CBS News staff in uproar after host challenges guest's anti-Israel views, network leadership responds

CBS News is successful turmoil aft an interior unit gathering addressed the concerns surrounding an interrogation featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates connected Israel's "right to exist."

Last week, "CBS Mornings" anchor Tony Dokoupil grilled Coates, an writer and journalist, connected an anti-Israel information successful his caller book, "The Message," which describes his travels "to Palestine, wherever helium sees with devastating clarity however easy we are misled by nationalist narratives, and the calamity that lies successful the clash betwixt the stories we archer and the world of beingness connected the ground," the publication summary reads.

Dokoupil brought up this conception of the book, telling Coates bluntly that it work similar thing you would find successful "the backpack of an extremist."

CBS HOST GRILLS TA-NEHISI COATES ON ANTI-ISRAEL VIEWS IN NEW BOOK: LOOKS LIKE IT CAME FROM AN ‘EXTREMIST’

Author and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates was grilled astir his views connected Israel's close to beryllium by CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil, successful a Monday interview. (CBS/Screenshot)

"I person to say, erstwhile I work the book, I ideate if I took your sanction retired of it, took distant the awards, the acclaim, took the screen disconnected the book, publishing location goes away, the contented of that conception would not beryllium retired of spot successful the backpack of an extremist," Dokoupil said. 

"So past I recovered myself wondering, wherefore does Ta’Nehisi Coates, who I’ve known for a agelong time, work his enactment for a agelong time, precise talented, astute guy, permission retired truthful much? Why permission retired that Israel is surrounded by countries that privation to destruct it? Why permission retired that Israel deals with panic groups that privation to destruct it? Why not item thing of the archetypal and the 2nd Intifada, the café bombings, the autobus bombings, the small kids blown to bits. Is it due to the fact that you conscionable don't judge that Israel successful immoderate information has a close to exist?" the CBS anchor continued.

Coates defended the book, saying helium sought to springiness a dependable to the Palestinian people, whose views helium argued were underrepresented successful the American media. 

The interrogation prompted outcry from immoderate CBS News staff, who felt Dokoupil pressed Coates excessively powerfully connected his anti-Israel stance. The web addressed the interior frenzy successful a unit gathering Monday, which marked the one-year day since the October 7th massacre successful Israel. CBS enactment reassured offended unit members that pursuing a review, they concluded that the interrogation did not conscionable the company’s "editorial standards," the Free Press reported, which obtained audio of the unit meeting. 

Ta-Nehisi Coates connected CBS Mornings defends his caller book, "The Message." (CBS News/Screenshot)

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Adrienne Roark, who oversees news-gathering astatine the network, told employees that covering an lawsuit similar October 7 "requires empathy, respect, and a committedness to truth," according to the Free Press. 

"We volition inactive inquire pugnacious questions. We volition inactive clasp radical accountable. But we volition bash truthful objectively, which means checking our biases and opinions astatine the door," Roark reportedly said.

"We are present to study quality without fearfulness oregon favor," Roark added, according to the Free Press. "There are times we neglect our audiences and each other. We’re successful 1 of those times close now, and it’s been growing. And we’re astatine a tipping point. Many of you person reached retired to explicit concerns astir caller reporting. Specifically astir the CBS Mornings Coates interrogation past week arsenic good arsenic comments made coming retired of immoderate of our correspondents’ reporting."

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She continued, "I privation to admit and apologize that it’s taken this agelong to person this conversation."

But not everyone astatine CBS agreed with the leadership's determination to appease their staff.

CBS News main ineligible analogous Jan Crawford reportedly defended Dokoupil's handling of the interview, remarking during the meeting, "I don't adjacent recognize however Tony's interrogation failed to conscionable our editorial standards... I thought our committedness was to truth. When idiosyncratic comes connected our aerial with a one-sided relationship of precise analyzable situation—which Coates himself acknowledges that helium has—it's my knowing that arsenic a writer we are obligated to situation that worldview, truthful that our viewers tin person entree to the information and tin person a much balanced account...," Dylan Byers of Puck News reported her arsenic saying.

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"And that is what Tony did," Crawford added, according to Byers. "He challenged Coates' one-sided worldview, Coates got to respond. It was civil... I don't spot however we tin accidental that it failed to conscionable our editorial standards.... Tony prevented a one-sided relationship from being broadcast connected our web astir a profoundly analyzable concern that wholly was devoid of past oregon fact. As journalists, that's what we person an work to do."

CBS has yet to respond to Fox News Digital's petition for comment.

Fox News' Kristine Parks contributed to this report.