CBS: Boss' 'partisanship' comment doesn't mean CBS
by Byron York Chief Political Correspondent
campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com
President Obama attended a glitzy fundraiser Wednesday night at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Los Angeles. The event, which focused on the gay agenda, featured Ellen Degeneres and what the Los Angeles Times called "a who's who of gay Hollywood." Top officials from a number of gay activist groups were there as well, according to White House pool reports.
Also attending was Les Moonves, the chief executive of CBS, who told the Los Angeles Times that Obama "has shown great leadership" on gay marriage. When the paper mentioned that the fundraiser was a partisan event and that Moonves oversees a broadcast network news division, Moonves said, "Ultimately journalism has changed…partisanship is very much a part of journalism now."
"I run a news division," Moonves added, according to the Times. "I've given no money to any candidate." Why Moonves, a non-giver, was at a political fundraiser was not clear.
Over the years, CBS News has often faced accusations of liberal bias, which it has steadfastly denied. Was Moonves suggesting a new policy? I asked network spokesman Dana McClintock whether Moonves, when he said, "partisanship is very much a part of journalism now," was referring to CBS News.
McClintock sent back a four-word response: "No he was not."
So: When the chief executive of CBS attends an Obama fundraiser and explains his presence in part by saying that "partisanship is very much a part of journalism now," he does not mean CBS.
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