Over the last year, there’s been a lot of complaining on the political right about the editing of TV interviews. The most prominent example, of course, was Donald Trump’s “$20 billion” lawsuit against 60 Minutes, where the then-candidate made a big, threatening, ultimately multi-million dollar deal out of the “harm” done to him when the news program edited one of Kamala Harris’ answers (part of a much longer conversation) for length and clarity. (Including the completely ridiculous claim that Trump had somehow suffered billions of dollars in damages because the interview had been in unfair competition with his TruthSocial yelling platform.)
But it’s worth noting that said whining also hasn’t diminished in the months since, with the complainers presumably undeterred after parent company Paramount eventually rolled over for Trump’s demands. In the past, CBS News has responded to this complaining by being very careful to post full videos and transcripts of its interviews online, allowing its viewers to make their own decisions about how they perceive the edits. But now, after increased pressure from the White House, it’s taken a step further, with venerable interview program Face The Nation announcing that it will now only air unedited interviews, either live, or live-to-tape.
The catalyst for the change to the 70-year-old news program’s policies appears to be right-wing backlash to an interview on last Sunday’s installment, where Department Of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem made a large number of non-substantiated claims about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident who, the administration itself admits, only got deported to an infamous El Salvador prison six months ago due to a “clerical error.” Noem’s comments in the interview lined up pretty firmly with the administration’s stance on Abrego Garcia overall—i.e., that said misfiling was a happy accident—claiming that he was a member of MS-13, a domestic abuser, and possibly a pedophile, to boot. None of which could be substantiated with any actual legal proof, and was thus cut from Face The Nation‘s broadcast of the interview. (With the transcript and unedited version going up online, along with a note explaining the cuts.) This, apparently, was heresy to the GOP, which then accused the news program of trying “to whitewash the truth.”
In response to the complaints, Face The Nation issued the following statement today (per Deadline):
In response to audience feedback over the past week, we have implemented a new policy for greater transparency in our interviews. Face The Nation will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews (subject to national security or legal restrictions). This extra measure means the television audience will see the full, unedited interview on CBS and we will continue our practice of posting full transcripts and the unedited video online.
As several commentators have pointed out, the decision to not edit interviews, while ostensibly an easy fix, will also serve to amplify the ability of liars to lie on TV; if an interview subject makes a claim, regardless of its veracity or ability to be proven, it’s going to now fall even harder on the interviewer and their producers, in the moment, to push back, or risk allowing unsubstantiated allegations to stand as part of the public record. In other words, one more chip in the armor of journalistic integrity—which is starting to look pretty goddamned scuffed, nine months in 2025.
