CBS Host Reprimanded Because Questions Didn’t Pass Through ‘Race and Culture and Standards and Practices’ Dept

Screenshot via CBS Mornings

CBS Mornings co-anchor Tony Dokoupil was reprimanded by CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon over a controversial interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates , according to a new report.

Puck’s Dylan Byers authored an extensive report on behind the scenes drama over the September 30 interview , which has included some colleagues praising Dokoupil for his tough questions for Coates, while others have accused him of being “racist” and biased in his coverage of Israel — the co-anchor is Jewish and his ex-wife and children live in Israel.

During their exchange , Dokoupil commented that Coates’s new book The Message “would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist,” accusing the author of leaving out essential historical context to the conflict between Israel and Gaza. Coates defended his book and said he sympathizes with the Palestinian people as they “don’t have a voice.”

According to the report by Byers, there were multiple all-hands meetings this week to address fallout from the interview. Dokoupil joined one of these calls to hear criticism from his colleagues and he expressed regret if he made their jobs more difficult, but he did not apologize for his interview tactics.

CBS’ Standards and Practices division reportedly determined that Dokoupil “had not followed the preproduction process wherein questions are run through Race and Culture and Standards and Practices.”

The anchor was informed by McMahon that the “violation” will need to be “addressed.” The violation was announced at an all-hands meeting. McMahon’s deputy Adrienne Roark announced that Dokoupil’s interview did not meet “the legacy of neutrality and objectivity that is CBS News.” This was the call where colleagues suggested Dokoupil was “racist” and “xenophobic.” Others within the network took issue with their colleague being publicly shamed for the segment. The Race and Culture unit, which was created in 2020, though said that Dokoupil’s questions were acceptable, instead taking issue with the reporter’s “tone.”