CBS News' new DEI consultants may need to undergo their own racial sensitivity training.
Network executives reportedly appointed Dr. Donald Grant, who describes himself as a “mental health expert, DEI strategist and trauma trainer.” on his instagram – This was to quell the internal turmoil following the announcement that an interview between morning show host Tony Dokoupil and author Ta-Nehisi Coates did not meet “editorial standards.”
But CBS may want to reconsider its choice of arbitrator.
Grant, a black man who clearly hates MAGA, I posted an altered cover Featuring the face of Donald Trump-supporting South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, as well as several other characters from Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, Image processed with Photoshop.
Grant's Instagram post earlier this year changed the title to “Uncle Tim's Cabin” and included an image of conservative commentator Candace Owens.
A person close to the situation called CBS News' move “ridiculous” and pointed out the irony of Tiffany Network hiring an “insane racist.”
CBS News did not comment on the decision to hire Grant, which was first reported by Pac News.
Scott immediately pounced on the controversial decision to invite Grant. Repost the altered book cover to the Win Red fundraising platform Late Monday.
“The above disgusting rhetoric is exactly what awaits us if we allow the radical, intolerant left to win,” Scott wrote.
“If you believe in a stronger America, if you believe we are better together than divided, I hope you will stand with me right now.” I’m here!”
Earlier in the day, during a tough interview on “CBS Morning” last week, the station said Dokoupil had pressed Coates about the controversial author's portrayal of Hamas' war with Israel in a pro-Palestinian light. denounced the incident, sparking outrage among CBS News staff.
CBS News boss Wendy McMahon and Adrian Rourke, head of content development for the news division, said the “CBS Morning” host brought his own biases to an interview with Coates during an October meeting with workers. he claimed. According to reports, there were seven massacres.
They said the sit-in, which took place last week, did not meet editorial standards of impartiality, but did not provide further details, Pac News and the paper reported. Bari Weiss Free Press Reported.
“We will continue to hold people accountable, but we will do so objectively, and that means checking our biases and opinions at the door,” Rourke said. said. “We are here to report the news without fear or favor.”
This strong criticism did not sit well with some of Dokoupil's supporters, including CBS News chief legal correspondent Jean Crawford.
“I don't even understand why Tony's interview doesn't meet our editorial standards…I thought our commitment was true,” Crawford was quoted as saying by Pac.
“When someone appears on our broadcasts with a one-sided explanation of a very complex situation, which Coates himself acknowledges, as journalists we challenge that worldview and listen. I understand that we have an obligation to give people access to that worldview so they can understand the truth and have a more balanced account.”
Critics on social media and CBS staffers criticized Dokoupil's direct questions about Coates' book “The Message,'' which condemned Israel's “apartheid” administration of territory captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Dokupil convert to Judaism His ex-wife lives in Israel with their two children.challenged Mr. Coates, saying that the book characterized Israel so much that it “would not be out of place in an extremist's backpack.”
Dokoupil asked Coates why he didn't include more pro-Israel voices and “little children” notes in his work. [were] It was blown to pieces in a Palestinian terrorist attack.
“Is it because you don't believe that Israel has the right to exist under any circumstances?” Dokoupil asked.
Mr. Coates responded that Israel's narrative is well-reported in mainstream American news outlets, with little opportunity for Palestinian voices to be heard.
“I wrote a 260-page book,” Coates said. “This is not a treatise on the entire conflict between Palestinians and Israelis,” Coates said, acknowledging that the account was based on a 10-day trip to the Israeli and Palestinian West Bank.
Crawford praised Dokoupil's “challenge.”[ing] Coates' one-sided worldview,'' giving the author an opportunity to respond.
“It was a civil matter…I don't see how you can say it doesn't meet our editorial standards,” Crawford was quoted as saying.
She added that Dokoupil “prevented a one-sided explanation of a very complex situation completely devoid of history and facts from being aired on our network.” “As journalists, that is our duty.”
