Shocking allegation against Gayle King as CBS Mornings in crisis

CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King is facing new allegations of journalistic malfeasance amid uproar over the network’s response to Tony Dokoupil’s tense interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates. The pro-Palestinian activist was discussing his new release, The Message, on Monday when Dokoupil – who converted to Judaism and whose ex-wife and children live in Israel – accused Coates of being an ‘extremist’ and slammed him for not including an Israeli perspective.

Coates has since accused the journalist of ‘commandeering’ the interview, as he praised King as a ‘great journalist and a great interviewer’ in a preview for an upcoming interview with Trevor Noah, according to the Hollywood Reporter. But he then went on to claim, ‘Gayle came behind the stage before we went [on] and she had gone through the book, and I’m not saying she agreed with the book. ‘[Yet] she was like, “I’m gonna ask you about this. I’m gonna ask you about that.”‘

If she did, in fact, feed Coates specific lines of questioning, King would have violated the network’s journalistic standards, a former CBS reporter told The Free Press. ‘Now are they going to investigate her and say that what she did was not in keeping with CBS standards?’ the former journalist asked. ‘I suspect not.’ A CBS Mornings spokesperson has since defended King. ‘Gayle King is one of the most respected journalists in America. She is known for her thorough preparation and note taking. She reads the books, consumes the content that will be discussed and extensively prepares for each interview on CBS Mornings,’ the spokesperson told DailyMail.com. ‘Engaging in pre-segment conversations with guests is a standard practice for any experienced host. Discussing a guest’s work ahead of time is a common approach to establish rapport.”

Yet the claim that King may have overreached comes amid turmoil within the network over the contentious interview, for which Dokoupil was reprimanded after he accused Coates of undermining Israel’s right to exist and demanded to know why no pro-Israel voices were included. ‘The content of that section would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist,’ the journalist told his guest at one point. ‘Why leave out that Israel is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it? Why leave out that Israel deals with terror groups that want to eliminate it?’ Coates insisted that there was no shortage of pro-Israel voices in the US media, and that he was trying to tell ‘those stories that I have not heard’.

Still, Dokoupil doubled down, claiming that people who read The Message will finish it believing Israel is a horrible place that should not exist. ‘What I struggled with throughout this book, what is it that so particularly offends you about the existence of a Jewish state that is a Jewish safe place, and not any of the other states out there,’ he asked. ‘If Israel has a right to exist, and if your answer is no, then I guess the question becomes why do the Palestinians have a right to exist? Why do 20 different Muslim countries have a right to exist?’

Coates fired back: ‘There’s nothing that offends me about a Jewish state. I am offended by the idea of states built on ethnocracy, no matter where they are. I would not want a state where any group of people lay down their citizenship rights based on ethnicity. Either apartheid is right or it’s wrong. It’s really, really simple. I am against a state that discriminates against people on the base of ethnicity.’ Throughout the six-minute exchange, King and co-host Nate Burleson sat in shocked silence. In the aftermath, bosses at the network slammed the CBS mornings presenter for bringing his ‘bias’ to the screen.

CBS News’ CEO Wendy McMahon reportedly claimed he ‘did not meet editorial standards for impartiality.’ President of content development, Adrienne Roark also gathered staff together to haul Dokoupil over the coals. ‘We will still hold people accountable,’ Roark said. ‘But we will do so objectively, which means checking our biases and opinions at the door.’ She said the interview did not ‘meet our editorial standards’, adding ‘it has been addressed, and it will continue to be in the future’. Sources within the network now claim that the issue arose with CBS’ Race and Culture Unit, which works ‘in concert with the CBS News Standards and Ethics Department to ensure all stories have the proper context, tone and intention,’ according to the company’s website.

It was formed in the summer of 2020 amid nationwide protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd. ‘We must always be aware of how race and culture impacts our journalism – and in terms of the future of CBS News, this unit will be as important as Standards and Practices,’ the news division’s president, Susan Zirinsky (pictured), said at the time, according to Deadline. ‘These broad and subjective criteria have made them a very powerful voice, and many employees believe this has allowed greater bias to creep into editorial decisions at the network,’ an insider told The Free Press. ‘You see bias when it’s something you don’t agree with.’ But some staff were left furious by Dokoupil’s treatment, with Jan Crawford, a legal analyst for the network calling out network executives.

‘I don’t even understand how Tony’s interview failed to meet our editorial standards… I thought our commitment was to truth,’ Crawford said at a meeting on Tuesday, when Dokoupil reportedly admitted ‘regret’ over the interview. ‘It sounds like we are calling out one of our anchors in a somewhat public setting on this call for failing to meet editorial standards for, I’m not even sure what,’ she said. ‘And when someone comes on our air with a one-sided account of a very complex situation, as Coates himself acknowledges that he has, it’s my understanding that as journalists we are obligated to challenge that worldview so that our viewers can have that access to the truth or a fuller account, a more balanced account. And, to me, that is what Tony did.’ Shari Redstone, a controlling shareholder of CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global (until its merger with Skydance next year) is also reportedly perturbed by CBS’ actions. A source close to Redstone told The Free Press, she thought ‘Tony gave a great interview and modeled what civil discourse should look like. ‘And she disagreed with action the company took. She’s working with the CEO to address this issue.’

Finally on Wednesday, Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks sent a memo to staff members saying the company needs to have ‘substantive dialogue’ about perceptions of bias and ‘inconsistent treatment. ‘There has been strong and growing discord within CBS News that needed to be addressed in an editorial meeting,’ he admitted in the memo, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. ‘This must lead to further substantive dialogue about perceptions of inconsistent treatment, implicit bias and the important standards that our News Division has in place to establish guardrails for fairness and objectivity. ‘To be clear, this has never been about CBS News right to ask the tough question[s], that is and always will be the standard,’ Cheeks continued. ‘Our hosts and correspondents will continue to ask the toughest questions on the most important and complex issues. Cheeks went on to say he is ‘incredibly proud of CBS News and the way they meet the moment, even in the most challenging times. ‘All of us move forward from this moment – including me – committed to reflection, perfecting the process and doubling down in service of the audience when the need for accurate, unbiased news presented in proper context has never been more important.’

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