Ahead of its blockbuster interview with Kamala Harris, CBS News has been thrown into chaos over Tony Dokoupil’s tense interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates about the author’s anti-Israel views in his new book.
Dokoupil accused Coates of being an “extremist” during a tense on-air discussion about his latest release, “The Message,” on CBS This Morning.
CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon reportedly dragged Dokoupil, who converted to Judaism and whose ex-wife and children live in Israel, on the grounds that he “failed to meet editorial standards for impartiality.”
But Jan Crawford, the network’s legal analyst, criticized CBS for its treatment of the host.
“I don’t even understand how Tony’s interview didn’t meet our editorial standards…I thought our commitment was to the truth,” Crawford said.
CBS News has been thrown into chaos over Tony Dokoupil’s (pictured right) tense interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates (pictured left) about the author’s anti-Israel views in his new book.
“When someone goes on air with a one-sided account of a very complex situation – which Coates himself acknowledges he has – my understanding is that as a journalist we are obliged to challenge that worldview, so that our viewers can have access to the truth and “We can have a more balanced account,” he told Puck.
McMahon and Adrienne Roark, president of content development for the news division, believe Dokoupil failed to cover up his own bias.
‘We will continue to hold people accountable. But we will do it objectively, which means checking our prejudices and opinions at the door,” he said, according to The free press.
“We are here to report news without fear or favor.”
A CBS News source told the New York Post who felt the network didn’t do its due diligence before Coates’ appearance.
‘This is more of a failure of CBS News to read books and evaluate whether they should promote them. I think Tony did what every good journalist is supposed to do: make sure both sides are represented in an argument.’
CBS News has not made any public comment on the interview or reaction to it.
Among the anecdotes from Coates’ visits to Africa, ‘The Message’ shares the voices of Palestinians in the West Bank.
Jan Crawford, a legal analyst for the network, criticized the network for its treatment of the host.
Coates defended his book by saying that his goal is to give a voice to the voiceless.
Dokoupil was quick to criticize the author for not including an Israeli perspective in his work, claiming that it delegitimizes the pillars of the country.
“The contents of that section would not be out of place in an extremist’s backpack,” Dokoupil said.
‘Why leave aside the fact that Israel is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it? Why leave out the fact that Israel deals with terrorist groups that want to eliminate it?
“Is it because you simply do not believe that Israel, under any conditions, has the right to exist?”
Coates defended his book by saying that his goal is to give a voice to the voiceless and that there is already enough pro-Israel perspective in the mainstream media.
“I would say that the perspective you just outlined is not lacking in the American media,” he said.
‘Journalists from those who most sympathetically believe in Israel and that it is right to exist have no problem making their voices heard.
“But what I saw in Palestine, what I saw in the West Bank, what I saw in Haifa in Israel, what I saw in the hills of southern Hebron, those were the stories I had not heard and those were the stories I occupied most. ‘
CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon (pictured) and Adrienne Roark, president of content development for the news division, believe Dokoupil failed to cover up his own bias.
Dokoupil, whose two children and ex-wife live in Israel, was quick to criticize the author.
Dokopuil doubled down, stating that people who read ‘The Message’ will come away believing that Israel is a horrible place that should not exist.
“What I wrestled with throughout this book, what is it that so particularly offends you about the existence of a Jewish state that is a safe Jewish place and not any of the other states that exist?” he said. .
‘If Israel has a right to exist, and if your answer is no, then I guess the question is why do Palestinians have a right to exist? Why do 20 different Muslim countries have the right to exist?
Coates responded: ‘There is nothing that offends me in a Jewish state. I am offended by the idea of states built on ethnocracy, no matter where they are located. I would not want a state in which any group of people establishes their citizenship rights based on their ethnic origin.’
‘Either apartheid is right or it is wrong. It’s really very simple. Either what I saw was right or it’s wrong. I am against a State that discriminates against people on ethnic grounds. I am against that. There is nothing the Palestinians can do to make that okay for me.”
Gayle King attempted to smooth over the conversation by giving Coates 20 seconds before the end of the segment to simply talk about the message of her book.
The interview left viewers divided, with some quickly criticizing Dokopuil for his line of questioning and accusing him of being racist. Others praised Dokopuil for asking the tough questions.