CBS staffers upset over '60 Minutes' drama, admit Kamala Harris interview edits were an 'unforced error'

https://www.foxnews.com/media/cbs-staffers-upset-over-60-minutes-drama-
admit-kamala-harris-interview-edits-were-unforced-error

The '60 Minutes' interview is at the center of an FCC investigation and 
Trump's $10 billion lawsuit

CBS News staffers are reportedly becoming increasingly upset about the 
drama unfolding over the "60 Minutes" Kamala Harris interview at the 
center of a major legal controversy. 

Puck News reported Wednesday about the "mixed emotions" from staffers 
following comments made by "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens, who 
told his colleagues at Monday's meeting that the edit was "perfectly 
fine."

"'Is the edit fine?' one CBS News insider asked rhetorically. ‘It’s 
obviously an unforced error,'" Puck News wrote. "Several sources said the 
discrepancy was preventable, and argued that Owens and ‘60 Minutes’ should 
have taken greater care to ensure consistency between the two interview 
clips, especially given the high stakes of the presidential election and 
the scrutiny at the time on Harris’s performance in interviews."

Many at the network are pointing fingers at Owens "for leaving them 
vulnerable to this situation in the first place," Puck News told readers.

According to the report, staffers at Monday's meeting mulled issuing a 
public statement "or even resigning," something correspondents Scott 
Pelley and Anderson Cooper pushed back on. Cooper reportedly warned the 
rebellious staffers that there were few to no alternatives in the current 
weakening media landscape where they could produce such work. 

There is also increasing anxiety over the prospects of CBS News settling 
President Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit, something parent company 
Paramount's controlling shareholder Shari Redstone is in favor of, which 
has staffers "quietly rebelling."

"Everyone at the network, all the way up to CBS News C.E.O. Wendy McMahon, 
opposes the settlement and views it as a gross incursion on press 
freedom," Puck News wrote. 

CBS News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for 
comment.

On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the 
unedited transcript and footage that CBS News handed over as part of the 
agency's investigation into whether the network violated the FCC's "news 
distortion" policy after a complaint was filed.

The raw transcript showed CBS News had aired only the first half of her 
response to "60 Minutes" correspondent Bill Whitaker's question about 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not "listening" to the Biden 
administration in a preview clip that aired on "Face the Nation," but 
aired only the second half of her response during the primetime special. 

"But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening," Whitaker 
said in the exchange. "The Wall Street Journal said that he— that your 
administration has repeatedly been blindsided by Netanyahu, and in fact, 
he has rebuffed just about all of your administration's entreaties."

"Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of 
movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a 
result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in 
the region. And we're not going to stop doing that. We are not going to 
stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about 
where we stand on the need for this war to end," Harris responded. 

CBS News released the transcript and footage as well, defending how the 
Harris interview was presented. 

"As the full transcript shows, we edited the interview to ensure that as 
much of the vice president's answers to 60 Minutes' many questions were 
included in our original broadcast while fairly representing those 
answers. 60 Minutes' hard-hitting questions of the vice president speak 
for themselves," CBS News wrote on its website. 

In a preview clip that aired on "Face the Nation," Whitaker asked his 
question to Harris about Netanyahu not "listening" to the U.S. 

"Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of 
movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a 
result of, many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in 
the region," Harris responded in the "Face the Nation" clip. 

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS URGES CBS NEWS TO ‘STAND TALL’ AS NETWORK REPORTEDLY 
CONSIDERS SETTLING TRUMP LAWSUIT

Harris was mocked by conservatives for offering a lengthy "word salad" to 
Whitaker. But when that same question aired the following night in the 
primetime election special, a shorter, more focused answer from the vice 
president followed.

"We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States 
to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end," Harris 
said.

Critics accused CBS News of editing Harris' "word salad" answer to shield 
the vice president from further backlash, and there were calls for the 
network to release the full transcript after it only shared transcripts of 
what had aired. CBS News refused to release the raw transcript at the 
time.

In October, Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS News alleging 
election interference over its handling of the "60 Minutes" interview, 
accusing the network of aiding his Democratic rival through deceptive 
editing just days before the election.

"To paper over Kamala’s ‘word salad’ weakness, CBS used its national 
platform on 60 Minutes to cross the line from the exercise of judgment in 
reporting to deceitful, deceptive manipulation of news," the lawsuit 
stated.

Trump attorneys argued the edits were done in an effort to "attempt to tip 
the scales in favor of the Democratic Party as the heated 2024 
Presidential Election — which President Trump is leading — approaches its 
conclusion."


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

The disease known as Kamala Harris has been effectively treated and 
eradicated.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem.  It has none.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden 
fiasco, President Trump.  

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.