Posted on 09/15/2004 6:16:28 AM PDT by OESY
...CBS has dismissed calls for an internal investigation into its reporting of the story, arguing that it was thoroughly reviewed before broadcast. "I'm confident in the process of vetting that got the story on air. When we say we continue to report the story you can be sure we're being conscientious in responding to these allegations," says CBS News President Andrew Heyward. CBS may offer further evidence in support of its story as early as today.
The stakes are high for "60 Minutes," the undisputed gold standard in television news.... Its longtime producer, Don Hewitt, 81, has retired unenthusiastically, and its correspondents are aging. Mike Wallace is 86; Morley Safer is 72. Mr. Rather, who himself is 72, is lead correspondent for the "60 Minutes" Wednesday edition.
All broadcast-news executives are under siege.... Just last month cable upstart Fox News Channel beat the three broadcasters head-to-head in coverage of the Republican convention, in the few hours that the networks bothered to cover it at all. Ratings for the evening news programs continue to slide while the morning shows and newsmagazines often seem more focused on entertainment stories, true crime and corporate synergy. As Mr. Rather and CBS have been taking heat this week, NBC's "Today" has been offering three days of interviews with author Kitty Kelley about her gossipy Bush-bashing tome, "The Family."
"Network news is diminished," says Tom Rosenstiel, the director of the think tank Project for Excellence in Journalism....
..."I think CBS definitely made an error in saying there is no investigation needed because if they had done the opposite and said 'of course we're investigating,' it would have bought them time and would have at least acknowledged that certain transparencies in news organizations are becoming required," says Jay Rosen, chairman of New York University's Journalism Department.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
THe article said the CBS Wednesday program has been on for five and a half years. I only remember 60 Minutes II in the last year or so. Did it used to have a different name?
The Romans flocked to the Colliseum when famous persons were scheduled for fights to the death, too.
HF
Some people wanted to wayth tennis as the hurricane news down here scared them.
Oh well.
Paging James Taranto. "What Would We Do Without the WSJ?"
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