According to reports, CBS News ordered its employees to remain silent. The capital of Israel, Jerusalem, is in Israel.
On Wednesday, the Free Press reported that Mark Memmott, senior director of standards and practices at CBS News, sent an email to all employees in late August telling them to “be careful about using certain terms when talking or writing about news” regarding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
His list of controversial terms included “Jerusalem.”
“Don't talk about being in Israel,” Memmott wrote, according to The Free Press.
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She told her employees not to refer to Jerusalem “as being in Israel,” according to CBS News. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Yes, there is a US embassy there and the Trump administration has recognized this city as the capital of Israel. However, its status is in question,” Memmott continued. “The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Israel considers Jerusalem its 'eternal and indivisible' capital, while the Palestinians consider east Jerusalem – occupied by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War – as their capital of the future state.”
CBS News' Jerusalem guidance was negatively assessed by critics on social media.
“Standards bureaus *instruct* journalists to deny reality,” reacted Adam Rubenstein, editor-in-chief of the Free Press.
“Jerusalem is not only in Israel, it is the capital of Israel. What the hell is going on at CBS?” asked Fox News contributor Guy Benson.
“Then we can stop calling CBS employees journalists,” wrote David Harsanyi, senior writer for the Washington Examiner.
CBS News did not immediately respond Fox News Digital News request for comment.
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CBS News is dealing with confusion over its handling of “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil. (Getty Images)
The report comes after a stir at CBS News after it reprimanded “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil for slamming anti-Israel author Ta-Nehisi Coates last week.
CBS management assured the offended employees that after reviewing the content of the interview, they concluded that the interview did not meet the company's “editorial standards,” i.e. Previously, it was reported about free press, who obtained the audio of a staff meeting.
A source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital News that Dokoupil would not be disciplined as a result of the interview; following the complaints, the Jewish anchor was forced to meet with the network's internal Race and Culture Department.
According to The New York Times.the conversation “focused on Mr. Dokoupil's tone of voice, phrasing and body language” during the interview.
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Last week, CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil trashed author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates over his views on Israel's right to exist. (CBS/Screenshot)
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Some came to his defense, such as CBS News legal correspondent Jan Crawford, who came to his defense during a staff conference call, and Shari Redstone, chairwoman of CBS News parent company Paramount Global, who called the network's handling of Dokoupil was a “mistake.”CBS CEO , George Cheeks, however, issued a memo in support of the news network's management.
