On September 15, Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, claimed that CBS rejected his request to comment on religion for his planned “Free Speech” segment on the CBS Evening News and would provide him with a list of “approved topics” that he might address. According to Maher: “I asked if I could talk about religion, and that was a deal-breaker right from the beginning. ... They said, 'We'll send over a list of acceptable topics,' for our segment on free speech.” According to the MediaBistro.com weblog TVNewser, CBS has since denied Maher's allegations, claiming, “Bill Maher was never told that he couldn't discuss religion in a 'Free Speech' segment.”

As Media Matters for America has documented, the first nine days of “Free Speech” segments have thus far featured nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R), and former Bush aide Michael Gerson, but not a single Democrat or progressive. A September 15 entry to the CBS News weblog The Public Eye responded to “early criticism of the segment ... that it hasn't been balanced enough in terms of political persuasion,” and quoted CBS Evening News senior producer Marc Rosenwasser saying: “On any given night, there is one point of view, but over time it will be seen as balanced.”

CBS' alleged treatment of Maher stands in stark contrast to the network's reported treatment of Limbaugh, who bragged that he agreed to do a “Free Speech” segment only after CBS acceded to various “promises and conditions” he set down.

From the September 15 edition of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher:

MAHER: Well, TV certainly has a lot of women. We saw three of them who where in the news this week: Meredith Vieira, Rosie O'Donnell, Katie Couric. Now, I have to say -- I want to say something about what's going on on that CBS Evening News broadcast, because -- full disclosure -- they asked me to do one of their -- they have some -- a special feature which they call “Free Speech,” which I thought, great. Free speech. I thought it was a little condescending to be like, “Well, we're giving you free speech.”

MICHAEL McKEAN (actor): It was our idea.

MAHER: Yeah. Let the other 500 channels have egg on their face -- we're providing free speech to America. But I was very flattered, because, I tell you, CBS News -- that's Edward R. Murrow, and [Walter] Cronkite, and Mike Wallace. I have them on a pedestal. But it's anything but free speech, and this is why I'm bringing it up. I'm not trying to rag on them, but, I mean, if CBS News doesn't understand what free speech is, what am I supposed to expect of Fox News?

GLORIA STEINEM (journalist, activist): But, what happened to you? Did they --

MAHER: What happened? Have you seen the broadcast?

STEINEM: Yeah.

McKEAN: Yeah.

MAHER: There was nothing -- Katie said at the beginning --

STEINEM: Well, what happened to you? Did they not let you say what you wanted?

MAHER: Well, I asked if I could talk about religion, and that was a deal-breaker right from the beginning.

STEINEM: But, that's -- that's ridiculous.

MAHER: And they said, we -- ex -- that's my point. They said, “We'll send over a list of acceptable topics,” for our segment on free speech. And, Katie said, at the -- she introduced this on her first broadcast by saying, “Expressing your opinion is one of the privileges of living in this country.” Well, sorry again, but I thought it was a right, and not a privilege. I thought -- and, again, I only bring this up because they're treating it as a privilege. And, if CBS News doesn't get the difference between a privilege and a right, we're in a lot of trouble in this country.

CBS' denial, as posted on TVNewser on September 17:

In an e-mail to TVNewser, CBS responds to Bill Maher:

“Bill Maher was never told that he couldn't discuss religion in a 'Free Speech' segment,” Rome Hartman, executive producer of the CBS Evening News, said. “In fact, 'Free Speech' has already addressed religion and we expect others will in the future.”

On September 18, Broadcasting & Cable reported that CBS may consider dropping the segment altogether:

Word from inside CBS News is that the segments have been unexpectedly labor-intensive, requiring some commentaries to be reshot and more than a little coaching for commentators who aren't blessed with Limbaugh's natural charm. And it remains to be seen whether Average Joes and Janes will be included in the “wide range of Americans” given a chance to sound off.

When CBS News President Sean McManus spoke to B&C just after the segments debuted, he acknowledged that “freeSpeech” was a work in progress. “I know 'freeSpeech' is a little controversial, and that is good,” he says. “That it is causing discussion about an element in the Evening News is healthy. We're going to continue to try it and see if it evolves.”

If it doesn't, “freeSpeech” may be dead at CBS News.