OPINION:
Sometimes it’s fun (strike that; it’s always fun) to watch the far-left mainstream media, which have operated with complete impunity for decades, eat a big, fat serving of hot, steaming crow.
Last week, in a stunning display of corporate spine straightening, CBS News announced it will no longer edit prerecorded interviews on “Face the Nation.” This earth-shattering revelation came after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shredded the network when producers snipped out her comments about an alleged MS-13 gang member.
Wait, it gets better. CBS, which President Trump has been beating like a redheaded stepchild, is reportedly about to hand over the keys to none other than Bari Weiss, the journalist who committed the unforgivable sin of leaving The New York Times after calling out her ultraliberal colleagues for being heavily biased.
But first, Ms. Noem’s revenge. The homeland security secretary last week accused the beleaguered news division of “shamefully” editing her “Face” interview to “whitewash the truth” about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the now infamous illegal alien from El Salvador who the Trump administration claims is a member of the violent Venezuelan gang MS-13.
During her interview, host Ed O’Keefe questioned Ms. Noem about why the Trump administration was seeking to deport Mr. Abrego Garcia rather than prosecute him in the United States.
She said this, which CBS News decided to cut out: “This individual was a known human smuggler, an MS-13 gang member, and an individual who is a wife beater, and someone who is so perverted that he solicited nude photos from minors, and even his fellow human traffickers told him to knock it off. He was so sick in what he was doing and how he was treating small children. So, he needs to never be in the United States of America, and our administration is making sure we’re doing all that we can,” Ms. Noem said.
Afterward, CBS made the same old, same old claim about trimming the passage because of time constraints. But this isn’t 2012, before Mr. Trump exposed the MSM for exactly what it is: a far-left font of misinformation. Now, we all know better.
The secretary said, “I joined CBS to report the facts about Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Instead, CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety.” And she threatened to sue.
This is the second time CBS has caved this year. The network previously faced accusations of deceptive editing practices involving a “60 Minutes” prerecorded interview with Vice President Harris during the 2024 election cycle. When editing the interview, CBS News producers removed the first part of Ms. Harris’ answer to a question about Israel and sewed the question and second part of her answer together in a way that made her sound more coherent and less word salad-y. Mr. Trump won bigly.
After the Noem interview, CBS News literally rewrote its ethics manual. In a statement on Friday, CBS said, “In response to audience feedback over the past week, we have implemented a new policy for greater transparency in our interviews. ‘Face the Nation’ will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews (subject to national security or legal restrictions). This extra measure means the television audience will see the full, unedited interview on CBS.”
Enter Ms. Weiss, the woman who dared to challenge DEI orthodoxy, question gender ideology and — brace yourselves — actually support Israel. The liberal media’s reaction to Ms. Weiss potentially running CBS News has been nothing short of delicious. Meanwhile, CBS staffers are reportedly “apoplectic” at the prospect of working under someone who might, and this is truly radical, expect them to report stories fairly regardless of political implications.
What we’re witnessing isn’t just corporate restructuring; it’s journalism finally being forced to confront its own credibility crisis. For years, networks like CBS operated under the assumption that their audience would simply accept whatever version of events they chose to present. The Noem incident wasn’t an isolated editorial decision; it was standard operating procedure finally meeting public accountability.
The fact that it took litigation threats to make CBS promise to air unedited interviews tells you everything you need to know about how far journalism had fallen. The fact that hiring someone like Ms. Weiss, a journalist who simply insists on asking difficult questions, is considered controversial tells you even more.
As the old media establishment clutches its pearls and predicts doom, the rest of us can sit back and watch what happens when a news network actually tries to report news instead of curating it. Who knows? They might even accidentally rebuild some trust along the way.
• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter @josephcurl.
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