Several former staffers at CBS News are calling on the network to conduct an outside investigation into the apparent edit of one of Kamala Harris's word-salad answers about Israel that aired on "60 Minutes."
A clip of the "60 Minutes" interview that aired on "Face the Nation" was in response to a question by "60 Minutes" correspondent Bill Whitaker that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not appear to be listening to Joe Biden's calls for restraint.
“Well, Bill, 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,” the vice president said in response on the “Face the Nation” clip.
Typical Harris word salad. But that's not the response that aired on "60 Minutes."
“We're 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," she said on the Monday night broadcast.
CBS gave a muddled explanation for the discrepancy, pleading time limitations and "editing" concerns to explain it.
So what did Harris actually say to Whitaker?
Well, both things, according to CBS. Her full answer to the question was the two sentences put together — the first sentence used on “Face the Nation” and the second sentence on “60 Minutes.”
CBS said the need to make the “60 Minutes” interview segment concise prompted the editing. The full interview with Harris took 45 minutes, and it was fit into a 20-minute slot on the broadcast. Yet the editing made it appear that the answer shown on “60 Minutes” was the first thing Harris said in response to the question. Having “Face the Nation” show Whitaker asking the question — instead of having someone paraphrase it — added to the confusion and made CBS vulnerable to criticism.
"Yet to those unfamiliar with journalism and television production, the effect can be jarring," ABC said helpfully.
I am familiar with both, and in the old days when integrity and accuracy mattered to journalists, the answer to Whitaker's question would have been whatever Harris said in response to it. The editor wouldn't get to pick and choose which response to use when the broadcast aired.
“I think there should be an outside investigation,” one former CBS News journalist told The New York Post on Thursday. “Obviously, there’s a problem here. If they care about journalistic integrity, they would conduct an investigation or release the full transcript.”
CBS has declined to release the full transcript of the "60 Minutes" interview to the Post or any other publication. It appears that the network is circling the wagons.
“Why is the answer to the same question so different?” the former CBS News staffer asked. “This needs to be answered. Was this answer the continuation of a longer answer or was it an answer that came much later in the interview?”
Former CBS journalists said it is possible that there was a miscommunication between the show and the department that edits promotions as “60 Minutes” was still editing the show when the promo went out.
In a best-case scenario, Harris’ answer to “60 Minutes” may have come shortly after the wordy answer she gave in the “Face the Nation” clip.
They said if her answer was part of an extended answer to the same question then no journalistic malpractice was committed.
Kamala Harris iks bad TV. She's boring and borders on incoherent at times. But CBS News is supposed to like, you know, report the news without fear or favor.
Looks like they did Harris a huge favor by cleaning up her word salad for viewers.
