CBS News leadership announced to staff Monday morning that journalist Tony Dokoupil’s contentious approach to an interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates failed to meet the organization’s editorial standards, following an internal review of the interview. Executives said that they addressed the interview with Dokoupil directly.
Coates appeared on “CBS Mornings” last week to discuss his new book, “The Message,” which includes criticism of Israel’s approach to its war against Hamas in Gaza following Coates’ own visit to Jerusalem. Co-anchor Dokoupil turned the focus to the portion of his book discussing Israel and asserting that the content of that section, without Coates’ name attached, “would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist.”
Audio of the call with staff was obtained and released by Bari Weiss’ conservative Free Press outlet, which has taken a stance in support of Israel’s prosecution of its war in Gaza and beyond. On the call, CBS News’ chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford defended Dokoupil and said, “Tony prevented a one-sided account from being broadcast on our network.”
Both internal reaction and that of viewers has been mixed, with some taking issue with Dokoupil’s questions and description of Coates’ work and feeling that it indicated bias, while others supported his approach as being journalistically sound in how he asked tough questions. Dokoupil has written about being a convert to Judaism. His ex-wife and two of his children live in Israel.
Some both inside and outside CBS were also concerned with the choice to share the results of the investigation on Oct. 7, the anniversary of the Hamas terror attack last year that sparked the current ongoing military conflict.
Following the interview, Coates appeared on former MSNBC journalist Mehdi Hasan’s Zeteo outlet and said of the CBS interview, “I was a little surprised, and then I realized what was going on, I was in a fight.”
CBS News executive Adrienne Roark began her remarks on the internal staff call making the announcement by noting that coverage of a story like Oct. 7 “requires empathy, respect, and a commitment to truth.” She latter added, “We will still ask tough questions. We will still hold people accountable. But we will do so objectively, which means checking our biases and opinions at the door.”
She noted that staff had reached out about the interview with Coates to raise concerns and then added, “I want to acknowledge and apologize that it’s taken this long to have this conversation.”
Internal discussions about the interview are expected to continue, including at an open forum for CBS News morning show staff on Tuesday.
In the interview, Dokoupil challenged Coates and asked why the author, whose talent he praised, would “leave out so much.” He cited issues including Israel being “surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it,” terrorists seeking its destruction, as well as other historical context including sustained terrorist attacks against its citizens.
Coates defended his approach by noting that he felt American media already had plenty of the perspective that Dokoupil had outlined, so he sought to provide something different.
“I am most concerned, always, with those who don’t have a voice,” Coates said.
You can watch the original “CBS Mornings” interview with Coates below:
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