A long time ago, I had the enormous privilege of co-writing the musical theme to one of Walter Cronkite’s CBS News TV shows. My musical partner and I also wrote a theme for Face the Nation that ran for something like 10 years. As a result, I had an opportunity to hang out with several CBS News reporters, producers, and editors. And yes, I got to meet Mr. Cronkite once (he was incredibly gracious).
I will say flat out that CBS News had the hardest working and most dedicated team of people I’ve ever encountered (and I’ve been lucky enough to work with a lot of great people). To this day, I remain in awe not only of their talent but especially of their integrity.
And that is why this is so personally heartbreaking:
CBS News’s decision to hire former Trump administration official Mick Mulvaney as a paid on-air contributor is drawing backlash within the company because of his history of bashing the press and promoting the former president’s fact-free claims.
But a top network executive seemed to lay the groundwork for the decision in a staff meeting earlier this month, when he said the network needed to hire more Republicans to prepare for a “likely” Democratic midterm wipeout.
“If you look at some of the people that we’ve been hiring on a contributor basis, being able to make sure that we are getting access to both sides of the aisle is a priority because we know the Republicans are going to take over, most likely, in the midterms,” CBS News’s co-president Neeraj Khemlani told the staff of the network’s morning show, according to a recording of his comments obtained by The Washington Post. “A lot of the people that we’re bringing in are helping us in terms of access to that side of the equation.”
None of my friends work at CBS anymore. But if they did, and Khemlani had spewed this garbage to them, I’m certain half would have laughed in his face. The others would have quit. Aside from the sheer madness of a highly professional news organization hiring a known liar and Trump stooge, Khemlani’s obscene excuse for paying Mulvaney — we need access! — would have been deeply insulting. The folks I knew were perfectly capable of reporting accurately and deeply on a corrupt political party without having to resort to paying one of their members.
It’s not enough for Mulvaney to quit. Khemlani should go, too. This represents a spectacular lapse of judgment on his part.