CBS Boss Let's Bibi Pick His Interviewer

In an unusual departure from standard journalistic practice, the recent 60 Minutes segment featuring Benjamin Netanyahu was shaped by a unique arrangement: the Israeli Prime Minister was granted the power to select his own interrogator.

Typically, news organizations maintain strict editorial control over which correspondents conduct high-profile interviews. However, reports indicate that Bari Weiss, serving as Editor-in-Chief at CBS News, deferred this decision to Netanyahu himself. The Prime Minister was presented with a choice between two veteran journalists: Lesley Stahl, a staple of the 60 Minutes team, and Major Garrett, the Chief Washington Correspondent for CBS News.

Ultimately, Netanyahu exercised his veto power over the traditional 60 Minutes roster by bypasssing Stahl in favor of Garrett. This pivot resulted in a segment led by a correspondent who is not actually a member of the 60 Minutes staff, highlighting the degree of influence Netanyahu was afforded over the production’s format.

Dan Abrams thinks this is not a big deal.

It should be pointed out that Abrams has only worked at two networks, ABC and News Nation. He worked at CNN as a contributor.

Even local stations do not allow subjects to pick and choose who interviews them.

It is NOT standard practice for a network to let the subject pick who conducts the interview. And, up until Weiss, it was NEVER a practice at 60 Minutes.