CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King faces new allegations of journalistic misconduct amid uproar over the network’s response to Tony Dokoupil’s tense interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates.
The pro-Palestinian activist was discussing his new publication, The Message, on Monday when Dokoupil – who converted to Judaism and whose ex-wife and children live in Israel – accused Coates of being an “extremist” and criticized him for not including a Israeli. perspective.
Coates has since accused the journalist of “controlling” the interview, and praised King as a “great journalist and a great interviewer” in a preview of an upcoming interview with Trevor Noah. according to the Hollywood Reporter.
But then he went on to claim: ‘Gayle came backstage before we went up and she had read the book, and I’m not saying she agreed with the book.
“(However) she said, ‘I’m going to ask you about this. I’m going to ask you about that.'”
CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King has been accused of journalistic misconduct
The claims come amid uproar over the network’s response to Tony Dokoupil’s tense interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Had he, in fact, provided specific lines of questioning to Coates, King would have violated the network’s journalistic standards, a former CBS reporter said. he told La Prensa Libre.
‘Now they’re going to investigate her and say that what she did didn’t meet CBS standards?’ asked the former journalist. “I suspect not.”
DailyMail.com has contacted an agent for King for comment.
But the claim comes amid turmoil within the network over the controversial interview, for which Dokoupil was reprimanded after he accused Coates of undermining Israel’s right to exist and demanded to know why pro-voices were not included. Israel.
“The contents of that section would not be out of place in an extremist’s backpack,” the journalist told his guest at one point.
‘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?
Coates insisted that there was no shortage of pro-Israel voices in the American media and that he was trying to tell “those stories I haven’t heard.”
Still, Dokoupil doubled down, claiming that people who read The Message will end up believing that Israel is a horrible place that should not exist.
Dokoupil, whose two children and ex-wife live in Israel, was quick to criticize the author.
“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?” asked.
Coates appeared on CBS Mornings to talk about his new book ‘The Message’, a collection of essays, including one about his visit to Palestine.
‘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.
“I am against a state that discriminates against people on ethnic grounds.”
During the six-minute exchange, King and co-host Nate Burleson stood in stunned silence.
Coates defended his book by saying that his goal is to give a voice to the voiceless.
Network bosses later criticized the CBS morning host for bringing his “bias” to the screen.
CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon reportedly stated that it “did not meet editorial standards for impartiality.”
PContent development resident Adrienne Roark also rallied the staff to pull Dokoupil over the coals.
“We will continue to hold people accountable,” Roark said. “But we will do it objectively, which means checking our biases and opinions at the door.”
He said the interview did not “meet our editorial standards” and added that “the issue has been addressed and will continue to be in the future.”
Sources within the network now claim that the issue arose with the CBS Race and Culture Unit, which works “in conjunction with the CBS News Ethics and Standards Department to ensure that all stories have the context, tone and the proper intention”, according to the company website.
It was formed in the summer of 2020 amid nationwide protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
“We must always be aware of how race and culture impact our journalism, and in terms of the future of CBS News, this unit will be as important as Standards and Practices,” news division president Susan Zirinsky said at the time. , according to Term.
“These broad, subjective criteria have made them a very powerful voice, and many employees believe this has allowed greater bias to creep into the network’s editorial decisions,” a source told The Free Press.
“You see prejudice when it’s something you don’t agree with.”
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.
But some employees were furious about Dokoupil’s treatment, and Jan Crawford, the network’s legal analyst, criticized network executives.
“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 in a meeting Tuesday, when Dokoupil allegedly admitted “regret” about the interview.
“It feels like we’re criticizing one of our presenters in a somewhat public setting on this call for not meeting editorial standards, I’m not even sure what,” she said.
‘I thought our commitment was to the truth.
“And when someone goes on air with a one-sided account of a very complex situation, as Coates himself acknowledges, I understand that as journalists we are obliged to challenge that worldview so that our viewers can have that access to the truth or a story. more complete, a more balanced story.
“And, to me, that’s what Tony did.”
Shari Redstone, majority shareholder in CBS parent company Paramount Global (until its merger with Skydance next year) is also reportedly distraught by CBS’s actions.
A source close to Redstone told The Free Press that he thought “Tony gave a great interview and modeled what civil discourse should be like.”
And she did not agree with the measures the company took. “He is working with the CEO to address this issue.”
Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks sent a memo to staff members Wednesday saying the company needs to have a “substantial dialogue” about perceptions of bias and “inconsistent treatment.”
Finally, on Wednesday, Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks sent a memo to staff members saying the company needs to have a “substantial dialogue” about perceptions of bias and “inconsistent treatment.”
“There has been strong and growing discord within CBS News that needed to be addressed in an editorial meeting,” he admitted in the memo. obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
‘This should lead to greater substantive dialogue about perceptions of inconsistent treatment, implicit bias and the important standards our News Division holds to establish barriers of fairness and objectivity.
“To be clear, it has never been about CBS News being right to ask the tough questions, that is and always will be the standard,” Cheeks continued.
“Our hosts and correspondents will continue to ask the toughest questions about the biggest and most complex topics.”
Cheeks went on to say that he is “incredibly proud of CBS News and the way they rise to the occasion, even in the most difficult of times.”
“All of us move forward from this moment – including myself – committed to reflection, refining the process and redoubling our efforts in service of the audience when the need for accurate and unbiased news presented in the right context has never been more important” .