"You're traveling through another dimension,
a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind;
a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are
that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead-
- your next stop . . .
The Twilight Zone!"
Posted on 09/20/2004 5:33:17 PM PDT by Vision Thing
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Internet bloggers have drawn blood and American journalism may never be the same.
To hear some press experts tell it, CBS's admission on Monday that it was duped into using questionable documents about President Bush's National Guard service during the Vietnam War was a watershed moment brought on by a small army of Internet-based commentators known as bloggers.
Their insistence, from the moment that CBS aired its report almost two weeks ago, that the documents were fake turned the question into a national issue ending with Rather, CBS and the American media establishment in a state of deep embarrassment.
Orville Schell, dean of the school of journalism at the University of California in Berkeley, said CBS's admission of error after days of stonewalling was "a landmark moment for the balance between the blogosphere and mainstream media."
Bloggers were the first to challenge the authenticity of the documents and the first to publish detailed examinations of the evidence by dozens of self-declared experts, some of them with Republican party ties.
"The credibility of the media has taken another hit, especially when you consider the story is not Dan Rather but President Bush's service in the National Guard," Schell said.
That latter story -- that said George W. Bush ducked military service in Vietnam by entering the Guard and then getting special treatment thanks to his powerful father -- has been lost in the welter of complaints about the CBS story.
It was not the first time that bloggers have stuck.
Often working anonymously, bloggers have fanned the flames of controversies ranging from whether Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry deserved his Vietnam medals to whether Republican Trent Lott should remain a Senate leader after praising a segregationist.
Schell and former New Republic editor Andrew Sullivan, among others, say there is a media revolution under way.
Writing in this week's Time magazine, Sullivan said, "The Web has done one revolutionary thing to journalism. It has made the price of entry into the media market minimal. In days gone by, you needed a small fortune to start up a simple magazine or newspaper. Now you need a laptop and a modem."
Steven Miller, who teaches broadcast journalism at New Jersey's Rutgers University, said CBS fell victim to the economics and cut throat competition in television news. "Unfortunately, the truth seems to be taking a back seat to ratings, and this time, CBS got caught up in it," Miller told Reuters.
But Tom Goldstein, former dean of Columbia University's School of Journalism, dismissed the notion that CBS's dilemma was a sign that American journalism has become more sloppy in recent years.
Instead, Goldstein said Rather's report was another example of bad things happening to good news organizations. "They had the best in the business on it, and they got duped and there but for the grace of God go you and I."
Independent network news analyst Andrew Tyndall, publisher of the daily Tyndall Report, said the apparent forgery of the memos alone does not necessarily discredit the substance of Rather's overall story on Bush's service record.
But Goldstein, Miller and Tyndall all questioned CBS News' judgment in going with Rather's report in the first place, even if the documents had turned out to be authentic.
"It's another WMD, another weapon of mass distraction. That's what this whole campaign has turned out to be," Miller said, adding that "somebody out there is trying to keep this running." (additional reporting by Steve Gorman)
It would be nice to think that this is the end of CBS News, or certainly of Dan Rather, but history hasn't shown this to be a certainty. Probably the best we can hope for is that CBS News becomes an economic liability to the network, and they just give it up. That outcome is certainly conceivable within the next 5-10 years.
LOL good analogy. But you forgot the part where FR and other "bloggers" screamed at him that it was rotten, even showing him the worm. Still he bit. Then, when his agita set in, belittled us for not being real medical doctors. Live and learn Dan.
Your comparison of the old media to Hegelian Marxists can be further expanded by bringing in another economist/political philospoher.
Friedrich Hayek disparaged socialists for their belief in the superiority of central planning. He believed that the free economy and prices act as a massive information system that best served the needs of a diverse set of market participants. Hayek would smile at how well his economic theories play well in the rise of the blogs and internet discussion boards.
This whole article does nothing but special plead for Dan Rather and attempt to excuse his acts. It also calls again to go after the "story" behind the fake memos.
Reuters.
Get a clue.
Yup. I'm not placing any bets that CBS News is dead. Nonetheless, they're angry and scared. And they know they can no longer count on the stupidity and laziness of their audience. Hopefully this can result in changes for the better.
I am so honored to be a Freeper and to be among all of you!
That latter story -- that said George W. Bush ducked military service in Vietnam by entering the Guard and then getting special treatment thanks to his powerful father -- has been lost in the welter of complaints about the CBS story. "
Boy, they just don't give up do they. Reuters: you're next. You have been serving up the lies about this just as badly as C___BS has. You, too, are part of the Old Media FRAUDcasters, as anyone who has any tendency wo dissect your headlines will attest.
But Tom Goldstein, former dean of Columbia University's School of Journalism, dismissed the notion that CBS's dilemma was a sign that American journalism has become more sloppy
You, Professor, need to take an UNbiased look at the situation sometime. I don't believe it is really possible, but perhaps if you do some time working with FR and MRC, you may be able to discover the Truth that you are wrong, and that C___BS and the FRAUDcasters of the Old Media have been mercilessly tilting newscasts for 25 years or so now, and always in an antiAmerican manner.
Orville Schell, dean of the school of journalism at the University of California in Berkeley, said CBS's admission of error after days of stonewalling was "a landmark moment for the balance between the blogosphere and mainstream media."
Bloggers were the first to challenge the authenticity of the documents and the first to publish detailed examinations of the evidence by dozens of self-declared experts, some of them with Republican party ties.
"The credibility of the media has taken another hit,...
Finally someone got it right. Too bad he didn't stop the sentence there.
/
Something in this piece made me think of you. :^)
Give me a break. Who got duped? As Neal Boortz pointed out in his article today, it was CBS viewers, not CBS. Boortz compared it to an entity passing on counterfeit currency that was drawn with a green crayon.
So Goldstein would stick the blame to a juvenile for a crayon counterfeit currency, and not the "responsible adult" for passing it along, eh?
These so-called Journalism experts reduce the art of detecting real docs from forgeries. In this instantaneous fake ID/fake driver's license era, who wouldn't carefully examine a document from all angles prior to legitimizing it. The fact that CBS was even apparently not even giving some of its own "experts" in-depth time or opportunity to examine it shows a rush to judgment.
Ideology and inherent deep media bias trumps even common sense.
Where's the BARF alert?
Exactly. Excellent point.
"You're traveling through another dimension,
a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind;
a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are
that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead-
- your next stop . . .
The Twilight Zone!"
Duped? Hardly.
Mary the prostitute to the policeman, "Honest Officer, I don't know how his money got into my hands, I was duped I tell ya."
Dan the presstitute to the public, "Honest folks, I don't know how these false documents (which I still believe are true by the way) got into my hands, I was duped I tell ya."
Heck people, Dr Phil warns his audience and his "patients" that his show is entertainment; this may be a good time to enlighten the viewers of Tom and Peter as well, and certainly the watchers of 60 Minutes!
Oh brother....
Total B.S. A reporter who hates the Bush family thought he was going to take down a president. He ignored those who warned him. He was guided by his hate.
Sure they're both still around but they're also merely shadows of what they once were.
Neither NYT nor CNN can through their weight around like they used to. CBS will join them in the shadow world where only the kool-aid drinkers will give them the time of day.
And there are fewer and fewer kool-aid drinkers every day.
Their insistence, from the moment that CBS aired its report almost two weeks ago, that the documents were fake turned the question into a national issue ending with...
It's over. It appears that Reuters has declared the end.
Ever so subtle.
Yeah, right, the "best in the business" got duped by a flagrantly crude and amateurish forgery? Gimme a break. CBS had to have known it was bogus. HAD TO! There is no other explanation.
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