Lesley Stahl, a veteran correspondent for CBS News known for her work on 60 Minutes, engages in a gripping discussion about the implications of Donald Trump's lawsuit against the network. She reflects on the pressures leading to significant resignations at CBS and the potential consequences of a settlement that could compromise journalistic integrity. Stahl candidly shares her feelings of mourning for press credibility, expressing both optimism and deep concerns about public trust in media during these turbulent times.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Watergate Reporting Under Pressure
During Watergate, CBS faced intense pressure from owner William Paley to soften coverage.
Walter Cronkite cut his second Watergate piece in half under this corporate strain.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Trump's Press Attack Strategy
Donald Trump shared his strategy to attack the press relentlessly to make negative coverage unbelievable.
Lesley Stahl realized he had a calculated plan, not just emotional reaction.
insights INSIGHT
Lawsuit as Chilling Tactic
Trump's $20 billion lawsuit against CBS is intended to chill journalistic freedom.
Despite no real damages since Trump won the election, the suit pressures media institutions.
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The Powers That Be is David Halberstam's detailed examination of the American media's influence on politics and public policy. The book chronicles the rise of four major media organizations: CBS under William S. Paley, Time magazine under Henry Luce, the Washington Post under Philip and Katherine Graham, and the Los Angeles Times under Norman and Otis Chandler. It explores how these media giants shaped public opinion and policy from the 1930s through the Watergate scandal, highlighting key historical events such as World War II, McCarthyism, the Vietnam War, and the political conventions. Halberstam provides vivid portraits of the personalities and politics behind these media institutions, illustrating their impact on American history and the interplay between media and politics.
Lesley Stahl, a linchpin of CBS News, began at the network in 1971, covering major events such as Watergate, and for many years has been a correspondent on “60 Minutes.” But right now it’s a perilous time for CBS News, which has been sued by Donald Trump for twenty billion dollars over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris during the 2024 Presidential campaign. Its owner, Paramount, seems likely to settle, and corporate pressure on journalists at CBS has been so intense that Bill Owens, the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” and Wendy McMahon, the head of CBS News, resigned in protest. Owens’s departure was “a punch in the stomach,” Stahl tells David Remnick in a recent interview, “one of those punches where you almost can’t breathe.” And far worse could happen in a settlement with Trump, which would compromise the integrity of the premier investigative program on broadcast news. “I’m already beginning to think about mourning, grieving,” Stahl says. “I know there’s going to be a settlement. . . . And then we will hopefully still be around, turning a new page, and finding out what that new page is going to look like.” Although she describes herself as “Pollyannaish,” Stahl acknowledges that she is “pessimistic about the future for all press today. . . . The public has lost faith in us as an institution. So we’re in very dark times.”
The Political Scene | The New Yorker 