CBS won't reveal memos' source - Stand may cause distrust, news chief acknowledges

The Baltimore Sun ^ | September 15, 2004 | David Folkenflik

[Cincinatus' Wife]

CBS News President Andrew Heyward said yesterday that his network will not reveal the source of disputed documents used to report that President Bush received favored treatment in the Texas Air National Guard, even though that decision may mean many Americans would distrust a 60 Minutes report on the subject. "I'm confident the story was appropriately vetted before it went on the air. It is the nature of this kind of investigative reporting that sometimes sources remain confidential," Heyward said in a telephone interview. "We're going to hang tough, even if that leaves some questions unanswered."

The charged political atmosphere surrounding the story has made it more difficult to identify sources publicly, he said.

"This is a political hot potato," Heyward said. "There's a kind of harassment, an attempt to intimidate, that I think gives people pause."

[Cincinatus' Wife]

This just proves that they have known all along that people believe them to be political hacks in the employment of the Democrats.

Now that new media is taking the lead, old media sees the handwriting on the wall and are willing to settle for being seen as a partisan, like "Crossfire."

But the rules will have to be changed. Networks should no longer be considered "not partisan" and their anchors shouldn't be selected to serve as moderators for debates.

The networks should not be given the responsibility to inform the public about the candidates in the new campaign finance mess.

The MSM (including print) also should be refused the last 30 days (CFR) of reporting on the election too. They are advocates for the left.

[allmyheroeshavebeencowboys]

Found this on DU. I was a bit hurt(not) that CBS didn't answer my e-mail..so I took the occaision to send another one..something tells me it won't get answered either though, as unlike Ms. Pallas, I talked about sinking ships, and the CBS sequel to Watergate.....So let's not let Dan think he really has any support out there, time for more e-mails....


Dan Rather Needs Our Support - I wrote him and got this e mail back
Posted by Pallas180
Added to homepage Tue Sep 14th 2004, 09:37 AM ET

write him at evening@cbsnews.com

Dear Ms. Pallas,

Thank you for taking the time to write. Your support is appreciated. As you can imagine, we've been inundated with negative emails. It's refreshing to hear from a viewer such as yourself. We strive for the highest level of journalistic integrity and will continue to do so, no matter what the cost. A free society demands free, unmuzzled media expression.

CBS Evening News

-----Original Message-----

Sent: Saturday, September 11, 2004 2:38 PM
To: CND Evening News
Subject: Dan Rather is Heroic

Dear Mr. Rather,

What you have done is not only brave but patriotic. It's time the media in this country stopped acting as a propaganda arm of the cabal in the White House and started telling truth and facts to the American people.

These facts about AWOL should have come out strongly while he was running before the election of 2000 instead of the media acting as cheerleaders for him and for the phony Iraq "imminent danger" war . It should be made clear that the Iraq war declared by this administration had nothing to do with the attack on the WTC.

Because of the propaganda of the WH which the media repeated, 60% of the American people who only get their news from tv, believe Iraq was responsible for the attack on the WTC.

Please continue to do real and honest reporting. You seem to be the only one.

Thank you again for your heroic bravery.

Anna Pallas
Florida

[Lancey Howard]

The charged political atmosphere surrounding the story has made it more difficult to identify sources publicly, he (Heyward) said.

Well, yeah Heyward, you scumbag, because you got the documents from the Kerry campaign and he's your boy.
Guaranteed, if the shoes were on the other feet, you would be waiving your forged documents in the air and shouting, "Shame on the Bush campaign!"

[Cosmo]

If Kerry gets absolutely smoked in the debates, CBS will reveal the source soon after.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

BARF!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

This should make for some interesting Sunday shows.


Brit Humes' been all over this, like Bill Clinton on a White House intern.

[rolling_stone]

A couple of days in the gray bar hotel for old Rather and he will be singing like a canary...

[intolerancewillNOTbetolerated]

"There's a kind of harassment, an attempt to intimidate, that I think gives people pause."

That's BS for "It would doom the Democrats if it came out, so we're taking one for the team."

[rolling_stone]

interesting article by an attorney, short of it its bad for CBS if the ABC report is correct:

http://beldar.blogs.com/beldarblog/2004/09/dan_rather_was_.html

[shawngf]

I'd love to know what guys like Brit Hume would think of CBS selectively choosing to answer email and being arrogant and resistant even there..

[Wild_Bill_8881]

WTF????

"We strive for the highest level of journalistic integrity and will continue to do so, no matter what the cost. A free society demands free, unmuzzled media expression."

man, I'd sure like to get a case of whatever it is these guys are chugging

[Steely Tom]

Exactly. CBS considers its credibility with the grandees of the Democrat party to be more important than its credibility with the public. Which, of course, is silly, since as soon as they no longer have the publics trust, they cease to be of any use to the Democrats.

Well, maybe not. What do I know? I'm not a Pro-Fess-Ion-Al Jour-nal-ist after all.

You know, I've come up with a theory. It goes like this.

After Watergate, the journalism schools ramped up for all the countless little baby-boomers who wanted to follow in the footsteps of Bernstein and Woodward and Redford and Hoffman. A few years later, newsrooms across the country were inundated under the tidal wave of fresh talent, long on self-absorption and dreams of glamour (a bit short, however, on ethics or, for that matter, talent, but it was the Age of Aquarius so what the hey...).

The problem is this: things didn't work out in as rosy a manner as all these kids had been led to think they would, being from the Pepsi Generation and all. And, over time, their profession lost its luster. The idea of changing the world by ferreting out the truths that were surely being hidden by all those mean old republicans (who, in the minds of these folks, all look like that little man with the tophat on the Monoploly cards for "Chance" and "Community Chest") began to seem more like a youthful fantasy. All the good secrets were already out, and most of the secrets that were left all reflected badly on... Democrats, who were mainly members of the Pepsi Generation too. No fun there.

So the daily grind of old-fashioned journalism began to seem like more and more of a drag. What to do?

Well, one way to liven up your day is to indulge in a little promotion of your personal ideological agenda. It probably started as a little game at first... see what you could sneak by your editor, and, if you could pull it off, maybe you might get a date with that hot little left-wing Yalie chick who worked at The Nature Conservancy or whatever.

But then, the editor (that old so-and-so) retired, and now you were the editor, and, guess what? The job was still a job, just a set of motions to go through. So the advocacy became more and more necessary, just in order to stay interested enough to keep coming to work every morning.

Flash forward 15 or 20 years. Now there's nobody in the organization who even remembers what the term "journalistic integrity" even means, except as a set of talking points to haul out when someone questions your integrity. You spend more of your time talking to people at the Kerry Campaign and the DNC and the advocacy groups than you do chasing any stories. Which, by the way, you don't really have to do any more because now, hey, the stories write themselves! Well, they don't really write themselves, but your friends at the DNC write them for you, and fax them to you every morning. What a country! You've finally achieved journalistic nirvana: freedom from deadlines!

Of course, you've become a total shill for the left-wing politicians, and sometimes you don't recognize the face that looks back at you from the bathroom mirror every morning, but, hey, life's a bitch and then you die, isn't that what they say?

(steely)

[Salman]

Sure, they opt for "distrust", rather than reveal their source, which would provide absolute proof of ties to the DNC ...

One other possibility. There is no source outside CBS.

[Lancey Howard]

This should make for some interesting Sunday shows.

I think CBS will explode before Sunday.
This scandal is way, way too hot to go on much longer.
The rods in the news media's nuclear reactor are slowly being pulled out and the reactor is starting to shake.
There is the strong scent of blood in the air.

[Casloy]

I seriously think a lawsuit by Killians family would be in order. THey could sure for big bucks, then offer up as an alternative an independent look at the documents with all sides agreeing CBS will do a news piece on 60 minutes on the results of that investigation. If the documents are real CBS comes out a big winner, if they are fake they are obligated to explain everything. If CBS refuses at least the Killians come out with a load of cash.

[intolerancewillNOTbetolerated]

"This kind of balls to the wall is only admirable when you have righteousness on your side but when every one else has confirmed and reaffirmed the falsehood of the documents, it just looks moronic."

It looks noble among the conspirators, because they believe any means are justified because they are so "righteous".

Similar to their nonsense during the Clinton/Lewinski fiasco that the only one who did anything "wrong" was Linda Tripp who committed the unforgiveable sin of betraying her "friend" by exposing what Clinton was using the Oval Office for.

[Lancey Howard]

One other possibility. There is no source outside CBS.

That is a very good point.
But then CBS is, for all intents and purposes, an arm of the DNC.

[Anti-Bubba182]

Interesting, the only angle I can think up for CBS in this is that if it came down to Congressional, FCC hearings or other legal proceeding, they could try to save their reputations by claiming they are protecting the First Amendment.

It might work with some people, but I don't see it working generally when so much other MSM is negative to their report.

[intolerancewillNOTbetolerated]

"It's time the media in this country stopped acting as a propaganda arm of the cabal in the White House and started telling truth and facts to the American people. ""Please continue to do real and honest reporting. You seem to be the only one."

Those lines from this lemming must have made old Dan chuckle to himself.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Thanks for the LINK!