XPost: alt.politics.equality, alt.cbs-sucks, rec.arts.tv   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: democrat-criminals@mail.house.gov   
      
   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   
      
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