CBS’s Lara Logan Unlikely to Return After Leave of Absence

An in-depth New York Magazine article on embattled CBS reporter Lara Logan says all the signs point to her departure from the news network and 60 Minutes. Logan became part of the headlines in the past year when a major story she reported on about the attack of the American embassy in Benghazi was found to be falsified by the key interview subject.

The story, as told by a former military contractor who went by the name Morgan Jones, was that he witnessed the Benghazi attack up close and personal. His firsthand account to Lara included a description of climbing an embassy wall to fight with attackers. Jones, whose real name is Dylan Davies, made the entire story up.

The story and interview were aired by 60 Minutes and the fallout over it has continued for months. Since news surfaced of his false account, Logan’s career and future at CBS has been called into question.

In the New York Magazine article on Lara Logan, entitled “Can ’60 Minutes’ Afford to Keep Logan?,” author Joe Hagan explains why her future at the long-esteemed news magazine show is in deep danger. In fact, Hagan writes that it seems unlikely Logan will return at all after an extended leave of absence.

He writes of 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager that his refusal to fire Logan last fall after the fallout from the story was likely just postponing the inevitable.

Of Fager, he writes:

Instead, he said that Logan will return sometime this year. His decision sent a ripple of discontent through CBS News, prompting questions about Fager’s judgment. And as the months have rolled on, Logan’s return appears less and less certain.

In the course of her career over the past 11 years, which took off after the 9/11 attacks, the South African native earned a reputation for making threats to colleagues, according to Hagan.

Again, he writes of Lara:

Logan was not shy about letting people know she had a direct line to the boss. “She was very fond of saying, ‘I could end your career with a phone call,’?” says a former CBS producer.

Other media have been quick to pick up on the New York Magazine piece about Lara, including the U.K.’s Daily Mail. The British publication calls the expose on Lara “fascinating” in their review of the piece.

Lara Logan is still technically a CBS employee, but has not actively worked as a reporter for the network for months.