CBS journalists need Race and Culture Unit approval for ‘basically every story,’ former staffer says

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CBS News host clashes with journalist about new book on Israel in tense interview

CBS Mornings anchor Tony Dokoupil pressed author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates on whether he believed Israel had a right to exist in a Monday interview.

CBS News’ Race and Culture Unit needs to sign off on show scripts that could potentially offend particular viewers, according to a former staffer with knowledge of the process. 

A former CBS employee told Fox News Digital the broadcast network's Race and Culture Unit vetted "basically every story" that could potentially be considered culturally sensitive. 

The former employee said show producers were "required" to send drafts of show scripts to an email chain with members of the Race and Culture Unit as well as the standards and practices unit and could only proceed if they signed off.

CBS News’ Race and Culture Unit has emerged as a hot-button issue in recent days after a report that "CBS Mornings" co-host Tony Dokoupil found himself in hot water for asking questions that were not cleared by the network’s Race and Culture unit. 

JEWISH CBS ANCHOR FORCED TO MEET WITH RACE AND CULTURE UNIT AFTER GRILLING PRO-PALESTINIAN AUTHOR: REPORT

Tony Dokoupil, "CBS Mornings" host, was criticized by CBS News leadership for his interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates. (Getty Images; Screenshot/CBS News)

Dokoupil sparked an internal uproar earlier this month when he interviewed author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his book, "The Message," which delved into his travels to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Dokoupil told Coates his heavily anti-Israel book – which has been criticized for omitting significant context about Palestinian terrorism and the Jewish state's extraordinary security situation – read like something you would find in "the backpack of an extremist." Dokoupil, who is Jewish, also pushed him on whether he believes Israel has the right to exist. 

After news broke that liberal staffers objected to Dokoupil’s line of questioning, Puck media reporter Dylan Byers reported that the Race and Culture Unit didn’t approve of the anchor’s actions. 

"Last Tuesday, while the CBS News leadership was consumed with the network’s vice presidential debate, the issue was elevated to the network’s Race and Culture unit, which was formed in the summer of 2020, amid the George Floyd reckoning, and determines whether the ‘tone, content, and intention’ of any segment or package are suitable for the network’s air," Byers reported. 

CBS NEWS JOURNALISTS HAVE ‘PREPRODUCTION PROCESS’ TO RUN QUESTIONS BY RACE AND CULTURE UNIT: REPORT

Author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates was grilled about his views on Israels right to exist by CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil, in a recent interview. (CBS/Screenshot)

"The unit, led by Alvin Patrick, determined that while Dokoupil’s questions and intentions were acceptable, his tone was not," Byers added. "Meanwhile, the network’s Standards and Practices division, led by Claudia Milne, determined that Dokoupil had not followed the preproduction process wherein questions are run through Race and Culture and Standards and Practices."

CBS leadership informed staffers that Dokoupil’s interview didn’t meet the company’s "editorial standards," the Free Press reported, which obtained audio of a staff meeting. 

The CBS News Race and Culture Unit has "a four-pronged role at CBS News and Stations as a reviewer, an incubator, a producer and a library," according to the CBS website. The unit sees its primary role as a reviewer to "ensure all stories have the proper context, tone and intention." 

CBS News did not respond to a Fox News Digital request when asked if "basically every story" needs to be vetted by the Race and Culture Unit. 

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The New York Times previously reported that Dokoupil ultimately had to meet with both the CBS News standards and practices team and the Race and Culture Unit following the interview. 

Dokoupil eventually expressed regret for the interview causing tumult, but not for his line of questioning, according to the New York Times.