CBS News foreign editor threatens staff over insubordination in leaked meeting

CBS News foreign editor Shayndi Raice, a former Middle East bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, warned staff during a virtual editorial meeting that not adhering to the company's hierarchy could be considered insubordination and a legal basis for termination. "This is not your publishing platform," Raice said in the recording. "This is a company that we all work for, and there’s a hierarchy in place. And at the end of the day, you have to answer to that hierarchy. If you can’t answer to that hierarchy, and you don’t listen to what we say, that is called insubordination, and it’s legal grounds for firing."

The meeting, which addressed internal backlash over CBS's coverage of the Gaza conflict, also involved senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams questioning edits that removed references to the Palestinian death toll and alleged prior warnings to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the October 7 Hamas attack. Williams later reported that his story did not air.

Following the leak of the meeting, Raice attempted to calm staff during a pre-planned team-building cruise and apologized to members of the foreign desk for her tone. One attendee described the night as unusually tense.

The incident comes after CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, appointed in October 2025, faced other internal disputes, including a reported clash with 60 Minutes journalist Lesley Stahl over a report on Israeli settler violence and the departure of veteran staff member Claire Day.