CBS again runs afoul of its Net critics [Disables copying and pasting from online Memogate report]

New York Times ^ | January 18, 2005 | Tom Zeller

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Looks as if CBS could do with a few high school techies.

[Lazamataz]

The fear, it seems, was that an enterprising ne'er-do-well could copy the text into a new document and begin circulating a faked version of the report.

Nah.

We're not Mary Mapes or Dan Rather.

[jocko12]

527 see-BS just do'nt get it!

[GaltMeister]

"could copy the text into a new document and begin circulating a faked version of the report."

Hey, then we could say it is 'fake - but real', and call on Dirty Dan to answer the 'serious charges' these documents allege.

[TomGuy]

Certainly not before making a 4th or 5th generation xerox copy and then faxing it through that Twilight Zone fax machine in TX that sends the document into a 1970's time warp.

[CedarDave]

The type face in the report looks surprisenly like that used in the fake memos. Could CBS itself be the actual source for the memos? (Nah, they wouldn't do that would they?)

/off spoofing

[Grampa Dave]

[CedarDave]

If Jay read it as written, it would work without modification.

[Grampa Dave]

[nicmarlo]

that's what I was thinking, lol

[mewzilla]

"They're just putting up speed bumps," Mr. Miller said. "It makes CBS look bad."

Gee, so did CBS not coming clean about Dick Thornburg's legal ties to CBS. Go figure.

[nicmarlo]

bttt

[Smogger]

You cannot cut and paste from a "protected" Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

My Advanced PDF Password Recovery Version 1.46 cracked it in like one second though.

Zzzzz...

Mail me if someone needs an unprotected copy.

[Raycpa]

I have software that can convert the typed page to a word document.

[Graewoulf]

I like the "Transparency" (a PC term) of the investigative report. Yep, the investigators concluded that there was no bias, but presented plenty of evidence that there was bias. Sooooo, I guess that that all adds up to the following:

1. The Managing News Editor's name is: Dan "Rather" Biased.

2. CBS is the abbreviation for: Clearly Biased Stories.

[expatpat]

Surely there is little danger of this now that Rather has given up continuing his shenanigans like the TANG fiasco!

[rockrr]

And I woulda gotten away with it too, except for those pesky kids!

[GLDNGUN]

According to Linda Mason, a CBS News executive who served as a liaison between the network and the independent panel, an attorney from the law firm called her on Wednesday and asked that the digital restrictions be made - including the prevention of copying and pasting. The fear, it seems, was that an enterprising ne'er-do-well could copy the text into a new document and begin circulating a faked version of the report.

"The bloggers and anybody else can do what they want with it," Ms. Mason said. "It's out there for the public to see. We're not trying to hide anything."

I don't even know where to begin in trying to wade through the stupidity there. So they're afraid of someone "faking" a report? Oh, you mean like CBS did? Geez, what irony.

But if that's what they are worried about then why turn around and say "anybody else can do what they want with it"? Does that include a faked report? LOL

And as someone pointed out, all you have to do is use SELECT ALL, COPY and then PASTE into a Word doc. Then you can do all the "faking" you want with the text.

That reply of hers is almost as lame as Dan Rather's first responses to this whole fiasco. The (C)BS pile just gets higher and higher and higher and...

[Ben Hecks]

It's also reasonably easy using a Mac with OS X:

Edit
Select All
Save as Text

[Howlin]

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3ae6d7795ca4.htm#106