New York Times reporter James Stewart wrote a big article based on a series of interviews with CBS owner Shari Redstone, and buried deep in the piece was something wild that should have been obvious: CBS settled Donald Trump's lawsuit to keep the public from seeing how they make "news" sausage.
Stewart said Redstone "worried that Mr. Trump's lawyers could cherry-pick raw footage and internal communications and do more damage to CBS News's reputation than any settlement would." She wanted their sale of CBS and Paramount to Skydance Media to get federal approval, and the lawsuit complicated everything.
Redstone told the Times that CBS employees warned her that in October 2023, when Scott Pelley of "60 Minutes" interviewed President Joe Biden, he had seemed "drowsy and had to be prodded to answer." She worried that CBS might be accused of "editing the interview to conceal Mr. Biden's failings."
Conservatives made the accusation in real time with what actually aired. At NewsBusters, we said, "CBS Escorts Fumbling Biden." The "RNC Research" account on Twitter highlighted this strange exchange:
Pelley: "What is your message to Hezbollah and its backer, Iran?"
Biden: "Don't. Don't don't don't -- "
Pelley: "Don't ... come across the border, don't escalate this war?"
Biden: "That's right."
When CBS News refused to release the unedited footage of their Kamala Harris interview, Trump sued. They could release the 2023 Biden video and transcript. Former CBS News investigative reporter Catherine Herridge, who was fired for apparently being too independent and bipartisan for CBS, told the New York Post: "If there's no problem, making the material public would reinforce the '60 Minutes' position that their editing meets the highest standards." She added if the program refuses, that says a lot. "My training is that with major newsmakers, the full transcript should always be released."
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After Biden's cognitive failure was revealed at his debate with Trump last summer, networks released full video and transcripts of every Biden interview that came afterward so they would not be accused of hiding anything. But CBS wasn't going to retroactively show how they pampered Biden in 2023.
Other CBS staffers who witnessed the interview told the Times that Redstone's concerns were "overblown." On air, Pelley made the excuse that Biden seemed "tired." But no one should trust their version of events if they refuse to release the proof.
Pelley didn't have tough questions for Biden. He had nothing on any Biden scandals. He was more concerned with trashing the Republicans as dangerous, asking Biden: "Hard-right Republicans are obstructing the election of a Speaker of the House. Does the dysfunction that we've seen in Congress increase the danger in the world?"
Pelley closed that softball segment by underlining how Biden toured the Dachau death camp in Germany with his granddaughter and, gee, he sure loves Israel -- not that his foreign policy showed it.
In 2022, Pelley did the same thing, asking Biden sugary gushers like this one: "You have lived a long life of triumph and tragedy. In November, you'll be 80. And I wonder what it is that keeps you in the arena." We know part of the answer: He was kept in the arena by protective journalists like Pelley.
This has been the pattern for decades at CBS. Dan Rather and the rest threw the kitchen sink at Republicans. But CBS was so proud of its puffball interviews with Barack Obama that they made a DVD for Democrats to enjoy. They deserve a chorus of boos as they arrogantly praise themselves for their "unwavering integrity."
Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Tim Graham and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM
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