CBS Vice President Resigns Over Bush Story

AP ^ | 2/28/5

[SmithL]

ew York (AP) --

The top CBS News executive asked to resign for her role in the network's discredited report on President Bush's military service has quit, CBS said on Monday.

Betsy West, formerly senior vice president of prime time for CBS News, resigned nearly two months after being asked to.

"I am proud of my 25-year career in television and of my track record at CBS News, and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my professional life," West said.

Neither West's spokesman, Tom Goodman, nor CBS News would discuss whether the two parties had reached a settlement or why it took so long for her to quit.

CBS fired the report's producer, Mary Mapes. Besides West, the network had asked for the resignations of "60 Minutes Wednesday" executive producer Josh Howard and his top deputy, Mary Murphy. Murphy resigned Friday; Howard remains a CBS News employee.

Two days after last September's report on Bush had aired, CBS News President Andrew Heyward ordered West to review the opinions of document experts and confidential sources who had supported the story. But no investigation was done, said the independent panel chaired by former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and retired Associated Press President Louis D. Boccardi.

[SmithL]

and another one hits the fan.

[silent_jonny]

Wooo-hooo!

[FormerACLUmember]

One down, about 10,000 to go.

[Uncledave]

Sounds like she got her duffel bag filled

[PetroniusMaximus]

ordinary guy = David

CBS = Goliath

Free Republic = the stone

[lafroste]

She has "a spokesman"? As a VP of CBS News? Yep, these people definately understand the USA.

< /sarcasm>

[cyncooper]

Fingers pried off of one desk finally.

[lafroste]

Sounds like she got her duffel bag filled

I agree, they paid her a bunch of money to please, please just go away.

[Fast1]

That was quick !! The words slow as molasses comes to mind..

[Grampa Dave]

[silent_jonny]

CBS News President Andrew Heyward ordered West to review the opinions of document experts and confidential sources who had supported the story. But no investigation was done, said the independent panel

She knew they were fake and didn't care.

[diggerwillow]

It's kind of scary how deep rooted this conspiracy seems to be.

[PetroniusMaximus]

[COUNTrecount]

....and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my professional life," West said.

[silent_jonny]

Heh-heh!

[bray]

Now, who wrote it and is the DNC involved with this forgery??

Pray for W and Our Troops

[SE Mom]

Neither West's spokesman, Tom Goodman, nor CBS News would discuss whether the two parties had reached a settlement or why it took so long for her to quit

---

Nothing amazes me more (in this article) than this statement.

Is this woman incapable of speaking for herself? This is one of the ways I see stars- and people who THINK they're stars- adding layers to their egos. A VP of a company doesn't NEED a "spokesman". She can release a statement to the press- period. It may seem a small thing- but it's SO emblematic of this mind-set...

[blanknoone]

I wonder how big the payout was. Her reputation is worth a lot less than CBS's. And one of them was going to be destroyed. If the recalcitrant three were smart, they got substantially more than their destroyed reputation was worth, and some significant chunk of what CBS's reputation was worth.

[Lancey Howard]

That's two down (in two days) and one to go.
It must have cost CBS a fortune to hush these people up and make them go away (no doubt with a written promise not to sue). Now Josh Howard has them by the short and curlies. It's jackpot time for that guy. All three will end up richer than Rather. How funny is that?

[Zivasmate]

Just like the Clinton scandals. Drip. Drip. Drip.

The TV network news business is finito.