Greg Sandoval, CNET Writer Resigns Over Alleged CBS Censorship of Dish Network Hopper; Read Twitter Log

CNET senior writer Greg Sandoval resigned in protest alleging censorship from CBS, which owns the tech site.

"CNET today confirmed that it initially selected the Dish Hopper for its Best of CES award," writes PC Magazine.

"But that prompted parent company CBS to step in and order that the site select another winner due to ongoing litigation between CBS and Dish."

The Dish Hopper allows users to watch programs they DVR on their iPads or other mobile devices.

"Dish complained last week that its Hopper with Sling set-top box had been eliminated from a best-of-show award at the Consumer Electronics Show," writes Bloomberg.

"CBS said at the time that a new policy would prohibit it from reviewing products of anyone in litigation with the company. CBS, based in New York, is engaged in a lawsuit with Dish over one of the features of the Hopper that allows consumers to skip commercials."

After CNET staff tried unsuccessfully to get CBS to reconsider, Sandoval resigned on Monday.

He tweeted, "Hello all. Sad to report that I've resigned from CNET. I no longer have confidence that CBS is committed to editorial independence."

"CNET wasn't honest about what occurred regarding Dish is unacceptable to me. We are supposed to be truth tellers," Sandoval added.

While, it's too early to tell, CNET could suffer repercussions from readers, as its reviews have usually been considered unbiased and independent.

Lindsey Turrentine, CNET's Editor-in-Chief, wrote a post after Sandoval resignation explaining the situation with the vote, explicitly stating that the Hopper had won and that CBS had required a new vote excluding the Hopper.

 "All night and through to morning, my managers up and down CNET and I fought for two things: to honor the original vote and -- when it became clear that CBS Corporate did not accept that answer -- to issue a transparent statement regarding the original vote," she wrote.

For its part, CBS released a statement insisting the situation was an isolated incident.

"In terms of covering actual news, CNET maintains 100% editorial independence, and always will," said CBS. "We look forward to the site building on its reputation of good journalism in the years to come."

The following are tweets from Sandoval since announcing his resignation (Jan. 14):

-I am not disgruntled. CBS and CNET were great to me. I just want to be known as an honest reporter. Thanks everyone for reading me.

-Please know no one in News or Reviews editorial did anything wrong. I believe CNET's leaders are also honest but used poor judgement.

-CNET wasn't honest about what occurred regarding Dish is unacceptable to me. We are supposed to be truth tellers.

-Hello all. Sad to report that I've resigned from CNET. I no longer have confidence that CBS is committed to editorial independence.