CBS orders crush CNET credibility: Column

Gary Shapiro | USATODAY

Recently, I found myself thrust in the middle of a kerfuffle when CBS ordered its subsidiary CNET to remove a productfrom consideration for a "Best of CES" award at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. I can never recall any major media company, much less a top-tier First Amendment protector like CBS, publicly mandating an editorial decision based on business interests. The bizarre aggressiveness of CBS executives against the Hopper Sling disturbed me as it not only tainted the CES awards, but it hurt one of the world's classiest media companies.

The controversy started when Dish introduced the Hopper, a product that allows Dish subscribers to skip through TV commercials under certain conditions. CBS and other networks sued Dish to stop the sale of the Hopper, despite a landmark 1984 Supreme Court decision that innovative products like the Hopper cannot be blocked by copyright owners if the product has many uses. Broadcasters never even challenged the legality of the TiVo personal video recorder back in 1999, which allows easy commercial fast-forwarding.

While the CBS legal challenge to the Hopper case chugs along, Dish used the 2013 International CES, to introduce the Hopper Sling, which allows Dish subscribers to stream one channel over the Internet while another is playing on the home TV. As owners of CES, we had an agreement with CNET to cover the show and recognize the best products. The CNET editorial team identified the Hopper Sling as one of the most innovative products of the show, but CBS brass ordered the CNET editors to remove it from CNET's website.

For a top media company to impose editorial control so publicly for business reasons created a firestorm, resulting in stories in USA TODAY, Wall Street Journaland several tech blogs. CBS' actions are puzzling, and troubling, on many levels.

First, it destroys two reputations in a single action. CBS, once called the Tiffany network, will never be viewed again as pristine. The ethical media rule is that corporate business interests should never interfere in journalism – or at least not so blatantly, publicly and harmfully. It made me wonder if 60 Minutes had ever suffered the same treatment.

CBS' actions also hurt the value of their asset, CNET, which they purchased for $1.8 billion a few years ago. One CNET reporter even resigned over the editorial meddling. Not only have CNET users and partners like us lost confidence in its independence, but the action is so devastating to editorial integrity that other staffers are almost certainly freshening their resumes.

Second, if this decision was based on legal advice, it was bad advice. It was later revealed by the top person at CNET that the 40 CNET journalists had unanimously decided that the Hopper Sling was the most innovative product at the 2013 International CES. Removing the product from the website does not change that. I can't imagine Dish lawyers won't figure out a way to get that in to evidence. All the removal proves legally is that the CBS brass really doesn't like the product and that they're bad at PR. They took a nice award that gets decent publicity and turned it into a hugely noticed award that got mega-publicity.

CNET is a credible technology industry journalism organization with respected reporters and analysts, and has always been a good partner to CES when examining these awards. CBS had a pristine reputation, and other than its questionable anti-innovation litigation strategy, had shown an ability to embrace innovation and try new things such as acquiring CNET and experimenting with a Groupon model. But those reputations have been severely damaged.

Moreover, CNET's top editor recently revealedCNET was ordered by CBS to deceive the public and say CNET pulled the product from consideration as a finalist, even though the Hopper Sling had already been the CNET editors' unanimous choice as best of show. Unbelievable that a top executive at a Fortune 500 company had ordered an intentional deception by their own journalists.

Every week it seems we see a rock of society crumble, and CBS' actions during CES unsettle me as someone who treasures innovation and hates seeing a great company tarnished by unfairness in a respected awards program. Sadly, 2013 begins with CBS destroying its reputation for editorial integrity in an attempt to eliminate a new market competitor. Now we are considering our legal options under our agreement with CNET.

Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000 consumer electronics companies and the author of the New York Times best-selling book, Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World's Most Successful Businesses.