Shari Redstone pushed back against CBS News on Wednesday after an internal review by the network found ‘CBS Mornings’ co-anchor Tony Dokoupil’s recent interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates violated editorial standards.
“I’ve been doing a lot of speaking recently on the connection between the decline in our democratic institutions, in the rise in hate and antisemitism, and I think one of the reasons why it’s on the rise is that we have lost the ability to have civil discourse. We have lost accountability. We have lost checks and balances,” the Paramount Global non-executive chairwoman told an Advertising Week conference panel on Wednesday focused on using engaging content to combat hate. “I frankly think Tony did a great job with that interview. I think he handled himself and showed the world and role model what civil discourse is, that he showed that there was accountability, that there is a system of checks and balances, and frankly, I was very proud of the work that he did.”
Her public comments come after the Wall Street Journal reported that she told CBS News executives that she didn’t believe the interview violated editorial standards, disagreed with how the situation was handled, and that it was insensitive to address the matter on Oct. 7, the anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel.
“We all have voices and platforms that we can use. And as hard as it was, frankly, for me to go against the company, because I love this company and I believe in it, and I think we have a great, great executive team, I think they made a mistake here,” Redstone added. “I just want to be clear that I’ve been working with the CEOs, I’ve been working with the woman who does a lot of our diversity training, and I think we all agree that this was not handled correctly, and we all agree that something needs to be done. I don’t have editorial control. I am not an executive, but I have a voice in our platform, like all of us. And as you may know I don’t hesitate to use it.”
Author Ta-Nehisi Coates appeared on “CBS Mornings” last week to discuss his new book, “The Message,” which includes criticism of Israel’s approach to its war against Hamas in Gaza following his own visit to Jerusalem. Co-anchor Dokoupil turned the focus to the portion of his book discussing Israel and asserting that the content of that section, without Coates’ name attached, “would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist.”
Dokoupil went on to challenge Coates, asking why the author, whose talent he praised, would “leave out so much.” He cited issues including Israel being “surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it,” terrorists seeking its destruction, as well as other historical context including sustained terrorist attacks against its citizens.
Coates defended his approach by noting that he felt American media already had plenty of the perspective that Dokoupil had outlined, so he sought to provide something different.
“I am most concerned, always, with those who don’t have a voice,” Coates said
Following the interview, Coates appeared on former MSNBC journalist Mehdi Hasan’s Zeteo outlet and said of the CBS interview, “I was a little surprised, and then I realized what was going on, I was in a fight.”
On Monday, an internal review by CBS News found that Dokoupil’s interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates failed to meet the organization’s editorial standards. Executives said that they addressed the interview with Dokoupil directly.
During a call with staff on Monday, CBS News executive Adrienne Roark said that coverage of a story like Oct. 7 “requires empathy, respect, and a commitment to truth.” While she said the network would “still ask tough questions” and “still hold people accountable,” she added that it would “do so objectively, which means checking our biases and opinions at the door.” She noted that staff had reached out about the interview with Coates to raise concerns and then added, “I want to acknowledge and apologize that it’s taken this long to have this conversation.”
CBS News’ chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford defended Dokoupil during the call and said, “Tony prevented a one-sided account from being broadcast on our network.”
Audio of the call with staff was obtained and released by Bari Weiss’ conservative Free Press outlet, which has taken a stance in support of Israel’s prosecution of its war in Gaza and beyond.
Both internal reaction and that of viewers has been mixed, with some taking issue with Dokoupil’s questions and description of Coates’ work and feeling that it indicated bias, while others supported his approach as being journalistically sound in how he asked tough questions. Dokoupil has written about being a convert to Judaism. His ex-wife and two of his children live in Israel.
Some both inside and outside CBS were also concerned with the choice to share the results of the investigation on Oct. 7, the anniversary of the Hamas terror attack last year that sparked the current ongoing military conflict.
More to come…
Leave a Reply