Fired CBS News correspondent Katherine Herridge says her former bosses blocked her from an exclusive interview with Elon Musk that she had promised in early 2023. He claims that it was because he was afraid of what he would say.
In a video posted to revealed that he had done so.
The files released by reporters show how Twitter censored conservative tweets and It was revealed that the company had secretly registered users on a “blacklist.”
Musk, who bought Twitter and renamed it to X in 2022, suggested to Herridge that he would sit down with her for a live interview that would be broadcast on X.
Herridge said the Paramount empire was investigating CBS's Hunter Biden laptop scandal at the behest of media mogul Shari Redstone, who controls CBS News, and CBS CEO George Cheeks. on Tuesday, but had previously indicated that she had hit a roadblock with the issue. her report.
“I went to the CBS executive and said, this is an opportunity for us. He said, 'I want to do it live and on my platform,' so I was like, oh my God, this is great. I thought it was an opportunity,” Herridge said in the video. “Elon Musk appears on CBS News! He's one of the most influential people on the planet, and executives' reaction was, 'Well, we can't do it live.'”
Mr. Herridge was perplexed because it is usually beneficial to be granted an interview without conditions regarding the subject matter.
“I was like, 'What do you mean we can't do it live?'” she asked, and the higher-ups said, “'Well, we don't know what he's going to say.'”
An exasperated Herridge told viewers: I don't know what that person will say. ”
A CBS spokesperson declined to comment.
CBS executives told investigative journalists that the interviews would need to be recorded and edited, Herridge said. They also took issue with the fact that Musk wanted an interview on his platform.
Herridge said he and his boss discussed a scenario in which the interview would be broadcast simultaneously on the X and CBS streaming services, so both could air the interview at the same time.
“Everything was shot down,” the reporter said. “Frankly, I was so embarrassed that I could never go back to Elon Musk.”
He explained that CBS had a long list of conditions for the interview, but he didn't think Musk wouldn't accept them.
“This is a person who has free speech in their DNA, but to someone who is committed to free speech, your network can only distribute it as a recording, it can only be edited, and you can’t do it on your platform. How can I say that I can only publish it? I couldn't go back to him for that,” she said.
Earlier this month, a well-regarded investigative reporter revealed in her newsletter She ran into roadblocks from then-CBS News President Ingrid Cyprian-Matthews and Washington, D.C., bureau chief Mark Lima, and ultimately ended her initial report in 2020 (that the laptop belonged to Biden and that it had been tampered with). (confirmed that it was not) said it had been wiped out by the network.
She insisted on reporting on the issue, airing in November 2022 after the midterm elections.
Herridge, who currently publishes a newsletter and conducts exclusive investigations into Company X, was fired earlier this year amid significant layoffs at the agency and its parent company, Paramount Global. CBS News confiscated press materials upon Herridge's departure.
On Hunter Biden's laptop.
Sources close to the situation claimed that the decision to keep her file was made by Cyprian-Matthews. Following pressure from the union representing Herridge, the files were returned a few days later.
Earlier this year, the Post revealed that Cyprian-Matthews was accused of sidelining a white journalist and interfering with Herridge's reporting on Hunter Biden's laptop.
executives suddenly resigned He took over in August, before moving to senior adviser for 2024 presidential election coverage. She recently left the network.
