CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil defiantly admitted in a Tuesday staff meeting that he openly violated the network’s standards and practices during his explosive interview on Palestine with award-winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates, sources familiar with the matter told Zeteo.
The morning-show meeting, however, was dramatically cut short when a CBS spokesperson passed ‘CBS Mornings’ executive producer Shawna Thomas a note urging her to quickly wrap it up. Sources said that it was believed that it was due to the possibility that someone was leaking details at that moment.
Network employees said that prior to Tuesday’s meeting being torpedoed, Dokoupil was confronted by one staffer who said his comments during the Sept. 30 segment with Coates were “racist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic.” While the anchor remained respectful and calm during the charged meeting and apologized for making others “feel uncomfortable,” he fully defended the way he conducted the interview.
At the same time, Dokoupil was pressed by staffers in the Tuesday meeting on how he would handle an interview with a Palestinian guest. Asserting that he would treat it the same way as his conversation with Coates, the anchor said he’d ask the guest about their politics and whether they agreed that Israel has a right to exist. …more
