Staff Reports
CBS News is once again in the hot seat after allegations surfaced suggesting that the network played fast and loose with Vice President Kamala Harris’s answers during a primetime “60 Minutes” interview. This marks CBS’s first foray into damage control regarding the burgeoning scandal. The network’s response can only be likened to a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar: hurried and unconvincing.
After weeks of keeping mum, CBS decided to put out a statement defending its editing choices. The network labeled the allegations as “false,” which is quite convenient. The whole kerfuffle began when a preview aired that seemed to give a different answer from Harris than what was offered in the full interview. In the teaser, when asked about whether Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is “listening” to the Biden-Harris administration, Harris made a statement that, while not a Nobel Prize winner, at least sounded like a rational politician talking. By the time the full interview aired, she had managed to give an answer that had probably gotten lost somewhere in the fog of political spin.
In CBS’s bold attempt to clear its name, the network suggested that it simply chose a succinct excerpt that allowed for more “wide-ranging” discussion. The implication here is that more air time is better, regardless of whether it’s filled with vague responses and a total lack of clarity. CBS must be hoping that the average viewer would rather hear the sound of their own voice rather than something coherent from Harris.
Finally @CBSNews admits editing Harris’ interview. Still hadn’t released the transcript. pic.twitter.com/CVAhLtlQzX
— JaneFBNG (@JaneFBNG) October 20, 2024
Adding more drama to the mix, the statement attempted to redirect attention toward former President Trump, who is apparently “disgruntled” after he pulled out of an interview with CBS. Trump’s rationale? A history of dubious ethics when it comes to CBS reporting. While Trump’s clash with CBS has become routine by now, the actual issue at hand revolves around whether what was broadcasted was a fair representation of Harris’s words. Some might say it was pure political theater; others might point out that “shady editing” seems to be a national pastime for liberal media.
Meanwhile, the Center for American Rights has taken it upon themselves to file a complaint with the FCC against CBS’s New York subsidiary, WCBS. FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington, while noting that complaints usually delve into the realm of ridiculousness, acknowledged that this one deserves a closer look. The real question remains whether the editing was simply an exercise in “editorial discretion” or a blatant attempt to mislead viewers regarding Harris’s competence. After all, if CBS is suggesting that they’re clairvoyant enough to distill a politician’s contributions, maybe they should come clean and release the full unedited transcript.
In a final flourish, Trump has called for CBS to lose its broadcasting licenses—an assertion as audacious as it is delightful. He declared the edited interview a comical masterpiece of incompetence that left viewers clawing for answers. Maybe the “real” CBS should consider hiring comedians for their editing room. The grand finale of this ongoing saga seems to suggest that when it comes to media narratives, especially concerning the current administration, the audience can’t help but feel they’re being fed a heavily diluted version of reality.
