CBS scolds TV host over interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates

NEW YORK (AP) — An internal debate over CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil's pointed interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates about Israel has spilled into the boardroom, with the head of the network's parent company saying Wednesday it was a It was a mistake to blame him.

Shari Redstone, o outgoing head of Paramount Global, expressed his support for Dokoupil while speaking at the Advertising Week conference on Wednesday. CBS News leaders on Monday reprimanded Dokoupil, a “CBS Mornings” anchor, for an interview they said did not meet their standards.

“I think we made a mistake,” Redstone said, according to published reports.

Later Wednesday, George Cheeks, president and CEO of the CBS network, issued a supportive statement for CBS News chief Wendy McMahon, who was involved in criticizing the interview.

“There were strong and growing disagreements within CBS News that needed to be addressed in an editorial meeting,” Cheeks said. “This must lead to further substantive dialogue about perceptions of inconsistent treatment, implicit bias, and the important standards our newsroom has put in place to set guardrails for fairness and objectivity.”

The seven-minute morning show interview on September 30 went viral Coates' new book of essays, and Dokoupil immediately focused on a section on Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank, saying the essay “wouldn't be out of place in an extremist's backpack.” He wondered why Coates' writing contained no references to Israel being surrounded by enemies, who wanted to destroy the country.

“Is it because you simply don’t believe that Israel has a right to exist under any circumstances?” he asked.

Coates said there is no shortage of places where Israel's point of view is represented and he wants to speak for those who have no voice.

“I wrote a 260-page book,” Coates said. “It is not a treatise on the entire conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.”

Dokoupil later asked Coates what offended him about the existence of a Jewish state, and he said that the Palestinians “exist in your narrative merely as victims of Israel,” as if they had never been offered peace.

Coates said he is offended when anyone – including the Palestinians who spoke to him for his book – is treated as second-class citizens in the country where he lives, comparing it to the Jim Crow United States -era in which his ancestors grew up.

In Monday's staff meeting, CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon and her deputy, Adrienne Roark, said several of the company's journalists had reached out to them about the interview.

“There are times when we have not met our editorial standards,” Roark said, referring to Dokoupil’s interviews and other comments from CBS employees that she did not identify.

CBS News is built on a “foundation of neutrality,” she said. “Our job is to serve our audience without bias or perceived bias.”

She said the problems had been fixed, but neither she nor CBS explained what that meant.

McMahon told those on the call that she expected the contents to remain confidential. But a tape of it was published within hours on The Free Press news site.

Dokoupil did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. A spokesman for Coates did not respond to a message.

Dokoupil is one of three “CBS Mornings” anchors, along with Gayle King and Nate Burleson. All three took part in the interview with Coates, but with the exception of an opening question from Burleson and a brief question at the end from King, it was dominated by Dokoupil.

Dokoupil is married to NBC News journalist Katy Tur. He has two children from a previous marriage, both of whom live with their mother in Israel. After the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Dokoupil said on the show: “As a father, I think people can understand when someone, anyone, fires rockets in the direction of your children, regardless of whether they do it.” get hit or not, you’ll feel one thing or the other.”

The rebuke from CBS management came on Monday first anniversary of the Hamas attack.

Management received immediate pushback on the call from CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford, who said it is a journalist's duty to ask tough questions when someone goes on the air and presents a one-sided view.

“I don’t understand how we can say this didn’t meet our editorial standards,” Crawford said. She said she was afraid it would make her think twice when conducting interviews.

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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.

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This story was first posted on October 8, 2024. It was updated on October 10, 2024 to correct the conference at which Shari Redstone spoke. It was the Advertising Week conference.