President of CBS News Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews, recently involved in the firing of investigative journalist Catherine Herridge, is set to receive a First Amendment Award from the RTDNA Foundation.
Ciprián-Matthews, along with 12 other recipients, will be honored on March 9th at the 33rd annual First Amendment Awards at The Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.
“The RTDNA Foundation selected Ciprián-Matthews for her commitment to excellent and ethical journalism, especially at a time when the stakes are so high,” a statement announcing the awards reads.
“Her leadership during some of the most challenging news stories in American history is a testament to the power of journalism,” it adds.
Her selection is surprising considering her recent involvement in sacking a journalist who had been investigating the Biden family.
RELATED: CBS Seizes Materials Of Fired Journalist Who Was Investigating Hunter Biden
CBS News Chief Gets Free Speech Award After Herridge Firing
Reporting over the past week has revealed that Ciprián-Matthews was more than simply a tangential player in the firing of Herridge.
Herridge had been actively investigating an aspect of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal before she was fired, as well as covering the House impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, special counsel Robert Hur’s report on his handling of classified documents, and criminal charges against the First Son.
Jonathan Turley, a legal scholar and former analyst for CBS, reported that Herridge “continued to pursue these stories despite reports of pushback from CBS executives, including CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews.”
The New York Post described Ciprián-Matthews as the “boss who signed off on the controversial ouster of Catherine Herridge.”
Additionally, after letting Herridge go, CBS News was called out publicly by SAG-AFTRA, the union representing employees at the network, for having seized files, computers, and records locked away in her office.
Only after a public outcry – and several days – did CBS return the confidential files.
Herridge Is Involved In An Active First Amendment Case
Making the selection of Ciprián-Matthews as a free speech advocate even more interesting is that the kerfuffle involving Herridge also coincides with the latter’s own First Amendment court case.
Herridge is facing significant potential fines for protecting the identity of a source used for a report written in 2017 regarding a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged with wrongdoing.
In addition to allegedly being involved in curtailing the free speech rights of Herridge, Ciprián-Matthews was also the subject of a Human Resources investigation into an effort to sideline certain reporters based on skin color.
She was, according to a New York Post report, “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 hypocrisy of the mainstream media never ceases to amaze.
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