Politico describes it as "intense research." Others might call it collusion or getting cozy. Either way, the fact is, CBS's moderator for Saturday's debate met with all the Democratic teams to get to know them better:

Moderator John Dickerson and his team met with each of the campaigns for more than an hour to discuss the major issues at play in the race, sources on the campaigns said, describing the pre-interview as "informational in nature."

A rep for Sanders' campaign said Dickerson wanted to know the Senator's views on income inequality among other issues ahead of the debate. CBS, perhaps expecting a backlash, declared that this was nothing special, just the same type of research Dickerson normally does ahead of his hosting duties on Face the Nation.