A hot mic moment during a live feed of protests, both against and in support of the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, gives us a rare inside glimpse into the political inner workings of a newsroom. In the process, we watched a reporter resist those pressures and…well…report.
Watch as CBS Austin’s Vinny Martorano is told to deemphasize the rally in support of Operation Epic Fury, which he then refuses to do before going live:
WATCH: In a Facebook Live stream, Sinclair-owned CBS Austin multimedia journalist @VinnyMartorano refuses his bosses' order to spin and downplay the rally in support of the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 1, 2026
In the video, Martorano is seemingly practicing for a live shot and noting… pic.twitter.com/iHiTCAxehe
CREW MEMBER: [Hands Vinny Martorano a phone, likely shows him a text message]
VINNY MARTORANO: What does that mean?
CREW MEMBER: It means they don't want us to focus on this.
MARTORANO: All right. Well, I am.
RALLY CHANTS: Thank you Trump! Thank you Trump! Thank you Trump! Thank you Trump! Thank you Bibi! Thank you Bibi! Thank you Bibi! Thank you Bibi!
(...)
MARTORANO (going live): All right. There are 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, while other people across the city say there needs to be more peace in the Middle East.
Martorano defied the command to deemphasize the pro-Epic Fury protest and provided a balanced report from the Texas Capitol. Some were in support of the bombing campaign, some against.
This entire scenario begs the question: how, exactly, was Martorano supposed to downplay the very loud Persian-Americans waving their Lion-and-Sun flags and chanting “THANK YOU BIBI, THANK YOU TRUMP?” How was he supposed to deemphasize the very newsworthy event happening in his immediate vicinity? Better yet: why?
The answer to this question comes, again, via Martorano’s reporting. He was at the Capitol to cover a protest in opposition to the strike, a brief video of which which he posted on X:
A group of people are protesting at the state capitol against the US’s recent attack in Iran this morning, saying there needs to be peace worldwide wide.@cbsaustin pic.twitter.com/V6924INXRw
— Vinny Martorano (@VinnyMartorano) February 28, 2026
A quick inventory of the flags at the protest includes those of: the American communist Party, Cuba, The United States of America, China, Russia, Mexico, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and North Korea. Martorano then posted a brief video of the counterprotest he was told to deemphasize:
“Thank you Trump”
— Vinny Martorano (@VinnyMartorano) February 28, 2026
A large group of people in front of the Texas Capitol are celebrating the coordinated strike against Iran early this morning.
Some people I spoke with moved to Austin from Iran.@cbsaustin pic.twitter.com/y7frrIrcPy
There was no legitimate reason to deemphasize the celebrations of Operation Epic Fury by those who suffered under the Khomeinist regime, except that it may inadvertently cast President Donald Trump in a favorable light. Martorano, to his credit, rejected the politics and stuck to reporting- a valuable lesson for the news media as a whole.
