NEW YORK (AP) — An internal debate over CBS News host Tony Dokoupil’s sharp interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates about Israel has spread to the boardroom, with the head of the network’s parent company saying Wednesday that it was a mistake was to reprimand him.

Shari Redstone, o current head of Paramount Global, expressed support for Dokoupil during his speech at the Advertising Week conference on Wednesday. CBS News leaders on Monday reprimanded Dokoupil, a CBS Mornings host, for an interview they said did not meet their standards.

“I think we made a mistake,” Redstone said, according to published reports.

Later Wednesday, CBS network president and CEO George Cheeks issued a supportive statement for CBS News boss Wendy McMahon, who was involved in criticizing the interview.

“There was a strong and growing disagreement within CBS News that needed to be addressed at an editorial meeting,” Cheeks said. “This should lead to further substantive dialogue about perceptions of inconsistent treatment, implicit bias and the important standards our news department uses to create guardrails for fairness and objectivity.”

The seven-minute interview on the morning show on September 30 went over Coates’ new book of essays, and Dokoupil immediately focused on a section on Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank, saying the essay “wouldn’t look out of place in an extremist’s backpack.” He wondered why Coates’ writings contained no references to Israel being surrounded by enemies who want to eliminate the country.

“Is it because you simply do not believe that Israel has a right to exist under any circumstances?” he asked.

Coates said there is no shortage of places where Israel’s point of view is represented, and that he wanted to speak for those who have no voice.

“I wrote a 260-page book,” Coates said. “It is not a treatise on the entire conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.”

Dokoupil later asked Coates what offended him about the existence of a Jewish state, and he said that the Palestinians “in your story only exist as victims of Israel,” as if peace had never been offered to them at any point.

Coates said he was offended when anyone — including the Palestinians who spoke to him about his book — is treated as second-class citizens in the country where they live, compared to the Jim Crow era in the United States, where his ancestors grew up.

In the staff call on Monday, CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and her deputy, Adrienne Roark, said several journalists from the company had contacted them about the interview.

“There are times when we have not met our editorial standards,” Roark said, citing Dokoupil’s interviews and other comments from CBS staff that she did not recognize.

CBS News is built on a “foundation of neutrality,” she said. “Our job is to serve our audiences without bias or perceived prejudice.”

She said the issues had been addressed, but neither she nor CBS explained what this meant.

McMahon told employees during the call that she expected its contents to remain confidential. But a tape of it was posted to the news site The Free Press within hours.

Dokoupil did not immediately return messages seeking comment. A spokesperson for Coates did not return a message.

Dokoupil is one of three hosts of CBS Mornings, along with Gayle King and Nate Burleson. All three participated in the interview with Coates, but with the exception of an opening question from Burleson and a brief question at the end from King, it was dominated by Dokoupil.

Dokoupil is married to NBC News journalist Katy Tur. He has two children from a previous marriage, both of whom live with their mother in Israel. In the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, Dokoupil said on the show: “As a father, I think people can understand if someone, anyone, is firing rockets in the direction of your children, regardless of whether they or you are hit or not, you will feel some things.”

The reprimand from CBS management was posted on the website on Monday first anniversary of the Hamas attack.

Management immediately faced resistance to the call from CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford, who said it is a journalist’s duty to ask tough questions when someone comes on air with a one-sided view.

“I don’t see how we can say this didn’t meet our editorial standards,” Crawford said. She said she worried this would make her think twice about conducting interviews.

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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him up http://x.com/dbauder.

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This story was first moved on October 8, 2024. It was updated on October 10, 2024 to correct the conference where Shari Redstone spoke. It was the Advertising Week conference.