CBS News is disguising the identity of a retired Navy SEAL who wrote a book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden so it can protect "an American hero" - even though other media outlets have said who he is.
CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager said Thursday he'd make the same decision to withhold the identity even if the network hadn't landed an exclusive interview with the author, who participated in the May 2011 raid in Pakistan.
Scott Pelley's interview with the ex-SEAL will be on 60 Minutes on Sept. 9 and was previewed on the CBS Evening News on Wednesday.
The book, titled No Easy Day and written by one of the men in the room when the al-Qaeda leader was killed in the May 2011 raid, was written under the pseudonym of Mark Owen.
Last week, Fox News Channel first reported Owens' real identity as Matt Bissonnette, and The Associated Press also identified Bissonnette after getting independent confirmation.
Even after the other organizations revealed Bissonnette's identity, Fager said he made sure that all parts of his news organization did not.
"This is an American hero," Fager said.
"He risked his life to do this job. Isn't it our responsibility to protect him? To hear his story is one thing, but to reveal his name so he becomes a target? I'd like to think that news people are Americans first. I feel that way."
