Posted on 09/19/2004 7:19:10 AM PDT by CGblue
Saturday, September 18, 2004 · Last updated 5:42 p.m. PT
Radio station fires talk-show host over CBS document flap
By PEGGY ANDERSEN ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SEATTLE -- A radio talk-show host said Saturday he has been fired for criticizing CBS newsman Dan Rather's handling of challenges to the credibility of memos about President Bush's National Guard service.
"On the talk show that I host, or hosted, I said I felt Rather should either retire or be forced out over this," said Brian Maloney, whose weekly "The Brian Maloney Show" aired for three years on KIRO-AM Radio, a CBS affiliate here.
Maloney says he made that statement on his Sept. 12 program. He was fired five days later on Friday, he said.
"What they have expressed is essentially that my show went in a direction they're not comfortable with," Maloney said.
KIRO Radio's general manager, Ken Berry, declined to return a call from The Associated Press about Maloney's status. A staff member at the station said Berry would not comment because it is a personnel matter.
From Maloney's perspective, the issue is memos cited by Rather in a Sept. 8 "60 Minutes II" segment, purportedly written by Bush's late squadron commander. The memos indicated the commander was pressured to "sugar coat" Bush's performance and that Bush ignored an order to take a physical.
Several document experts have said the memos look suspiciously like they were written on a computer, not a 1970s-era typewriter. Rather said Sept. 10 that there was no definitive evidence of forgery.
On Wednesday, the network said it would work harder to address concerns about the memos.
Maloney said he felt free to comment on the controversy and on Rather.
"I really felt he was taking the network's credibility down with him," Maloney said in a telephone interview.
"Talk-show hosts have generally had a lot of independence in these kinds of issues," he said. "Nobody's ever said, 'You can't criticize CBS News.'"
KIRO Radio is affiliated with CBS but owned by Entercom, a national radio broadcasting company based in Bala Cynwyd, Penn.
Also, the fact of the station's being in Seattle must have had something to do with it.
And deciding that your objectivity is not subject to challenge is no different - which is why "objective journalism" is so tendentious.
I'm sure there will be other jobs.
I say fire Rather and CBS.
That would be huge and the first step of getting rid of these idiots!
ClintonS, Dascle, Gore, Rangel, Waxman, Kennedy, Rather,
Sharpton, Carvel, and all the other idots, etc.....
Everbody knows the list. These guys will stick around for another 4 years if he stays!
Boycott CBS advertisers!!!!!!!
MEDIA ETHICS PROJECT SEEKS FCC RULING AGAINST CBS NEWS FOR RATHERGATE
Media Ethics Project (“MEP”) of New York today petitioned the FCC to sanction CBS News and its parent organization, Viacom, Inc., for its recent broadcast of news reports based on forged documents.
In announcing the FCC filing, MEP Chairman William L. Whitely stated: “Most people familiar with Dan Rather’s reports have seen solid evidence from various credible sources showing the documents to be forged. Yet, day in and day out, CBS has stubbornly continued to maintain that the memos are authentic. This supremely arrogant conduct violates the public trust and FCC rules and policies. Viacom cannot be allowed to flaunt the Commission’s rules in this manner. ”
MEP seeks a ruling by the FCC finding that the deliberate actions of CBS and Viacom maintaining the authenticity of the documents, constitute broadcasting of falsified, faked, distorted or staged news reports in violation of Commission policies. MEP is asking the FCC to sanction Viacom including imposing fines and ordering forfeiture of one or more broadcast licenses .
Mr. Whitely added that, “This whole episode must be regarded as a remarkable failure of management. It is truly sad that the proud traditions of professionalism of CBS News, the division built by the likes of Morrow, Severeid, Reasoner, Mudd and Cronkite, have been allowed to slowly fade away. In their place is an organization where unprincipled ego, bias, negligence, partisanship and vindictiveness apparently determine the setting of management policy. Such changes are not in the best interest of CBS, the CBS affiliates and CBS shareholders, nor, most certainly, are they in the public interest as well. Staying to this course, the House that Paley Built will likely become the Network that Rather Wrecked.”
MEP has asked that the FCC expedite its consideration of the group’s Petition for Declaratory Ruling against CBS News.
See a full copy of the MEP Petition for Declaratory Ruling at http://mediaethicsproject.blogspot.com/ or www.mediaethics.8k.com
With MEP's filing, the FCC now has a formal Petition to review requesting that CBS be found guilty for violating Commission policy prohibiting the broadcasting of falsified, faked, distorted or staged news reports as contrary to the public interest.
All interested parties will now be able to contact the FCC to request that it take immediate action on the MEDIA ETHICS PROJECT Petition For Declaratory Ruling Against CBS News.
FCC Contact Information:
Chairman Michael K. Powell: Michael.Powell@fcc.gov ---
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy: Kathleen.Abernathy@fcc.gov --- Commissioner Michael J. Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov ---
Commissioner Kevin J. Martin: KJMWEB@fcc.gov ---
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov
I believe Michael Medved will keep this one alive since his station is out of Seattle. Hope Michael is watching the Freepers here.
I understand the station is owned by Philadelphia-based Entercom. Entercom's Boston station WRKO syndicates the Howie Carr show--Howie has been all over the Rather case and basically feels the same way, that it's time for Rather to go. No action again him so far. Meanwhile,
Entercom seems to be making a left turn: they threw the conservative hosts off weak-signalled WROC in Rochester, NY
and replaced the lot with Air Frankenfraud.
>>Entercom, a national radio broadcasting company based in Bala Cynwyd, Penn
(they don't own any stations in Philly area, but their HQ are just over the line in Bala Cynwyd)
http://www.entercom.com/pages/markets.html lists their stations by market (more than a few news/talkers)
http://www.entercom.com/pages/contact.html
contact info
Dan will be doing everything himself soon.
Production, cameras, makeup, content...well he already seems to be doing that himself, but you get the point.
Perhaps they should change the name of the "CBS Evening Ruse" to "The Dan Rather Says... Hour!"
on the webpage for Seattle KTTH, you will read:
"Truth - Some people can't handle it, sometimes it's ugly, & some people are afraid to say it. We say you deserve the truth: Talk 770 KTTH.
"Talk 770 - KTTH is a talk radio station that has assembled America's best talk show hosts: Mike Siegel, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Medved, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham & David Boze - fearless commentators willing to take tough stands on important issues. Some stations succumb to political
correctness. Some fear controversy. We don't. We've created a place to balance the dominant Seattle media"
Guess what. KTTH is also owned by Entercom. Care to guess how the talk hosts mentioned in that paragraph feel about the Rather mess? Probably the same. Yet Entercom isn't
"firing" them. What hypocrites.
Station Manager, Ken Berry (206-726-5457)
on the webpage for Seattle KTTH, you will read:
"Truth - Some people can't handle it, sometimes it's ugly, & some people are afraid to say it. We say you deserve the truth: Talk 770 KTTH.
"Talk 770 - KTTH is a talk radio station that has assembled America's best talk show hosts: Mike Siegel, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Medved, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham & David Boze - fearless commentators willing to take tough stands on important issues. Some stations succumb to political
correctness. Some fear controversy. We don't. We've created a place to balance the dominant Seattle media"
Guess what. KTTH is also owned by Entercom. Care to guess how the talk hosts mentioned in that paragraph feel about the Rather mess? Probably the same. Yet Entercom isn't
"firing" them. What hypocrites.
Station Manager, Ken Berry (206-726-5457)
kberry@entercom.com
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