During a contentious staff meeting on Tuesday, veteran British broadcaster Sir Trevor Phillips offered strong advice to his CBS News colleagues on how to handle critics questioning the network's editorial integrity. He bluntly suggested, "Why don’t you just fuck off and let us do our jobs?"
Context of the Meeting
The meeting, held at the network’s London bureau, featured a lengthy tirade from foreign editor Shayndi Raice, who criticized unnamed staffers for suggesting that editorial oversight was akin to "interference." Raice emphasized that disobeying editors could be considered insubordination and could lead to "legal grounds for firing."
Phillips joined CBS News in June, following the appointment of opinion journalist Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief by billionaire owner David Ellison. This change had already stirred unrest among staff.
Key Moments from the Meeting
The Guardian, which first reported on the meeting, reviewed an audio recording that revealed the tension among staffers. A spokesperson for CBS News and Phillips both declined to comment on the meeting.
