CBS News Returns Seized Confidential Files of Reporter Catherine Herridge After Uproar
“Catherine Herridge’s union representative picked up her materials this morning”
We recently highlighted the story of the journalist Catherine Herridge, who was fired by CBS News, after which the network seized her confidential files. Herridge had been working on stories that might be negative for Joe Biden and the administration, so people were naturally suspicious and outraged.
Now, after public scrutiny and pressure from members of Congress, the network has returned the files.
The New York Post reports:
CBS News returns confidential files of reporter covering Hunter Biden laptop scandal
CBS News on Monday finally returned confidential files belonging to fired investigative reporter Catherine Herridge amid mounting pressure from the House Judiciary Committee and the union representing the journalist, The Post has learned
Herridge — who is in the middle of a key First Amendment case — had been probing the Hunter Biden laptop scandal when the acclaimed journalist was shockingly fired as part of mass layoffs by parent company Paramount Global nearly two weeks ago.
Her personal files — along with her work laptop, which may have contained other confidential info — were immediately confiscated and locked away at the CBS News office in Washington, DC.
“Catherine Herridge’s union representative picked up her materials this morning,” a CBS News rep confirmed to The Post on Monday.
A spokesperson for SAG-AFTRA, the union representing CBS News employees, confirmed that several boxes containing Herridge’s reporting materials were returned.
Herridge posted this update on Twitter/X.
FILES UPDATE: CBS News returns hundreds of pages of reporting materials after @sagaftra intervened. Full Statement👇 https://t.co/cPBQ6PoTVo
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) February 26, 2024
From the SAG-AFTRA statement:
SAG-AFTRA Statement on CBS News Return of Reporter’s Files
SAG-AFTRA is pleased to confirm that earlier today a representative of our union monitored the return of several boxes containing Catherine Herridge’s reporting materials from her CBS News office in Washington D.C. Herridge is currently reviewing the materials.
We welcome CBS News’ reversal which came after SAG-AFTRA’s intervention and widespread media coverage that underscored shared concerns about press freedom and the First Amendment.
The resolution of this matter sends a strong message of protection for basic First Amendment principles. We further hope the public focus now turns to SAG-AFTRA’s continued efforts to support a Press Shield law that provides additional federal protections for journalists and their confidential sources.
The House Judiciary Committee had a lot to do with this change.
From the Washington Examiner a few days ago:
Republicans investigate claims CBS seized veteran journalist’s files
The House Judiciary Committee asked CBS News on Friday to provide the committee with records related to the network’s recent termination of journalist Catherine Herridge after accusations surfaced that her now-former employer inappropriately seized her belongings when she left.
The committee requested in a letter to CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews that she provide lawmakers with a briefing about the events surrounding Herridge’s exit, as well as provide them with certain internal company communications about it by March 1.
Members of the media were surprisingly quiet during this situation. It’s fun to imagine what they would have said if this happened on Trump’s watch.
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Comments
I’m sorry… are we still pretending that any part of the mainstream media is actually interested in journalism?
We know they are the propaganda arm of the parasite class. We also know that all her files were examined and copied before they were returned..
The left consistently acts in some outrageous and illegal way, gets some meaningless blowback and says “Well, sorry!” This is no way prevents them from acting the same in future nor will it undo the original act.
But we all pretend it does.
The media is the Sword and Shield of the Party.
It might be more appropriate to call them the Hammer and Sickle.
No. They are the Prophets of Progressivism.
The priests are in gov’t and academia.
“I’m sorry… are we still pretending that any part of the mainstream media is actually interested in j”ournalism?”
I got tired of pretending about 10 years ago because:
The horse has already left the barn
The train has left the station
The ship has sailed
Well of course CBS [Constantly Broadcasting Shit] made copies of all documents, and passed along a copy to the FBI [Following Biden’s Instructions]. This was the plan all along.
Now that they have the names of informants and what information has been passed, they don’t need it anymore. Duh.
I am quite sure CBS’s lawyers never looked at and of the documents — especially pages 11-19 of file HUNTER 1 or pages 45-55 in HUNTER 2.
Yeah, it’s all moot now
Xerox printer go brrrrrrrrrr.
When the informants start getting arrested or disappeared or suicided, the MSM will once again cover for the Biden enforcers who will take care of the informants.
so, CBS gave her back HER copy
With a few additional apps, incriminating files, and who knows what else.
Heads should roll.
Important heads.
There’s a decent chance her sources’ heads may.
I’m sure so are missing. It seems they didn’t count on the bad press.
They are the press.
I guess the team responsible for copying the data had completed its task and wanted to try and make amends.
Man! When civil war breaks out I wouldn’t want to be a lefty politician, journalist, media type, Hollywood celeb or academic!
Strategically, they are the first obvious targets.
What I Saw at The Coup
I have to say I don’t get the uproar.
I did scientific research at a university.
I signed an agreement that all work product, including computer files, lab notes and patents belonged to my employer.
I am certain this reporter signed something similar.
Even if the work product is placed on my personal computer, the actual information belongs to the employer
Apples and oranges, doc.
There were hundreds of “journalists” laid off, from the reportage she appears to be the only known one whose “confidential files” were treated as “work product”.
It’s not hard to read bad intent into this seizure. Confidential informants are usually regarded as the reporter’s own property. Which follows them from job to job. There’s a good reason for that, most would never talk to the reporter if they knew he/she could be required to out them. Heck, even the courts acknowledge them remaining confidential is in the public interest.
The only time I recall a reporter being required to fess up who their informants were was in cases where they were suspected of having imaginary CIs.
You are CERTAIN this reporter signed something similar. LOL.
Yes sir, as an honest person, there is nothing to think about giving up scientific research on your department computer, or your lab notebooks detailing your observations. However, giving up your confidential sources and the trails their information led you down that historically has been 100% protected property of yours (not your employer’s) wasn’t included in any documents you signed upon initial employment with the freedom of press Constitutional protection your scientific research delved into.
Typically reporters, esp. investigative reporters, are allowed to keep all of their notes when they leave a job. They’re the people who have developed the contacts, and those contacts are often known exclusively by the reporters, and not to their organizations. Because of this, the reporter is the gatekeeper to the story being developed. If they want to keep working on a story, they retain the reporter. The fact that CBS seized this reporter’s docs is an indication that not only didn’t CBS want to have her stories developed, they wanted to prevent her from doing so in the future. This is why such an action was previously unheard-of.
“I have to say I don’t get the uproar.”
Academia is uniquely extreme in IP assignment, as the job is to create novel IP. They’re buying every idea you have.
Conventions vary with employees vs. contractors vs. services from independent professionals, and with some professionals and professions. Keeping your own files of engagements, and even your own unique IP is common in some fields.
Generally, resources you developed independently are yours even if you use them in doing work for hire. Though, that doesn’t stop some employers from trying. Established Investigative Journalists bring their own contacts and sources *to* the job.
The probability that CBS kept copies of what they grabbed: %100
The probability they turned it over to the FBI: %110
CBS chickened out. They should have given her the middle finger and handed all the files to the FBI.
Huh? Why do you say this?
In your state-fellating totalitarian fever-sweat dreams, perhaps.
Chances are the files were copied and her files corrupted or erased. Another added feature probably includes Spyware or Malware.
Do not turn the PC own at home as it may infect your entire network. I would just burn the dam computer.
That’s small potatoes. Most likely scenario is the documents have been subtly altered so as to make the information in them trivially disprovable. With files that huge, there’s no way Herridge can remember every single date, timestamp, or name. All it will take is a single “but I wasn’t in [city] on that date, and here’s the proof” to destroy her credibility.
She’s a smart lady. She’s probably heard of “the Cloud.” Not that having backup would make a difference to the significance of this story. She’d still want to take her docs with her, if for no other reason than it’s traditional to allow a reporter to take her notes when she departs. And the potentially nefarious reasons for attempting to keep the notes made CBS look bad. So, if she did have backups, there’s no reason for her to have publicly shrugged her shoulders and declared so. Doing so would have reduced the impact of the story on CBS, and I’m sure she doesn’t care to do them any favors right now.
Technology to encrypt, verify source, and detect tampering with digital objects has been well-understood and not very hard since Ronny Reagan, and it’s cheap. (Sill the Phil Zimmerman PGP saga, for example.)
That this stuff isn’t commonly available — for some value of “commonly available”, and standard practice, well, my tinfoil hat is getting a workout today.
After they photocopied everything with a source on it.
This episode is likely to cause well deserved doubt for future sources as to whether they remain confidential. No one can be sure a corporate media company won’t act to seize files and then do who knows what with information; provide to subject(s) of investigation, provide to gov’t, use as bargaining chips. Intentionally or not this chills speech.
“CBS News Returns Seized Confidential Files of Reporter Catherine Herridge After Uproar”
And after recording all the names of her confidential informants?
Catherine Herridge did not kill herself.
Do we really need an in-depth investigation on Hunter’s laptop? Why not investigate if water is wet?
Who is this day and age does not keep multiple backups/copies of any file ?
The real issue is now CBS has had access to the info in the files so not only is the confidentiality of the sources breached but CBS could potentially share the info and damage/endanger the sources or alert the subject of the investigation as to what Herridge does and doesn’t know.
You can trivially get hardware-encrypted flash drives the size of a thumbnail with capacity bigger than the drives in most laptops these days, and anyone working on contentious research would do well to familiarize themselves with such.
Will be interesting if the put porn on it. Their standard MO
She left Fox News shortly after Shepard Smith (anyone hear of him lately?)
partly because she didn’t want to toe the company line. She said, “I feel privileged to join a team where facts and storytelling will always matter.”
Guess she found out that bias is bias no matter which way it slants.
Do you think CBS copied her files before releasing them?