Dokoupil's Taiwan Trouble, Weiss Brawls With Stahl, Kristof Blowback, & POLITICO Owner’s Trump Play
Power Lines with Oliver Darcy and Jon PassantinoShow Notes
Power Lines is the official podcast of Status, where veteran journalists Oliver Darcy and Jon Passantino deliver sharp media industry analysis every Friday.
On this week’s episode:
CBS News not only failed to secure a visa for Tony Dokoupil to broadcast from Beijing during Donald Trump’s China trip, but the network was barred by its hotel from broadcasting from its grounds, Status has learned. The embarrassing fiasco adds to a slew of negative headlines the Bari Weiss-led network has faced this week. We discuss how Weiss undermined “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl by handing Major Garrett the Benjamin Netanyahu interview, as Status also first reported.
Plus, The New York Times is grappling with blowback after Nicholas Kristof’s shocking opinion piece alleging Israel has systematically raped Palestinian prisoners. And we break down another Status exclusive report—this one about how POLITICO owner Mathias Döpfner has been quietly courting Trump, with secret dinner invites in Washington and a personal trip to the Middle East.
0:00 Intro
1:23 CBS News Fails to Secure Visa for Dokoupil
6:47 Latest ‘CBS Evening News’ Ratings Data
8:53 Inside ‘60 Minutes’ Staff Fallout after Netanyahu Interview
19:16 Israel Threatens The New York Times Over Kristof Piece
35:14 POLITICO Owner Quietly Courts Trump
44:19 Open Lines: Oliver and Jon Answer Your Questions
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Interested in what we’re discussing? Read more from Status:
https://www.status.news/p/tony-dokoupil-cbs-evening-news-taiwan-bari-weiss
https://www.status.news/p/60-minutes-netanyahu-bari-weiss-major-garrett
https://www.status.news/p/nicholas-kristof-israel-new-york-times
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More from Power Lines with Oliver Darcy and Jon Passantino
On today’s episode:
In a special episode of Power Lines, we publish exclusive audio from a stunning all-hands meeting in which Bari Weiss' handpicked foreign editor, Shayndi Raice, unleashed a lengthy tirade against her own CBS News journalists.
After completing his acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Ellison is facing questions about his relationship with Donald Trump and his plans for CNN. Jon shares what happened when he pressed Ellison directly on the Paramount lot, and Oliver reports on Anderson Cooper’s pointed questions for his new boss at an internal company town hall.
The future of CNN is coming into focus…at least for now. David Ellison has opened talks with Mark Thompson about extending his tenure as CNN’s chief. Oliver and Jon break down what the move signals to employees inside the network, what it could mean for CNN’s direction under Ellison, and where it leaves Bari Weiss, both now and down the road.
The anonymous source behind one of the stories that the White House used to justify its press ban was none other than JD Vance himself. We detail our exclusive reporting and get into the latest developments on Donald Trump’s war against the media.