CBS News Editor Scolds London Staff Over Gaza War Report Edits
Managing editor Shayndi Raice reportedly told staffers that insubordination is grounds for firing, following leaked reports of editorial disputes over including Palestinian death tolls and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's potential knowledge of the October 7th attack.
CBS News London bureau staffers were reprimanded on Tuesday over reports that alleged a senior editor resisted including the Palestinian death toll in an "Evening News" segment about the Gaza war. The reprimand, delivered by the bureau's top editor Shayndi Raice, followed leaked accounts of editorial disagreements.
Raice, who was appointed by CBS News chief Bari Weiss, reportedly told staff that their actions amounted to insubordination, a practice she stated was legal grounds for termination. "This is not your publishing platform," Raice said, according to Status and The Guardian. "This is a company that we all work for, and there’s a hierarchy in place."
Senior Foreign Correspondent Holly Williams, who reported the segment, reportedly raised questions during the meeting about whether she was being accused of posturing or insubordination. Raice stated that the remarks were not directed at any individual but were part of a broader discussion about workflow changes that had been long in the making.
Williams indicated that the directive to remove the casualty count from her report was not negotiable. Raice acknowledged this, stating, "At that point, there was no negotiation. Now, had you called me, we could have had a discussion. But at that point, there wasn't." She added, "We're not saving Palestinians by saying, by repeating this magic number."
Another point of contention for Williams was the removal of allegations suggesting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have had advance notice of the Hamas attack. Raice defended this editorial decision, stating that Netanyahu had denied the claims and CBS News had not independently confirmed them. She further argued that these allegations were not a significant issue in Israeli domestic politics at the time.
The Status report also detailed alleged frustrations from "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl regarding edits made to her segment on Israeli settlers in the West Bank. A CBS spokesperson dismissed these claims as a "ludicrous, twisted narrative," emphasizing the network's rigorous editorial process.