CBS News host clashes with journalist about new book on Israel in tense interview
'CBS Mornings' anchor Tony Dokoupil pressed author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates on whether he believed Israel had a right to exist in a Monday interview.
The head of CBS News' parent company said network leadership made a "mistake" in their response to "CBS Mornings" host Tony Dokoupil's tense interview with anti-Israel author Ta-Nehisi Coates that caused an internal uproar.
"I think Tony did a great job with that interview. I think he handled himself and showed the world and modeled what civil discourse is. He showed that there was accountability, that there is a system of checks and balances, and frankly, I was very proud of the work that he did," Paramount CEO Shari Redstone said Wednesday during a panel in New York, according to The Washington Post.
Dokoupil pressed Coates on his fiercely anti-Israel book "The Message" and said it read like something you would find in "the backpack of an extremist."
The interview prompted backlash from some CBS News staff, who felt Dokoupil pressed Coates too strongly. The network addressed the internal frenzy in a staff meeting Monday, which marked the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. CBS leadership reassured offended staff members that following a review, they concluded that the interview did not meet the company’s "editorial standards," the Free Press reported, which obtained audio of the staff meeting, and Dokoupil apologized. Even the network's Race and Culture unit got involved in reviewing the interview.
Paramount CEO Shari Redstone weighed in on the CBS News controversy surrounding "CBS Mornings" host Tony Dokoupil's interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates. (Getty Images)
During the interview, Dokoupil interrogated Coates for omitting numerous details in his book about Israel's extraordinary security situation, such as being surrounded by countries bent on its destruction and the First and Second Palestinian Intifadas that resulted in scores of terrorist attacks. Coates condemned Israel in the book as brutal subjugators of the Palestinians and compared the latter's plight to Black Americans. The book was written before last year's Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Redstone said CBS made a mistake in how it handled the aftermath.
"As hard as it was, frankly, for me to go against the company, because I love this company, and I believe in it, and I think we have a great, great executive team, I think they made a mistake here," Redstone said during the panel on Wednesday.
Adrienne Roark, who oversees news-gathering at the network, told employees that covering an event like Oct. 7 "requires empathy, respect, and a commitment to truth," according to the Free Press.
"We will still ask tough questions. We will still hold people accountable. But we will do so objectively, which means checking our biases and opinions at the door," Roark reportedly said.
"CBS Mornings" host Tony Dokoupil was criticized by CBS News leadership for his interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates. (Getty Images | Screenshot | CBS News)
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"We are here to report news without fear or favor," Roark added, according to the Free Press. "There are times we fail our audiences and each other. We’re in one of those times right now, and it’s been growing. And we’re at a tipping point. Many of you have reached out to express concerns about recent reporting. Specifically about the ‘CBS Mornings’ Coates interview last week as well as comments made coming out of some of our correspondents’ reporting."
Redstone also said that she had been in touch with the leadership at CBS News and said, "I think we all agree that this was not handled correctly, and we all agree that something needs to be done," according to the Post.
Fox News Digital reached out to CBS News for comment.
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Fox News' Yael Halon and Kristine Parks contributed to this report.
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