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 anchor Tony Dokoupil reportedly found himself in hot water for asking questions at a recent controversial interview that were not cleared by the network’s Race and Culture unit.
The saga began last week when Dokoupil interviewed author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his anti-Israel book, "The Message," which describes in part his travels "to Palestine, where he sees with devastating clarity how easily we are misled by nationalist narratives." The Jewish CBS News anchor irked liberal colleagues by bluntly stating that it read like something you would find in "the backpack of an extremist," and pressing Coates on whether he believes Israel has the right to exist.
Backlash has been swift, with high-level media moguls such as Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone defending Dokoupil while some of his own colleagues objected to the interview. Puck media reporter Dylan Byers called it a "fast-metastasizing, five-alarm s--tshow" that has polarized CBS News.
In the same report, Byers noted that CBS journalists are forced to run questions by its Race and Culture unit.
Tony Dokoupil, "CBS Mornings" host, was criticized by CBS News leadership for his interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates. (Getty Images; Screenshot/CBS News)
"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.
"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 News did not immediately respond when asked if all journalists need to run questions by the Race and Culture unit.
A longtime CBS News insider told Fox News Digital the organization has morphed into a "creepy DEI place" in recent years.
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 CEO Wendy McMahon then "reached out to Dokoupil directly and informed him that the network would need to address the violation with staff," Byers wrote.
Author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates was grilled about his views on Israel's right to exist by CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil, in an interview last week. (CBS/Screenshot)
"This particular micro-drama had the distinction of touching several highly charged political and cultural tinderboxes that had been roiling the CBS News staff for months and became especially acute after the Coates interview," Byers wrote.
"For many of the network’s employees, the episode demonstrated the latest example of Dokoupil’s pro-Israel editorializing. Dokoupil is Jewish, and his ex-wife and children live in Israel, and many criticized him for bringing his personal emotions into the coverage," Byrers continued. "For others, including many of the network’s more veteran journalists, Dokoupil had actually upheld CBS’s journalistic values by asking tough questions of a guest with an overt anti-Israel bias."
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.
"The conversation focused on Mr. Dokoupil’s tone of voice, phrasing and body language during his interview with Mr. Coates," the Times reported.
CBS News and Dokoupil did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Fox News Digital’s Yael Halon contributed to this report.
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