'Woke' CBS News president got job despite HR probe over bias accusations, sidelining white journalists: sources

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://nypost.com/2024/01/09/media/new-woke-boss-at-cbs-news-got-top-job-
despite-hr-probe-sources/

The new president of CBS News has been accused of using her clout to
promote minorities while unfairly sidelining white journalists — a “woke”
and “divisive” practice that sparked multiple employee complaints and a
major internal probe in 2021, The Post has learned.

Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews — a 30-year veteran of the third-place network who
took the helm in August after her boss Neeraj Khemlani left in a storm of
controversy — also had been top deputy to ex-president David Rhodes, who
exited CBS News in January 2019 following a slew of high-profile scandals.

Those included sex-harassment allegations against Charlie Rose and
allegations that “60 Minutes” boss Jeff Fager presided over a
discriminatory culture. Rhodes’ boss, CBS CEO Les Moonves, was ousted over
accusations of sexual misconduct which he denied.

Now, some insiders are chafing over the promotion of Ciprian-Matthews, a
Dominican-born exec, who is now the top-ranked woman of color at CBS News.

Current and former employees reveal that two and a half years ago, she was
the target of a six-month human-resources investigation by CBS parent
Paramount Global into accusations of discriminatory hiring and management
practices.

Among the explosive claims were that Ciprian-Matthews supported the
promotion of an African-American correspondent after she personally
witnessed him verbally abusing a female colleague.

Elsewhere, she was accused of cooking up phony excuses to replace a white
reporter with an African-American for a plum assignment covering the
aftermath of the Capitol riots.

In yet another instance, a white job candidate claimed Ciprian-Matthews
told her it would be easier to hire her if she were a “different color” as
she passed her over.

Ciprian-Matthews declined to comment on the allegations through a
spokeswoman.

HR probe ‘cut short’
The HR probe conducted by Jennifer Gordon, an executive vice president of
employee relations at Paramount Global, was allegedly cut short, according
to sources.

The investigator failed to interview key witnesses before she concluded
merely that Ciprian-Matthews was a “bad manager” with limited resources, a
source close to the situation told The Post.

Ciprian-Matthews’ elevation to president has left some employees
scratching their heads and speculating that it’s a case of corporate
overlords — among them Paramount Global boss Bob Bakish and CBS CEO George
Cheeks — who are reluctant to clamp down on a female executive of color.
The result, according to critics, has been a “toxic” newsroom whose
management has turned a blind eye to misconduct.

“At the very highest level of Paramount Global, there’s pressure to bring
in diverse talent,” a source close to CBS said. “I think Ingrid wants to
be able to say she’s diversified the network, but at the end of the day,
you’re enabling people who abuse others while simultaneously advancing
those abusive people.”

Another source with knowledge of the 2021 HR probe griped that “nobody
wants to contend with this issue” and put it more bluntly: “It’s bad
business to drive out young talent who are making next to nothing. That’s
why CBS is a third-rate network.”

Bakish and Cheeks declined to comment through a spokesperson.

“Ingrid’s record and decades of experience as a highly respected and
admired news executive are well known and speak for themselves,” Ciprian-
Matthews’ boss Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News, Stations and
CBS Media Ventures, said in a statement to The Post.

“Any claims of discriminatory behavior are simply false,” McMahon added.
“Like so many others at CBS News, I not only enjoy working with Ingrid but
I am inspired by her care for her colleagues and the culture of CBS News.”

‘I was aghast’
The Post spoke to nearly a dozen current and former CBS journalists — many
of whom say they left CBS News in the last five years for bigger jobs at
major news outlets after they felt Ciprian-Matthews’ alleged
discrimination denied them opportunities.

Pamela Browne— an award-winning investigative producer with stints at Fox
News, ABC News and NBC News— said she was interviewed by Ciprian-Matthews
for a job in July 2019 in the exec’s swanky West 57th Street office, which
was adorned with a Zen-inspired sandbox and rake.

After going over Browne’s qualifications, Ciprian-Matthews told her: “It
would be so much easier to get you hired if you were a different color,”
Browne recalled.

“I was aghast,” Browne told The Post, adding that after being turned down
for the position she later gave her testimony to Gordon at Paramount
Global.

Several others said they did not immediately complain to HR out of fear of
retaliation. Even after leaving the network, they declined to speak out
publicly because they inked settlements with nondisclosure agreements — a
trend that gained momentum following the “60 Minutes” shakeup, multiple
sources said.

“Why do people have NDAs? It’s because the company doesn’t want them to
talk,” said one outraged insider. “So what do you do? You promote them to
the No. 2 of the division, then you promote her to the presidency.”

’20-minute rant’
In spring 2021, Gordon launched her probe into Ciprian-Matthews, including
allegations that she roadblocked the advancement of young, promising
reporters – mostly white women – in favor of elevating minority staffers.

Sources said the probe began after CBS correspondent Jeff Pegues dressed
down a white female reporter in front of Ciprian-Matthews and other
higher-ups. One source said Pegues, who is African-American, went on a 20-
minute rant in which he claimed his colleague was a “nobody” and that she
“didn’t know anything” despite her seasoned background.

Ciprian-Matthews did not initially report the incident and attempted to
“blame” the female correspondent when it was finally reported to HR,
multiple sources said. That’s despite prior allegations that Pegues had
been “lashing out” and “bullying” younger female reporters who “outworked”
him, according to a former CBS manager.

“Ingrid has a number of HR issues regarding favoritism and protecting
certain correspondents, allowing talent to verbally abuse other talent,”
the source claimed.

An investigation into Pegues’ behavior concluded that his conduct was
unprofessional, but to the shock of some of his colleagues, Ciprian-
Matthews then supported his promotion to Chief National Affairs and
Justice Correspondent later that year, sources said.

In August, sources said Pegues got into an altercation at a CBS Sports
party during the National Association of Black Journalists in Birmingham,
Ala. The correspondent followed a woman into the party and appeared to be
“bothering her,” sources said.

An ESPN journalist who was at the party tried to defuse the situation and
security was called, sources said. Afterwards, Pegues emailed Chairman of
CBS Sports Sean McManus to explain his bad behavior, a source said.

It is unclear if HR ever looked into the incident. Pegues has remained on
air.

Pegues didn’t respond to requests for comment. McManus and CBS declined to
comment specifically on Pegues.

‘Exiled to Denver’
According to an insider, the HR probe of Pegues “opened a Pandora’s box”
that revealed allegations of cronyism that led to the probe of Ciprian-
Matthews.

In another case, Emmy Award-winning CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave
was allegedly pushed out of a plum congressional beat by Ciprian-Matthews.

During the weeks after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, sources said Ciprian-
Matthews, who was Washington bureau chief at the time, pressed for
correspondent Nikole Killion to appear on CBS shows and special reports to
provide analysis.

That’s despite the fact that Killion wasn’t at the Capitol during the
attack — and that Van Cleave “was part of ‘CBS Mornings” Emmy win for Best
Live Newscast” last year for his breaking Jan. 6 coverage, according to
his CBS bio.

At the time, sources claim Ciprian-Matthews falsely told producers that
Van Cleave, who is white, was on vacation or was out sick. That, in turn,
sparked chatter that Killion — a veteran DC journalist who covered every
presidential election since 2008 for CBS News and Hearst Television — was
getting the assignments because she was African-American rather than
because of her qualifications.

Insiders say Van Cleave caught wind of the alleged deception and
complained to colleagues — and that soon after, he was told he would be
moved to Denver as a general assignment reporter.

“He was being exiled to Denver without a real beat or any producers,” said
an insider with knowledge, adding that he was being moved mid-contract.

The insider said Van Cleave approached Gordon to give his testimony, but
backed out over fear of retaliation. Instead, a job opened up in Dallas as
a national correspondent and Van Cleave took it.

“Ingrid is tipping the scales,” said the source. “There was no reason to
put Van Cleave in that situation. All he wanted to do is the reporting.”

Van Cleave didn’t respond to requests for comment. CBS declined to comment
specifically on Van Cleave.

‘At arm’s length’
Ciprian-Matthews’ own career hit a bump under Susan Zirinsky, the
legendary newshound who inspired Holly Hunter’s character in “Broadcast
News.” After Zirinsky was named CBS News president in 2019 following the
chaotic exit of Rhodes, she moved Ciprian-Matthews from executive vice
president of news to head of strategic and professional development.

At the network’s New York City offices, Zirinsky kept Ciprian-Matthews —
who wasn’t happy about her new role — “at arm’s length,” according to one
source, moving her office far from hers to a spot near the elevator bank.
In 2020, Zirinsky named Ciprian-Matthews as CBS News’ interim bureau chief
in Washington DC — a role that Ciprian-Matthews also did not want,
according to a source.

“She was forced to take the job,” the source said, noting that Ciprian-
Matthews “never moved to DC” even after serving a brief stint as permanent
Washington bureau chief, but instead stayed in a corporate apartment as
she traveled back and forth from New York.

A source close to Zirinsky insisted Ciprian-Matthews was a “top advisor”
who was consulted on “every decision” she made and that she helped “right
the ship” at a troubled time for the network.
The source said Zirinsky didn’t want Ciprian-Matthews to be “bogged down”
with day-to-day newsroom duties like sending reporters to “Maine or
Afghanistan.”

Zirinsky stepped down in April 2021 and Khemlani was named co-president of
CBS News. The probe of Ciprian-Matthews appeared to be over in the fall,
sources said. In November, she was named No. 2 to Khemlani.

“She must know where the bodies are buried,” a former colleague
speculated, claiming Ciprian-Matthews has been a “loyal foot soldier” for
a trove of scandal-ridden executives over the years.

Now, Ciprian-Matthews’ boss Wendy McMahon, who came from top-ranked ABC
News, is examining how to revive CBS News. McMahon is creating a new role
of executive producer of daily news. The new hire will give McMahon a
window into how the news gathering process runs, sources said.

“Wendy is looking at why CBS News is in last place,” an insider said. “The
one common denominator is Ingrid. She has been a constant in a leadership
role over the last two decades and has had a hand in everything.”

But insiders weren’t buying into the idea that the seasoned exec would be
easily sidelined, given her status as one of the few diverse leaders in
the upper echelons of the company — and one of its most strong-willed and
savvy.

“Ingrid won’t take this sitting down. She thinks she’s running the news
division, and she won’t bend to Wendy,” the insider added. “Her ego is too
big.”


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We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.

No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.