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Shari Redstone, chairman of CBS’ parent company Paramount Global, said Wednesday that CBS leaders have been commenting on their handling of last week’s controversial interview between “CBS Morning” co-host Tony Dokoupil and author Ta-Nehisi Coates. He said the team had made a “terrible mistake.”
Directly contradicting what CBS editorial leadership told staff on Monday, Redstone said he did not believe Dokoupil violated the network’s editorial standards when he criticized Coates for the content of his new book. Ta.
“I think Tony did a great job in that interview. I think he handled himself and showed the world and modeled what civil discussion is. He’s accountable and he has checks and balances. and frankly I was very proud of the work he did,” Redstone said Wednesday during a panel discussion at Advertising Week in New York.
Mr. Redstone expressed his support for Mr. Dokoupil directly, but said he was “very pleased” that CBS had Mr. Coates on the air to talk about the acclaimed author’s new book, “The Message.” “I’m working on it,” he said.
“But we must also provide an opportunity to challenge what he says, just as we challenge others,” Redstone said.
Last week, Coates, a National Book Award winner, published “The Message,” in which he describes Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as a moral crime, a crime that many Americans cannot or will not confront directly. I am drawing this.
At Monday’s daily editorial meeting, CBS News executives said Dokoupil violated the station’s editorial standards during his interview with Coates, in which the host compared the book to the work of an “extremist” and criticized Coates. They objected that he excluded the Israeli perspective in his book.
“I have to say, when I read this book, if I were to remove your name from this book, take away your awards and accolades, take the cover off the book, and the publisher is gone, I would not be able to remove your name from that section. I imagined the contents would be gone. It would be out of place in an extremist’s backpack,” Dokoupil told Coates.
On Wednesday, Redstone said department leaders made a “terrible mistake” in responding to the controversy surrounding the interview.
“I’ve worked with CEOs, I’ve worked with women who do a lot of diversity training, and we all agree that this was not handled correctly. I think we all agree that something needs to be done,” Redstone said.
Redstone has long supported Israel and has spent the past year working on efforts to combat anti-Semitism.
“People need to understand the core issues and what they’re talking about. We need to be better educated on how to challenge people in a civil way. Frankly, I think Tony did that,” Redstone said at the event. “Most importantly, we need to have standards that apply to everyone on all issues. You cannot have one standard for people in one position and another standard for people in another position. ”
Following internal complaints about the interview, CBS News and Stations President and CEO Wendy McMahon and her top deputy, Adrian Rourke, filed a complaint with the network’s standards and practices department. I requested a review of the discussion. The news department’s race and culture division was also involved.
A person familiar with CBS’s review defended CBS’ actions Wednesday, telling CNN the matter was “handled respectfully.”
“This issue was a hot topic and there were many, many people within the organization who were concerned about how that interview would be handled,” the person said.
Several correspondents and producers expressed concerns about Dokoupil’s conduct on various occasions beyond the Coates interview.
“It was clear that this was an issue that required process and serious conversation and serious consideration, and that’s what happened.”
Dokoupil watched as Coates was questioned during Tuesday’s “CBS Morning” staff meeting, a source close to the program told CNN. Despite Redstone’s comments, the official believes the situation is “calming down” and that “after some important discussions” they are “ready to move forward again as a team.” spoke.
This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.