Last night the New York Times‘ Bill Carter reported that CBS is placing Lara Logan, the 60 Minutes correspondent behind the botched Benghazi report, on a leave of absence. Additionally, the producer behind the segment, Max McClellan, will also get some time off with pay.
CBS did not specify the length of the leave of absence for its two staff members, nor whether they would continue to be paid. In general, television correspondents do not lose salary unless they are suspended.
Beyond Ms. Logan, who has been a rising star at CBS News, the review could have implications for the leadership of Jeffrey Fager, the chairman of CBS News, who is also the executive producer of “60 Minutes.” Mr. Fager sent an email to the staff on Tuesday, saying: “As executive producer, I am responsible for what gets on the air. I pride myself in catching almost everything, but this deception got through and it shouldn’t have.”
He added: “We are making adjustments at ’60 Minutes’ to reduce the chances of it happening again.”
No word on whether Lara Logan’s heaving breasts will also be placed on leave or if they’ll be allowed to continue working.
