Today is Anderson Cooper’s 59th birthday.
Normally, I'd be writing about his career, his reporting, or the fact that somehow he still looks younger than most people who have spent half as much time in tv news.
Instead, I’m doodling and noodling about insubordination.
Earlier this year, Cooper left 60 Minutes after a long run with the once-great news program. Then this week came the firing of veteran correspondent Scott Pelley after he publicly criticized CBS News leadership, including c-u-next-Tuesday Bari Weiss, and questioned the direction of the organization.
Management reportedly viewed his comments as “inappropriate” and “insubordinate.”
I’ve always found that words like “inappropriate” and “insubordinate” say less about the behavior being criticized and more about the people doing the criticizing.
Sometimes those words describe someone refusing to follow reasonable instructions. Other times, they describe someone refusing to pretend that a bad idea is a good one.
I’ve spent enough time working in Fortune 500 companies to know the difference.
Throughout my career, I've had moments when I probably should have kept my mouth shut. Moments when remaining silent would have been easier for everyone involved. Moments when nodding politely and going along with whatever nonsense was being handed down from the corporate overlords would have been the safer career move.
For better and worse, I've never been particularly gifted at shutting the fuck up.
When I see something wrong, I tend to say so.
When leadership makes a decision that hurts people, I tend to say so.
When someone with power starts confusing their title with wisdom, my internal bullshit detector tends to go off like a smoke alarm.
This has not always worked out well for me. It’s one of the reasons I’m self-employed.
The corporate world is full of people who climb the ladder by mastering the art of strategic silence. They know when to smile, when to agree, and when to pretend they don't see the fire. Sometimes because they're the ones holding the matches.
I was never one of those people. The older I get, the less interested I am in becoming one. That's why stories like this resonate with me.
Journalists spend their careers challenging powerful people. They ask uncomfortable questions. They poke holes in official narratives. They refuse to accept "because I said so" as an answer.
We celebrate those qualities when they’re directed at politicians, billionaires, and public figures. Yet the moment those same instincts get directed inward, toward corporate leadership, they suddenly become a problem.
Then it’s not courage. It’s insubordination.
Then it’s not integrity. It’s being difficult.
Then it’s not speaking truth to power. It’s creating a hostile work environment.
Funny how quickly the language changes depending on who feels threatened.
Now, I don't know Scott Pelley. And I wasn't in the room. Maybe there are details I don't know.
But what I do know is that:
Every major improvement in my life started when I stopped blindly accepting things as they were.
Every meaningful change happened because somebody questioned authority, challenged assumptions, or refused to play along with a system that wasn't working.
This applies to workplaces. This applies to politics. This applies to social movements. And this applies to journalism.
The people in charge almost always want obedience. That's true whether we're talking about corporations, governments, institutions, or the self-appointed kings of some miserable office hierarchy.
Obedience keeps things predictable.
Questions make people uncomfortable.
Personally, I've become increasingly comfortable making people uncomfortable. Not because I enjoy conflict. Quite the opposite. If anything, I hate conflict. What I hate even more is watching intelligent people stay silent while bad leaders make bad decisions and expect applause for it.
Maybe that’s why this story has been stuck in my head.
Because from where I sit, there are far worse things a person can be than insubordinate. You can be a lying liar. You can be a cowardly cocksucker. You can watch something valuable being dismantled and say nothing because speaking up might cost you something.
I’ve done enough surviving in my life to know that silence has a price too. So if standing up to powerful people occasionally earns you a reputation for being difficult, stubborn, or insubordinate, so be it. Oh. Well.
History has a funny habit of remembering those who speak up for what’s right to those on the wrong side of history.
Keep calm and get your “insubordinate” on!
Clint 🌈✌️
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
06-03 = Alla Nazimova (1879-1945) = Russian-American actor and filmmaker 🌈
06-03 = Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) = American poet and photographer 🌈
06-03 = Anderson Cooper (1967- ) = American journalist and author 🌈
06-03 = Ellen Corby (1911-1999) = American actor and screenwriter 🌈
06-03 = George Quaintance (1902-1957) = American artist and illustrator 🌈
06-03 = Josephine Baker (1906-1975) = American-born French dancer, singer, and actor 🌈
06-03 = Tony Curtis (1925-2010) = American actor 🌈
MAN CRUSH OF THE DAY
“A lot of compelling stories in the world aren’t being told, and the fact that people don’t know about them compounds the suffering.”
Anderson Cooper
I have not had to deal with such stuff (which seems to be worse in the US) very often. I relate and agree with all that you have said. Others here share the same outlook and opinion.
It comes down to integrity. You have it, and as far as I can tell, CBS doesn't.