one of a growing number made between news organizations and Trump over their reporting. Given the president’s often aggressive stance toward reporters and publications — those he labels as “fake news” — reporters are beginning to fear that content may be overly moderated to avoid potential court hangups.
Still, Dickerson concluded his segment by urging reporters and audiences alike to stay the course.
“The network’s first heroes ran to rooftops during the bombing of London. Its current ones carry that same instinct,” he said. “But another story from CBS’s early days also captures this spirit. The young correspondent was filing a story when it started to rain. The takes they’d already filmed were fine. Everybody could have just gone inside, but she persisted the rain, turning the notes in her hand to pulp. Again and again, she worked to get it right. This wasn’t London under the fire. It was just a regular story. That’s the point.”
“So, the rain has picked up, but we’ll stay at it. We hope you will, too. See you tomorrow.”
