Leaked audio: CBS News threatens 'insubordinate' staff with firing

CBS News editors have been caught threatening “insubordinate” journalists disobeying their directives with being fired.

In one of a few leaked audio clips, published by Status News, CBS News foreign editor Shayndi Raice threatens to fire staffers during a meeting this week about the Palestinian death toll of the Gaza conflict being included in Oct. 7 anniversary coverage.

In the recording, Raice defends her editorial decisions, after being accused of bias.  

“I am not here to be a logistician,” she tells reporters. 

“What I’m here to do is to discuss stories, to give my insights into stories, to help you and push you to be better.” 

She continues: “This is not your publishing platform. This is a company that we all work for, and there’s a hierarchy in place.”

“If you can’t answer to that hierarchy, and you don’t listen to what we say, that is called insubordination, and it’s legal grounds for firing,” she adds.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Status (@statusnews)

Raice also denies ordering the death toll removal from content, saying she had instead asked that the Israeli death toll also be included for full context, and that Palestinian casualties be distinguished between “civilians and combatants”. 

Raice defends the editorial decision to leave out death toll statistics, saying CBS News had not independently verified them and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had denied them.