CBS interview about Israel sparks brawl at station

Last September 30 A controversy emerged on the American station CBS .

During a morning show on the television signal, An interview was conducted with writer and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, who recently published The message (One World, 2024).

It is a book in which the author reflects a critical look at Israel .

At the start of the conversation, Host Tony Dokoupil began by saying that the content of his writings “would not be out of place in an extremist’s backpack.” .

Likewise, according to people familiar with the matter, Wall Street Journal , the panelist deviated from the initial interview guidelines .

His comments triggered unrest within the channel, while channel executives said it did not meet editorial standards .

Some members of the team CBS They also stated Newspaper that management was “tough” with Dokoupil .

They assure that the incident at the end of September He is one of those who have criticized the way he does his job. .

Indeed, according to the sources consulted by the aforementioned newspaper, On the same day of this interview, he was involved in two other situations which caused discomfort among certain managers and workers. of the canal.

Following the September 30 broadcast A staff meeting was held on Monday, October 7, during which management, without directly mentioning Dokoupil, expressed its dissatisfaction. about this.

According to one of the sources consulted by the Newspaperfrom a unit of CBS dedicated to assessing cultural and racial issues, said that the tone of the presenter gave the impression of bias .

For his part, The majority shareholder of the chain’s parent company spoke out against the way the situation was handled .

At the same time, he declared that I disagreed that Dokoupil’s interview violated editorial guidelines according to a source declared to the aforementioned newspaper.

It is good to remember that October 7, 2024 marked the first anniversary of the start of the pandemic. war in Gaza .

On this date, in 2023, the activist group Hamas led a direct offensive against Israel which left 1,200 dead and 250 hostages.

After this operation, Israeli forces responded with continued attacks in the Gaza Strip, which caused more than 41,000 deaths according to local authorities.

Since then, tensions have only increased in the Middle East, to the point where, Currently, Israel is fighting with Hamas in Gaza, with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with the Houthis in Yemen, with Iran and with Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq. .

As the conflict continues, Concerns about the possibility of a wider war in the region remain simmering .

In addition to the initial comment, Dokoupil told Coates in the interview that he had not included relevant aspects of historical context in his book. .

This was also not part of the previous guidelines. for the conversation to take place, said the sources consulted by the Newspaper.

The presenter at one point asked Coates: “Why leave aside the fact that Israel is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it? Why leave out the fact that Israel is dealing with terrorist groups who want to eliminate it? .

“Is it because you simply don’t believe that Israel, whatever the conditions, has the right to exist? Dokoupil insisted.

Faced with these questions, the author of The message He responded that “there is no shortage of this perspective in the American media.” .

According to the aforementioned newspaper, Dokoupil’s ex-wife and children live in Israel .

In the case Also present were co-host Gayle King and third host Nate Burleson. .

However, They did not have greater participation in the interview.

The latter also woke up unease among certain executives and team members, who felt that Dokoupil was appropriating the dialogue with Coates.

After the interview aired, according to a source, dozens of workers asked the president to CBS News Wendy McMahon, and News Gatherer and Editorial Director, Adrienne Roark .

A person present at Monday’s meeting said Newspaper what the latter commented: “It goes well beyond an interview, a comment, a story. It is about preserving the heritage of neutrality and objectivity which is CBS News » .

Likewise, he stressed that the network will continue to report objectively and ask complex questions, but that “We must put aside our prejudices and our opinions” .

In the September 30 broadcast, there were two other situations that caused discomfort between certain managers and team members CBSaccording to sources familiar with the matter.

One of them was that unexpectedly concluded the report by the channel’s foreign correspondent, Imtiaz Tyab, who was covering from Beirut in Lebanon.

The journalist spoke about Israeli airstrikes on the city and the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, died in an attack on September 27.

At one point, Tyab said: “Israel is preparing for some kind of ground invasion, something that could be far more deadly than anything we have seen so far” .

After completing the above, Dokoupil said: “If Hezbollah thought Israel would graciously accept a year full of rockets, Hezbollah miscalculated. » .

It is this intervention which finally closed the correspondent’s report before his camera goes off.

The majority shareholder of Paramount Worldwide -the matrix of CBS—, Shari Redstone told network executives she disagreed with how the situation was handled. according to a person familiar with the matter.

“Honestly, I think Tony did a great job with this interview.” he declared in Advertising Week New York, according to statements retrieved by the Newspaper.

Redstone added that it was difficult for him to go against the company and the management team, but He felt that “they made a mistake here” .

“We all agree that this has not been handled properly and we all agree that something needs to be done.” I have no editorial control. I’m not an executive, but I have a voice “.

He also said it was inappropriate for the topic to be raised on October 7. the date which marked one year since the start of the war in Gaza.