CBS News:A Source of Contention (Rather Phones Burkett Per Story)

Newsweek ^ | Sept. 27 issue | Mark Hosenball, Michael Isikoff and Anne Belli Gesalman

[Anti-Bubba182]

Sept. 27 issue - CBS insiders are increasingly worried that the credibility of the network's news division has been grievously damaged by anchor Dan Rather's persistent defense of a story which relied on questionable documents about George W. Bush's National Guard service. "This has clearly hurt us," one veteran correspondent told NEWSWEEK. Network sources describe finger-pointing within the news division, with concerns greatest among "60 Minutes" producers, who fear the issue has tainted their entire program. While CBS News president Andrew Heyward has publicly backed Rather, the network has quietly assembled a team of additional producers to work the case. Rather is privately telling colleagues he remains "confident" that the story, and the memos, will be vindicated......."

[Jim Robinson]

Prayers for Rather. RIP. In the meantime, hopefully he will continue forging ahead. He has the power to singlehandedly destroy Kerry's campaign. Damn the torpodoes, full blather ahead! Woo hoo!!

[Greenpees]

60 Minutes

Which is pretty much the maximum amount of time they employ on verifying the veracity of thier top stories.

How appropriately named it is.

[js1138]

I suspect Burkett is the primary author, but not necessarily the faxer. But golly, the more you see of this the stupider it looks. There are some criminals that just cry out to be caught.

Many years ago I worked in an office in which the typist's daughter was murdered. It turned out her boyfriend was behind in payments for his drugs. The perps went to the house and asked for the daughter, in full sight of the mother. The daughter was never seen again alive.

Now if that sounds stupid, when the perps were caught they had a record. It seems one of them had held up a convenience store and taken a bunch of money orders. He tried to cash one of them, signing his real name.

[teletech]

The only way I see that happening is if the ratings go down enough.

From what I have read lately, SeeBS has taken a BIG hit in their ratings.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

CBS insiders are increasingly worried that the credibility of the network's news division has been grievously damaged by anchor Dan Rather's persistent defense of a story which relied on questionable documents about George W. Bush's National Guard service. "This has clearly hurt us," one veteran correspondent told NEWSWEEK.

Duh...

Oh, Boo...Hoo...

"CBS insiders"? Sounds...scary.

[Brimack34]

They all miss the point this has ruined all credibility for the Bush Bashers.

[4woodenboats]

There was that one by the Prowler, otherwise I don't know.

[Lancey Howard]

Not a thing, that is their problem and the probability that their source is a discredited partisan with an Axe to grind and history of mental problems does not help either.

Yeah, but I heard that a Democrat operative named Ben Barnes changed his story to back up those forged memos, and an 86-year-old woman says that the story sounds true. That's good enough for Dan - - case closed.

The story is obviously true, regardless of the fact that thousands of experts (including most of CBS' experts) say the documents are forged, and regardless that everybody who knew Col. Killian says he never wrote those memos, and regardless that everybody else remotely familiar with Bush's Guard service denies that there is any truth to the forged memos.

Dan got himself a scoop, oh boy.

[Howlin]

in one posting a few days before the CBS story, he wrote "There is no doubt that Kerry can't win this election with-out us."

This just gets better and better.

[Political Junkie Too]

...although he did tell a journalist that since he began speaking out, unnamed assailants had killed his dog and threatened to rape his wife.

Would conservatives really do this? The only dead animal that I'm aware of was Kathleen Willy's cat after she talked about being groped by Bill Clinton in the Oval Office.

-PJ

[stylin19a]

The old man is goofy

Right ! Which means he's ready to take over Andy Rooney's job.

[Anti-Bubba182]

KERRY GOT FAKE MEMOS BEFORE CBS

This does not nail it down for sure but it suggests there may be a connection.

[185JHP]

I groked the amount of poison that infuses the Rather when he popped off about the Soviets in Afghanistan, with a nasty smirk on his visage, saying that the Soviets were "trying to win the hearts and minds of the people." He is one of the nastiest people I know of, who isn't incarcerated. That may change...

[macbee]

Per Mary Mapes, CBS worked on this sorry story for five stinkin' years.

Ah, that good ol' Marxist labor theory of value. "We've been working on this for years, it MUST be a good story." Sorry, chums. You have labored mightily and brought forth a mouse (or perhaps a RAT.)

[4woodenboats]

"...although he did tell a journalist that since he began speaking out, unnamed assailants had killed his dog and threatened to rape his wife."

Sounds like he's trying to make himself sound important enough to be worth the trouble. I wouldn't be surprised to find that he has had neither dog nor wife, or if he ever did, they ran off a long long time ago. Whacko conspiracy theorists Always try to elevate themselves in front of their audience, usually by more imaginary conspiracy theories.

Just a thought.

[NonValueAdded]

... although he did tell a journalist that since he began speaking out, unnamed assailants had killed his dog and threatened to rape his wife ...

Hoo boy, that guy is about to tip over completely. That little quote must have the suits at C^BS going bonkers. Let's see ... Brad Pitt played a pretty good loon in 12 Monkeys, think he'd be up for Burkett's role in ABC's made for TV movie about Ra^thergate? Is the actor that played Howard Beale still alive?

[exDemMom]

Now, losing even worse, they are about to attack Bush as a liar

So, how is that different than what they've been doing for the last 2 years or so? Hasn't the alphabet media been going out of its way to call Bush a liar, or repeat the DNC's calling Bush a liar, for an incredibly long time now, without ever having a shred of evidence to back up the claim?

[Agrarian]

Goodness, I haven't been paying attention enough. Have they been going positive this whole time?

[madison46]

They have, but except for Dean, I don't think the primary candidates did out right. kerry started at National Guard conference (where he bombed) and got a 'boo' or 2. So now I call the NEW kerry strategy the Deaniac strategy.

[Biblebelter]

Congratulations to Newsweek. The focus on this story should be the source. The fact that Crazy Dan referred to this source as unimpeachable does not give Dan an out. This was a partisan attempt to take down a sitting President of the United States by creating a forged document which would lead you to believe that he defied a direct order of his commanding officer which is a court martial offense. But it is crime to forge government documents and Rather was complict in perpetrating this fraud on the voting public. When he made his deal with Burkett, Crazy Dan left himself little room for defense in a court of law. Of course, maybe his brothers and sisters in the MSM would help him plead the insanity defense.