CBS’ Race and Culture Unit criticizes anchor’s tone in Ta-Nahisi book interview

CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil's Sept. 30 interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates has ignited further controversy within the news network. The interview drew attention to CBS's editorial standards and sparked internal discussions.

The network has a Race and Culture unit, established in 2020, to ensure the "tone, content, and intention" of segments are appropriate. According to reporting by Dylan Byers, journalists at the network are required to run their interview questions by this unit.

Byers noted that the unit determined while Dokoupil's questions and intentions were acceptable, his tone was not. The network’s Standards and Practices division found that Dokoupil did not adhere to the preproduction process requiring questions to be vetted through both Race and Culture and Standards and Practices.

The New York Times also reported that Dokoupil had to meet with these units , focusing on his "tone of voice, phrasing, and body language" during the interview.

During an all-hands meeting, which was intended to be confidential but leaked, Dokoupil’s violation of standards was announced, leading to a divide between supporters and critics.

"For many of the network’s employees, the episode demonstrated the latest example of Dokoupil’s pro-Israel editorializing," Byers wrote in his report. "Dokoupil is Jewish, and his ex-wife and children live in Israel, and many criticized him for bringing his personal emotions into the coverage."

"For others, including many of the network’s more veteran journalists, Dokoupil had actually upheld CBS’s journalistic values by asking tough questions of a guest with an overt anti-Israel bias," Byers wrote.

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