Posted on 10/03/2004 7:01:57 AM PDT by lyingisbetter
Brokaw, Jennings Show Support for Rather
Sat Oct 2, 4:31 PM ET
By DEEPTI HAJELA, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - While acknowledging mistakes in CBS anchor Dan Rather's "60 Minutes" report that questioned President Bush (news - web sites)'s service in the National Guard, competing news anchors Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings offered support Saturday for the beleaguered newsman.
AP Photo
Brokaw blasted what he called an attempt to "demonize" CBS and Rather on the Internet, where complaints about the report first surfaced. He said the criticism "goes well beyond any factual information."
"What I think is highly inappropriate is what going on across the Internet, a kind of political jihad ... that is quite outrageous," the NBC anchor said at a panel on which all three men spoke.
Rather declined to comment, saying news executives had asked him not to talk about the report while an investigation was under way.
The Guard story, aired on Sept. 8, was discredited because it relied on documents impugning Bush's service that apparently were fake.
"I don't think you ever judge a man by only one event in his career," said Jennings, anchor on ABC.
The panel, part of The New Yorker Festival, was one of the last times all three anchors were expected to appear together in their current roles. Brokaw is stepping down Dec. 1.
Neither Jennings nor Rather have said when they will leave.
The three broadcasters, who have all anchored their networks for at least two decades, also discussed the run-up to war in Iraq (news - web sites).
Rather said he did not ask enough questions before the war or conduct enough follow-up reporting.
"If the country is in dire peril, as the president of the United States says it is ... I want to be a patriotic journalist," he said.
"You know that the role of the patriotic journalist is to put your fear aside, stand up, look them in the eye, ask the rough questions. But you also know that when you do that, you're going to get hammered..." Rather said. "So what happens is you just say ... maybe tomorrow."
Are these people nuts? Don't let the facts create the story! Let's analyze why we don't like our news people using forged documents? Tom and Dan need to be in the psychiatric ward of some mid west prison. Maybe we need to pull up all of Dan and Tom's past stories. I'm sure we will discover some interesting finds!!
This story has been posted several times
Please use the actual headline when posting articles..Thanks.
I know, but I didn't want to give Dan a day off!
I can't believe Jennings and Brokow would get themselves into this fracus...
Yeah...and Usama shows support for Saddam.
Big whoo!
The three stooges of the nightly news.
Old Media Birds Of A Feather Flock Together. Yeah, we Pajamahadeen have them on the defensive. Poor anchor babies! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!
Nah, no Vast Left Wing Conspiracy here. Nothing to see. Just move along, please.
3 blind mice or should I say rats!!!
You and I may have our pedestrian opinions, but their opinions are a form of divination. The anointed must be given great deference. You may see them as nothing but news readers, but they see themselves as Delphic.
How dare we peons have the audacity to challenge the righteous media! They are not to be held accountable for any lies, slander, or deliberate partisan 'reports' they present to us. We are not supposed to question or when found to be factually inaccurate, we are to shut up about it. They will tell us what to think. I truly despise these people and hope people continue to fight this Demonrat whore propaganda machine. They need to continually be challenged and obviously are not too happy people are starting to realize what they really are and have been. Alternative media will bring out their biases.
McCullough: Brokaw and Jennings comfort Rather, compare Bloggers to Terrorists (92 replies)
Since Brokaw is intent on trashing those who exposed Rather's fraud, maybe there will be a retirement party or similar event for Brokaw that could be FReeped? Plus, he has a history of liberal bias, albeit not as blatant as Rather.
Of the 3, I liked brokaw the best. He has the good grace to retire too. So I think we give him a pass. Besides, we can have a real party when Rather gets fired.
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