Thought you might like it.
Posted on 09/24/2004 5:23:19 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Thursday, September 23, 2004
By Craige McMillan
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
"How this went so horribly wrong is hard to understand."
– Jeff Fager, CBS producer
Oh, is it really, Mr. Fager? Of course, a lot depends on what the meaning of the word "wrong" is, doesn't it? By "wrong" do you mean how CBS' heretofore high journalistic standards were – unbeknownst to the staff and management, of course, and only this one time – circumvented by Mary Mapes and her merry band of feminists?
By "wrong" do you mean that – horror of horrors – CBS got caught doing the Democratic Party's dirty work, just a few weeks before the presidential election? Maybe you mean that it was "wrong" to break the law by broadcasting forged documents over the public airwaves? Do you mean that lying to up your ratings is wrong? Is it character assassination that is somehow "wrong"? Or maybe it's giving aid and comfort to the enemy during time of war that is "horribly wrong"?
On the other hand a lot of us don't find it hard to understand how things went "horribly wrong" at all, Mr. Fager. Many of us have known and written for years that the mainlining media is nothing more than a cesspool filled with Democratic-socialist-communist activists who have been abusing the taxpayer and the democratic process since the day they entered journalism school.
They are ignorant, foul-minded liars who couldn't care less about reporting the "truth" because in their tiny little postmodern minds truth does not exist. What brain matter they do have is consumed to overflowing by making life ever more comfortable for homosexuals, abortionists, illegal aliens, drug dealers, murderers, rapists and the rest of the left's constituency.
Yes, the mainlining media's reporters and producers see Islamists sawing off the heads of truck drivers and aid workers, and from this they conclude that Christianity and the state of Israel are the greatest threats to world peace. They televise the Islamic slaughter of an entire school full of children in Russia and announce that this mass murder was caused by the Russian police.
They can't be bothered to investigate John Kerry's military records (a journalistic variation of "don't ask, don't tell") but they have no difficulty in manufacturing fraudulent Bush military records to support their leftist fantasies. They demand a full accounting of every candidate's tax returns, except of course the billionaire wife of the Democratic candidate who hides her money in private foundations, files amended returns, and doesn't know what taxes are. They demand that the rest of us pay our "fair share" to support the collateral damage from their leftist bombing runs on American culture over the past 50 years.
What happened, Mr. Fager, is that you loaded up on leftist ideologues intent on shoving their alleged values down America's throat using the free public airwaves. Much like Jayson Blair at the New York Times, every story that Mary Mapes worked on while she was at CBS now needs to be reinvestigated, her sources contacted, their statements verified and the accuracy and balance of her pieces reassessed.
You can start with the Abu-Ghraib prison story, which has always struck me as just a little too picture perfect. My guess is that well before you're finished, CBS will be able to set up the first "Reporter's Reality TV Show" and serialize it to handle corrections and apologies. Perhaps the show could chronicle the lives Ms. Mapes has ruined in peddling her feminist agenda.
It's time to face facts – those are actual events, Mr. Fager – and stop referring to this as a media debacle. Ms. Mapes and Mr. Rather were simply caught with their fingers in the public airwave's cookie jar, attempting to influence an upcoming presidential election, through presenting manufactured documents they thought would hurt a Republican president and benefit his Democratic challenger.
Ms. Mapes, Mr. Rather, and very likely yourself are no different than the Worldcom or Enron executives caught looting their corporations of millions while defrauding shareholders and employees of their retirement. Like them, you and your ilk have tried to defraud America of her future. And like them, Mr. Fager, you're about to learn that the public's airwaves are no longer a free electioneering vehicle for your leftist joyrides, leaving the rest of us to pick up the bill.
What went "wrong" is that they got caught.
DING-DING-DING! We got a WINNAH!
Awesome. How does file FCC complaints about CBS News so that it can be removed from the public airways?
Yep. Me too. Mary Mapes had her paws in that one as well.
Wonder if a class-action lawsuit could be filed against Rather and Mapes...
If only I'd thought of that for a sign for the freep:
"CBS: Enron of the Media"
t'ain't so hard to understand.
CBS has a longstanding hatred for mini-me. So does Burkett. Lockart wants lurch to win the election, and Mapes wants the big scoop. nobody's watching too closely because they're all on the same page politically.
lurch is slipping in the polls, Burkitt gets mad and some forged documents magically appear in his possession. He contacts Mapes (or vice versa) and Lockart becomes involved. Burkitt sees this as his opportunity to become a hero to his party, Mapes sees this as a big scoop, and lockart salivates at the thought of embarassing mini-me.
danny-boy gets ahold of the documents and creams in his jeans - this is the big one! This is hot stuff. Burkitt, and lockart give the thumbs up and mapes can't resist. nobody looks too closely because the documents merely confirm what danny-boy, mapes, lockart and CBS already "knew".
With much glee and anticipation of a shocked nation hailing their labors as profound, and sweeping lurch into the white house (like visions dancing in their heads), our dumbstruck newscasters hear what they want to hear, see what they want to see, and do what they want to do. nobody ever even thinks that there is the remotest possibility that the documents are phony because they merely confirm the CBS mindset.
and now that this has blown up in their faces, people are considering (many for the first time) that CBS isn't as 'objective' as they claim, and that they've been fed a wagonload of cBS over the years. you can bet your vote that these people are upset.
CBS needs to do some serious housecleaning. Mapes needs to go because she was in full cahoots with the DNC and the lurch campaign. she was lustily involved up to her eyebrows in this political intrigue (few dispute this).
Danny boy needs to go for a variety of reasons. He failed to ensure that the story was properly verified - he let his personal political feelings influence his broadcast decisions. that is dangerous and right now danny-boy has no credibility. And if HE has no credibility, neither does CBS.
Finally, danny-boy's boss needs to go down too. He was asleep at the wheel and did not exercize a reasonable amount of supervision over his people. he allowed this mentality to fester and grow adn failed to rein in the political slant of his organization. People need to know that CBS is serious about regain it's credibility, and knowing that the manegement is same-old, same-old is going to look as a half measure, and danny-boy as a scapegoat.
CBS needs to realize that the damage done to its' reputation is severe and that dramatic measures are needed if they are to stop the hemmorhaging(sp) of credibility that this event, and it's excuse to dredge up previous mistakes, haev caused. Their very survival as a bona-fide news organization is at stake here.
Right now they are percieved by many as the PR arm of the DNC. And a particularly nasty one at that.
physician - heal thyself!
From Joe Lockhart's quote after telling us he talked to Mary Mapes:
"She basically said there's a guy who is being helpful on the story who wants to talk to you," Lockhart told the Associated Press, adding that Mapes also spoke of records "THAT MIGHT MOVE THE STORY FORWARD. She didn't tell me what they said."
Karen
Man, this is an excellent rant!
Thought you might like it.
Awesome! Great job!
If anything, Mapes owes Rather an apology. Rather is a talking head who thinks he is a journalist. Mapes was his producer for 15 years. When Rather asked her if the documents were good, she said yes and Rather ran with it.
She is his trusted aide. You never want to believe that your aide has done anything that would compromise your integrity. But Mapes did, knowing full well that the DNC would protect her and Rather should anyone find out. The ability to make this go away was always a strong suit of the DNC. Ask Vince Foster.
Mapes didn't expect what has happened. I think Rather is really pissed at her right now and would probably be the one firing her. Rather can easily say that he trusted his producers research and signed off on it, citing her 15 year track record. He will take responsibility for that, which may give him back a bit of credibility, although not much.
Mapes will get fired, probably next Saturday when the news cycle slows down. The investigation will peg everything on her with Rather getting a slap for not vetting his producers research. Rather will stay at CBS and quietly retire early next year. Mapes will take a job at the DNC.
And life will go on.
Whom are you labeling "mini-me"???
Sums it up quite nicely.
Who is mini-me?
mini-me. son of george I. vanquisher of igor (servant of the evil one).
get it?;-)
Not really, but thanks for the clarification.
I never said it was good. I remember that the only political pic that really made me laugh in 2000 was the pic from the Autsin Powers movie with the faces of Gerorg HW and George W superimposed upon the bodies of Dr. Evil and mini-me. ("I shall call him - mini me!")
not exactly complimentary, but my twisted brain found it funny.
I don't think CBS was breaking this story. I think CBS was CHOSEN for this story simply because it was believed that everyone would trust CBS after the prisnoer scandal. They were chosen by the DNC. Want suspicious proof?
On Sept 7, 2004 Mike Moore's website posted an article by him stating:
"Later today (Wed), the Boston Globe, the A.P. and Dan Rather all present new and daming information about how George W. Bush got moved to the front of the line to get in the Texas Air National Guard, and how he went AWOL."
Time stamp on this is 11:12 PM
How did he know what was going to be reported the next day?
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