More Trouble for CBS News as FCC Gets Complaint Over Allegations Network Engaged in ‘Intentional News Distortion’ of Harris Interview

CBS News’ refusal to release the full transcript of its “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Harris has dragged on for so long that one interested organization is seeking to force its release through a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission. The Center for American Rights has filed a complaint against CBS News with the FCC, which regulates broadcast television, accusing the network of “engaging in significant and intentional news distortion.” The complaint was sparked by CBS clumsily releasing three clips of the interview in which Ms. Harris gives three different answers to the same question about Israel. The exposition of the selective editing has led to suspicions that CBS manipulated the interview to make Ms. Harris, under intense scrutiny for engaging in “word salad” during interviews, to sound more coherent. “This complaint concerns an act of significant and substantial news alteration made in the middle of a heated presidential campaign. Moreover, in this instance, we have the clear external evidence of outtakes necessary for this Commission to act,” the complaint states.Because an old fashioned broadcast network like CBS requires a government license to broadcast “over the air”, the government has some jurisdiction and, by some interpretation of the law, the network is required to be fair to both sides in a national election. Kamala Harris sits down with Bill Whitaker for her ’60 Minutes’ interview. CBS NewsAfter news first broke that CBS News had selectively edited the interview, President Trump demanded that CBS lose its broadcast license for what he called “the Greatest Fraud in Broadcast History.” The chairwoman of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel, a Biden appointee and former Democratic congressional staffer, then denounced Trump for his “threats against free speech” and said the FCC would not act. Trump had previously said ABC, another broadcast network, should lose its license due to the pro-Harris bias exhibited by its moderators in his debate with Ms. Harris.The CAR’s complaint acknowledges that this “kind of editing is normal in the context of a news magazine style show” like “60 Minutes.” However, it says, “CBS crosses a line when its production reaches the point of so transforming an interviewee’s answer that it is a fundamentally different answer.” Besides the editing, the filing also points out that CBS News has declined to release the full transcript “despite numerous requests and precedent for it doing so on high-profile interviews.”FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, a Biden appointee, denounced President Trump for calling for CBS’ license to be revoked over its selective editing of the ’50 Minutes’ Kamala Harris interview. Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Hispanic Heritage FoundationIn contrast to Trump’s demands, the CAR merely asks the FCC not to “censor CBS News or to invade CBS News’ free speech,” but to direct the network to release the transcript of Ms. Harris’ interview.“Here, CBS engaged in news distortion by editing its news program to such a great extent that the general public cannot know what answer the Vice President actually gave to a question of great importance on a matter of national security policy,” the complaint says, regarding the Israel question.The CAR president, David Suhr, said in a statement, “This isn’t just about one interview or one network.”“This is about the public’s trust in the media on critical issues of national security and international relations during one of the most consequential elections of our time. When broadcasters manipulate interviews and distort reality, it undermines democracy itself. The FCC must act swiftly to restore public confidence in our news media,” he added.Speaker Mike Johnson appears on CBS News ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday. CBS NewsCBS News did not respond to a request for comment by publication.The controversy started after the Tiffany Network released three videos of Ms. Harris responding to a question about Israel. In each video, she provided a different answer to the same question.In a preview excerpt of Ms. Harris’ that aired on October 6 on “Face the Nation,” the vice president was asked why Prime Minister Netanyahu does not seem to be listening to American officials’ advice and concerns about how Israel carries out its war against Hamas. She answered in a fashion her critics called “word salad, saying, “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.”However, in the primetime broadcast of “60 Minutes” that aired the next day, when she was asked the same question about Mr. Netanyahu, the “word salad” was gone. Ms. Harris responded to the same Israel question more coherently, saying, “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.”Margaret Brennan (R) and Norah O’Donnell (L) have been accused of exhibiting liberal bias during the vice presidential debate. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesA third edit also surfaced, posted by the “Face the Nation” X handle, which included yet another answer from Ms. Harris, with a portion that did not air on TV. In the third version, the vice president spoke about America’s efforts to help Israel defend itself from attacks from Iran. She said it is America’s “imperative to do what we can to allow Israel to defend itself against those types of attacks.”The exposure of the edits led to calls for CBS to release a full transcript of the interview, which, as of Thursday afternoon, it has refused to do. Those calls intensified after Speaker Johnson accused the network of selectively editing his own interview with “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan to hurt Republicans and help Democrats.Mr. Johnson posted on X that CBS News should release the “FULL Kamala tapes.”CBS did publish the full transcript of Mr. Johnson’s interview online. It has not explained why it released the full Johnson interview but not the full Harris interview, leading to more questions and speculation about CBS News’ motivations.CBS Mornings’ Tony Dokoupil interviews Ta-Nehisi Coates. CBS NewsThe controversy appears to be garnering bipartisan interest. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 85 percent of respondents think CBS News should release the full transcript of the interview, which could provide some clues about how the editing decisions were made. Eighty-seven percent of Democrats and 88 percent of Republicans said they want the transcript to be released in that poll. CBS News of late has also been under fire for reprimanding one of its hosts, Tony Dokoupil, for a combative interview he did with the virulently anti-Israel author Ta-Nehisi Coates, and for putting out standards guidelines instructing its journalists not to say Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and cautioning them against referring to members of Hamas as terrorists. The U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and has classified Hamas as a terrorist organization.Margaret Brennan, the CBS News host who interviewed Mr. Johnson for the expurgated segment, was already under fire for exhibiting liberal bias while co-moderating the vice presidential debate. Ms. Brennan “fact-checked” Senator Vance, even though CBS had said prior to the debate that it would not “fact check” the candidates.

More Trouble for CBS News as FCC Gets Complaint Over Allegations Network Engaged in ‘Intentional News Distortion’ of Harris Interview

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