CBS brass says Dokoupil, Coates interview did not meet standards

CBS News leadership is addressing with staff an interview conducted on the network's flagship morning program by a top anchor that the executives said did not meet its editorial standards.

In an editorial call Monday, audio of which was obtained and published by The Free Press, CBS News executives Wendy McMahon and Adrienne Roark said the interview, conducted by anchor Tony Dokoupil of author Ta-Nehisi Coates, fell short of the network's standards for journalism.

"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," they said on the call.

During the interview, Dokoupil pressed Coates about a section of his new book in which he criticizes Israel over the ongoing war in Gaza, asking him “why leave out that Israel is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it?” and pressing him about Israel's "right to exist."

The online news site Puck reported several staffers at CBS were angered by how Dokoupil conducted himself during the interview, arguing he injected his own bias into the conversation.

One reporter at CBS can be heard on the call pushing back on network leadership, saying "Tony prevented a one-sided account from being broadcast on our network about a deeply complex situation that completely was devoid of history or fact."

The Hill has contacted CBS News for further comment.

Updated: 7:27 p.m.