Walter Cronkite will be turning in his grave at this cowardly CBS attack on good journalism

“Journalism,” said legendary CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite, “is what we need to make democracy work.In seeking truth, you have to get both sides of a story.”Now, you might think this is a statement so self-evident that Mr.

Cronkite should have been given the Award for the Bleeding Obvious to add to his vast trophy cabinet for being the greatest journalist in American history.But it now seems such a mindset the opposite philosophy, at least to the people who currently run CBS News.Last week, I watched a surprisingly lively interview with controversial author Ta-Nehisi Coates on CBS Mornings, conducted predominantly by one of the three presenters that day, Tony Dokoupil.Unlike most morning show chats, this was a proper feisty grilling.Coates has written an unashamedly pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel new book, and Dokoupil, a Jewish man, challenged him about its very obvious bias.It was an insightful debate, with Dokoupil going unusually hard in his questioning for that time of day, suggesting that Coates sounded like an extremist at times in the book, and the interviewee giving as good as he got. But it never got out of control, nor felt uncomfortable, and Dokoupil was respectful throughout, albeit determined to make Coates explain himself as to why he hadn’t tried to balance the book with more arguments from Israel’s viewpoint —citing “the little kids blown to bits” in terrorist attacks and the fact that Israel is “surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it.”He then asked directly: “Is it because you just don’t believe that Israel, in any condition, has a right to exist?” Coates responded that Israel’s side of the story gets lots of media coverage, and so he wanted to elevate Palestinian views.In other words, he deliberately chose to write a one-sided book, and Dokoupil was therefore absolutely right to provide some much-needed balance. In fact, it would have a been a dereliction of his journalistic duty if he hadn’t, an...