CBS News CEO once gave thousands to Democrats; network facing multiple controversies

The CEO of CBS News gave more than $6,000 to Democrats during the 2020 election, according to a new report, which comes amid the network facing multiple controversies.

Wendy McMahon, the broadcaster’s chief executive, gave $6,100 to President Joe Biden’s campaign and Democratic fundraising platforms in 2020, according to Federal Election Commission filings, The Telegraph reported. McMahon, who was working for ABC at the time, hit the campaign trail nine times in the last three months leading up to that year’s election.

According to The Telegraph, he donated $2,500 each to the Biden campaign and the Biden Victory Fund, respectively, as well as multiple donations to the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue. CBS executive George Cheeks, who oversees CBS News, also gave hundreds of dollars to President Biden’s campaign and other Democrats in the 2020 election.

Trump calls for CBS to lose broadcast license amid ’60 Minutes’ controversy: ‘unprecedented scandal’

CBS is in crisis this week amid multiple controversies.

The network first caused confusion by airing two different answers to the same question about Israel this week in its “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. CBS is accused of editing a clip of Harris that made his “word salad” response, which critics say, sound more succinct and coherent, though his defenders have said the changes were simply due to time constraints . The original clip of the Democratic nominee first aired Sunday on “Face the Nation.”

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McMahon has been at the helm of CBS News since 2021 and was not directly involved in editing the interview.

Notably, CBS News employees are not allowed to donate to political parties or campaigns, and McMahon’s donations were when he was at ABC, The Telegraph reported. The rule does not apply to Cheeks, as he does not work for the news department.

Former President Trump described Harris’ “60 Minutes” edit as an “unprecedented scandal” and called for CBS’s broadcast license to be revoked.

Cbs News staff told not to refer to Jerusalem as Israel: report

In addition to the editing controversy, “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil faced internal uproar after an interview in which his colleagues accused him of being too harsh on an anti-Israel author.

CBS News’ Jewish anchor upset liberal colleagues by bluntly claiming that journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book reads like something you’d find in “an extremist’s backpack.” Dokoupil pressed Coates on whether he believes Israel has a right to exist.

The book is strongly anti-Israel and has been criticized to omit significant context on Palestinian terrorism and the extraordinary security situation of the Jewish state.

At a company conference on Oct. 7, McMahon and editorial director Adrienne Roark reprimanded Dokoupil, angering employees who defended the morning show anchor.

Jewish CBS anchor forced to meet with race and culture unit after grilling Author: report

CBS management assured the offended staffers that after a review, they had concluded the interview did not meet the company’s “editorial standards,” reported the Free Press, which obtained audio of the meeting on staff

Dokoupil eventually expressed regret for the interview that caused the uproar, but not for his line of questioning, according to the New York Times. But Paramount Global President Shari Redstone, who oversees parent company CBS, defended Dokoupil this week during a panel discussion, saying he had done a good job.

Brian Flood of Fox News contributed to this report.

Source of original article: CBS News CEO once gave thousands to Democrats; network facing multiple controversies