Former CNN anchor Don Lemon tore away the leadership of CBS News by forcing one of his anchors to meet with the “DEI” unit. after employees complained he was too harsh with an anti-Israel journalist.
Following the incident, CBS News faced backlash “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil grilled journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates in an excerpt from his new book “The Message,” which covers the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Dokoupil expressed concerns about anti-Israel bias in his book and questioned whether he believed Israel had a “right to exist.”
According to The New York Times, some of Dokoupil's associates later complained to network executives about the way he conducted the interview.
The Jewish anchor was forced to meet with both the CBS News Standards and Practices team and the Race and Culture Department.
CBS executives assured offended employees that the interview did not meet the company's “editorial standards,” according to an audio recording obtained by the Free Press.
Lemon responded to the saga on his YouTube show this week, arguing that corporate leaders should not have treated Dokoupil like that and instead should have praised the interview as an example of “good journalism.”
“CBS should have responded by saying this is good journalism and this will start another conversation and that's what we're doing at CBS News instead of shaming their anchor and doing the whole DEI, you know, thing like that,” Lemon said.
“They could have handled it in the best way possible. They could have had an open conversation with the same people who were doing it and then with others,” he added.
Instead, CBS should air an open dialogue about the controversial interview, Lemon suggested.
“Why do prisoners run an asylum?” – he asked bluntly.
Lemon reiterated that leaders should listen to complaints while remaining anchored.
“(W)hat you can do is say, 'This is great.' This is what journalism should be about. It shouldn't be perfect. Sometimes it's a mess. Conversations are chaotic, and consensus is often reached during these chaotic conversations. Otherwise, if you are afraid to have these conversations and censor them excessively, you will gain nothing. What is it about?” Lemon said.
The liberal journalist said he disagreed with everything Dokoupil said and what was written in Coates' book, but argued that journalists should still be able to ask difficult questions without undue pressure from corporations.
“Stay out of it and let journalists do their journalism,” he said.
CBS News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
CBS News has also been embroiled in controversy over its presentation of its latest interview with Vice President Kamala Harris on “60 Minutes.”
Harris' lengthy “word salad” response, which aired on the Oct. 6 episode of “Face the Nation” to promote the “60 Minutes” meeting, was removed from the primetime edition of the show that aired on Monday, Oct. 7. .
CBS has come under pressure to release the transcript or unedited video as many people wonder whether Harris' widely ridiculed response was simply cut for time or removed to help the Democratic presidential candidate.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
