Tony Dokoupil irked colleagues by grilling Ta-Nehisi Coates about Israel
CBS News host clashes with journalist about new book on Israel in tense interview
CBS Mornings anchor Tony Dokoupil pressed author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates on whether he believed Israel had a right to exist in a Monday interview.
CBS News reportedly forced Jewish anchor Tony Dokoupil to meet with the network’s in-house Race and Culture Unit after a group of employees complained he was too tough on a pro-Palestinian author.
The saga began last week when Dokoupil interviewed author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his book, "The Message," which describes in part his travels "to Palestine, where he sees with devastating clarity how easily we are misled by nationalist narratives." The CBS News anchor irked liberal colleagues by bluntly stating that it read like something you would find in "the backpack of an extremist," and pressing Coates on whether he believes Israel has the right to exist.
The New York Times reported that "a group of CBS News employees approached executives with their concerns about Mr. Dokoupil’s handling of the interview," and Dokoupil had to meet with both the CBS News standards and practices team and the Race and Culture Unit.
Author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates was grilled about his views on Israels right to exist by CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil, in an interview last week. (CBS/Screenshot)
"The conversation focused on Mr. Dokoupil’s tone of voice, phrasing and body language during his interview with Mr. Coates," the Times reported.
CBS News and Dokoupil did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
The CBS News Race and Culture Unit has "a four-pronged role at CBS News and Stations as a reviewer, an incubator, a producer and a library," according to the CBS website.
The unit sees its primary role as a reviewer to "ensure all stories have the proper context, tone and intention."
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Ta-Nehisi Coates on "CBS Mornings" discussing his new book, "The Message." (CBS News/Screenshot)
CBS leadership reassured offended staff members that following a review, they concluded that the interview did not meet the company’s "editorial standards," the Free Press reported, which obtained audio of the staff meeting.
"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," CBS News news gathering chief Adrienne Roark said during the meeting.
In 2014, Dokoupil wrote about his conversion to Judaism in a New Republic piece.
Fox News Digital’s Yael Halon contributed to this report.
Brian Flood is a media editor/reporter for FOX News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
