Shari Redstone, chairman of CBS parent Paramount Global, angered Tiffany Network over its crackdown on “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil following his heated interview about Israel with author Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Kupal was reprimanded at Monday's staff meeting by CBS News executive Wendy McMahon and her lieutenant Adrienne Roark for bringing their own “bias” to an interview with Coates, who denounced Israel as an “apartheid” state in his new book “The Message.”
In an interview on September 30, Dokoupil noted that the book “would not be out of place in an extremist's backpack” and asked Coates whether he believed Israel had a right to exist.
“Honestly, I thought Tony did a great job doing this interview,” Redstone said Wednesday at the annual AdWeek conference in downtown New York. “I was very proud of the work he did. Yes, as hard as it was for me to go against this company, I think they made a mistake here.
Roark, the news division's president of content development, said Dokoupil's interview did not meet CBS News' “editorial standards” for impartiality, according to a leaked audio recording reported by The Free Press.
“I just want to make it clear that I have worked with the CEOs,” Redstone added. “I worked with a woman who often conducts our diversity training, and I think we all agree that it wasn't handled properly and we all agree that something needs to be done. You know, I have no editorial control. I am not a director, but I have a voice on our platform, like all of us.”
CBS News did not respond to requests for comment.
Redstone's comments come a day after Dokoupil met with angry “CBS Mornings” staffers in an emotional private meeting hosted by executive producer Shawna Thomas.
According to The Post, Dokoupil “apologized” for the situation but did not “apologize” for his course of questioning.
A source at the meeting told The Post that although Dokoupil talked to his colleagues, he didn't budge and by the end of the tear-filled powwow it was more of an “agree to disagree” situation.
He bought a convert to Judaism whose ex-wife lives in Israel with their two children and asked Coates in an interview why he didn't include more pro-Israel voices or note in his work that “little children (were) blown to pieces” during Palestinian terrorist attacks.
Coates responded that the Israeli narrative was well represented in the mainstream American press and that few Palestinian voices had a chance to be heard.
Days before Tuesday's meeting, “CBS Mornings” staffers complained to top network officials about the journalist's treatment of Coates, which led to McMahon and Roark condemning Dokoupil's interview, sources told The Post.
The Free Press sent a leaked audio recording of Monday's meeting, which also included CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford blasting management's statement in the presence of employees.
“It appears that we are in a fairly public place accusing one of our presenters in connection with this call for failing to meet editorial standards for, I'm not even sure what,” Crawford said.
“I thought our obligation was the truth. And when someone comes on our air with a one-sided account of a very complex situation, as Coates himself admits, I understand that as journalists we have an obligation to challenge that worldview so that our viewers have access to the truth or a fuller account, a more balanced account. And that's what I think Tony did.
On Monday, Redstone fumed behind the scenes about how management handled the situation, saying it was insensitive to handle the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Redstone, who is Jewish, was ironically present at the Adweek conference in New York to speak about the power of content in the fight against anti-Semitism and racism.
The heiress, who earlier this year struck a deal to sell her media empire to Skydance, joined Anti-Defamation League national director Jonathan Greenblatt in expressing concerns to McMahon about Dokoupil's treatment, The Post reported Tuesday.
CBS News planned to hire DEI consultant Dr. Donald Grant to lead Tuesday's discussion with employees.
But Grant's controversial views were exposed by The Post, including a social media post from a self-proclaimed “mental health expert”: Altered cover of Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic slavery novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' – featuring the face of the Donald Trump-supporting South Carolina senator . Tim Scott photoshopped photos of several other characters.
A post on Grant's Instagram account earlier this year changed the title to “Uncle Tim's Cabin” and also included a photo of conservative commentator Candace Owens.
CBS News declined to comment on The Post's report on Grant's Instagram at the time. On Tuesday, Puck said the decision to bring back Grant was made amid confusion that sparked outrage from critics, as well as Scott's fundraising campaign using a Photoshopped cover of Grant's book.
“The above disgusting rhetoric is EXACTLY what awaits us if we allow the radical and intolerant left to win,” Scott wrote on the Win Red fundraising platform.
