Local CBS Reporter In Austin Stopped Covering Celebratory US-Iran Rally

Editor's note: This story has been updated below to reflect a response from Sinclair Broadcast Group.

A local CBS affiliate in Austin ordered reporter Vinny Martorano to stop focusing on a rally celebrating the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Martorano ignored the directive.

"What does that mean?" Martorano asked during the station’s live Facebook broadcast as he read a message off the screen.

"It means they don’t want us to focus on this," a crew member told him.

Sounding surprised but amused, Martorano replied, "Alright, well I am."

He then provided the following report:

"There’s a lot of mixed opinions across Austin about the joint attack between the United States and Israel against Iran that happened earlier this morning. Some people, like this group behind me, are thanking Trump and the United States government for following through with this attack against Iran. Other people across the city say there needs to be more peace in the Middle East."

Martorano is correct that opinions are divided over the joint U.S. and Israeli military action against Iran, which has already resulted in the deaths of several U.S. service members. However, nothing in his on-the-ground reporting suggested he was taking a position. He was simply documenting a group of local residents celebrating.

That, by definition, is news. It would also be news if residents were protesting the attack. In either case, a reporter’s role is to cover events as they unfold.

So why did the station instruct him to stop showing the celebration? Who issued the order? Is there additional context that has not yet been made public?

OutKick emailed CBS Austin with those questions on Monday. The station has not responded. This story will be updated if and when it does.

UPDATE: Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns CBS Austin, insisted Martorano was not instructed to avoid certain perspectives.

"[S]tation management directed the crew to follow our standard protest and rally safety and coverage guidelines, remain on the perimeter, gather necessary content, complete the live shot, and move to a safe location," a Sinclair spokesperson told OutKick in an email.

"There was no directive to avoid or de-emphasize any particular perspective," the spokesperson added. "The guidance was focused on safety, logistics, and ensuring comprehensive coverage in a rapidly evolving situation. The safety of our teams is top priority."