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In 2007, Rather filed his $70 million lawsuit against his old company saying he wasn’t allowed to defend his story because the top management of CBS’ parent company, Viacom, wanted to appease the Bush Administration and protect its business interests. Until now, the controversy over the Rather/Mapes story has centered almost entirely on one issue: the legitimacy of the documents – a very important issue, indeed. But it turns out that there was another very important issue, one that goes to the very heart of what the story was about – and one that has gone virtually unnoticed. This is...

Early in Saturday’s CBS Evening News, anchor Jeff Glor reported: "Tonight there are new allegations of torture by the CIA. Newsweek magazine is reporting that a secret 2004 report reveals that interrogators used mock executions to intimidate prisoners." Glor went on to talk to Newsweek reporter Mark Hosenball, who claimed: "And in the case of one detainee that we know about, somebody named Abdel-Rahman al Nashiri, who was an alleged architect of the USS Cole bombing, this report alleges that at some point CIA interrogators, whether contractors or CIA staff officers, brandished a gun in front of this guy in...

Here is video from 60 Minutes last night where 90 year-old Andy Rooney paid tribute to Don Hewitt, creator of 60 Minutes, and known as the "Father of Modern TV News." Hewitt died last week at age 86. . . . . (Watch Video)

CBS' Don Hewitt -- Fidel Castro Enabler By Humberto Fontova Forty years after his media advance-work helping install a Stalinist regime in Cuba the legendary Don Hewitt of CBS still seemed proud of his work as a Castro media auxiliary. During that interim, over 20,000 Cubans were murdered by firing squad and beaten or starved to death in forced labor camps. Another 70-80 thousand were ripped apart by sharks or drowned in the Florida straits (attempting to flee a nation that previously took in more immigrants per-capita than the U.S.) If Mr Hewitt had uttered a single word of remorse...

Journalism: After the eulogies, the fact remains that "the most trusted man in America" betrayed that trust. He helped snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Vietnam and tried hard to do the same in Iraq.President Obama on Friday praised Walter Cronkite as a journalistic icon, calling the CBS anchor the "voice of certainty in an uncertain world." More to the point, he was the father of advocacy journalism, the patron saint of media bias. He went from reporting news to recreating it in his own image. Far from the image of the patriotic war correspondent, Cronkite was a...

NEW YORK (CBS News) "60 Minutes"spokesman Kevin Tedesco confirmed 86-year-old Don Hewitt has died. Earlier this year, Hewitt was diagnosed with a small, contained tumor. Hewitt was already a veteran CBS newsman in 1968 when he created "60 Minutes," pioneering the TV newsmagazine format. He served as executive producer of the program until his retirement in 2004. Hewitt has been honored with the second annual Lifetime Achievement Emmy presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In 1995, he was awarded the Founders Emmy by the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He's...

President Obama has been invited to eulogize Walter Cronkite, the legendary CBS News anchorman, at a memorial service in Manhattan next month, network sources said. Former President Bill Clinton has accepted an invitation to speak at the service, to be held at Lincoln Center at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 9. Also speaking at the service will be Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the "CBS Evening News"; Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports; and Leslie Moonves, CBS Corp.'s president and chief executive officer. Performances are scheduled by Jimmy Buffett and Mickey Hart, who was a Grateful Dead...

Here is the complete video of the Michael Vick interview with CBS News' 60 Minutes which aired tonight. The video contains the entire 60 Minutes program for August 16, 2009. But the Vick interview is up first in it's entirety following the opening introduction to the program. Vick talks about how he ever got into dog-fighting, how he feels about it now, and where he goes from here. . . . (Watch Complete Video)

DAN Rather has some nerve. Although he helped force Walter Cronkite out of the CBS anchor chair in 1981, and then kept the popular newsman off the air to avoid unfavorable comparisons, he had the chutzpah to attend Cronkite's funeral. And Rather, who's suing CBS for fraud and defamation, is unafraid to show his face in social circles.

So many Americans have so much to say about President Barack Obama's health care plan. You've seen it play out on television -- meeting's from across the country filled with yelling and finger-pointing at politicians. And Wednesday night one local congressman facing a crowd of protestors tried to keep CBS 2 HD cameras out. The forum was one viewers almost didn't see, after Congressman Anthony Weiner's staffers said the meeting was not open to our cameras. But everyone we spoke to felt comfortable with cameras. "I don't have any issues," said Chris Erickson, IBEW business manager, and the host of...

Here is video of Bill O'Reilly tonight talking about the absolute dominance of Fox News over its three cable competitors - CNN, MSNBC, CNN Headline News. The numbers from last week were amazing for Fox News, and for The O'Reilly Factor in particular. In the 8 pm edt time slot, O'Reilly beat CNN by 380%, MSNBC by 247%, and Headline News by 299%. The O'Reilly Factor now has a larger audience than the CBS Evening News, 5.4 million to 5.368 million viewers. . . . . . (Watch Video)

"60 Minutes" just announced that Michael Vick will sit down for his first interview since admitting to dogfighting and serving time in prison for the crime. The interview is not being done by one of the "60 Minutes" regulars, but rather by CBS Sports NFL TODAY anchor James Brown. The segment will also include interviews with Wayne Pacelle, head of the Humane Society of the U.S., and Tony Dungy, the former NFL coach who will be a special adviser to Vick. The former Atlanta Falcon's quarterback was released from federal custody last month and was given a conditional reinstatement to...

Did anyone else see the hit piece on CBS Evening News against conservative websites? According to the report, we are responsible for the turnout at Reps meetings which ask about Obamacare. They said we are instigating the people that show up at these meetings. Overall, it was a major negative story.

Something truly astonishing appeared in a Washington Post column on July 25, 2009 (click here to view). It was written by Frank Mankiewicz, former press secretary to Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) and the man who is perhaps most widely remembered for announcing RFK's death in June 1968. Mankiewicz was also the political director of Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern's losing 1972 campaign. The column contained a two-fold revelation about the just-deceased Walter Cronkite, the longtime CBS News anchorman. Here are the disclosures, in Mankiewicz' own words:

When it mattered, ‘the most trusted man in America’ actually wasn’t that trustworthyOn the face of it—and on the face of them—Michael Jackson and Walter Cronkite would not appear to have much in common. Cronkite was (all together now) “the most trusted man in America”; Jackson was the least trusted child-man in America, at least to any parents whose ambitions for their kid extend beyond a $30-million out-of-court settlement. But, for those members of the Jackstream Media hoping to eke out one more week of prostrations and ululations for their Gloved One, Cronkite’s death served as a kind of intervention....

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather called on President Barack Obama to form a White House commission to help save the press Tuesday night in an impassioned speech at the Aspen Institute. “I personally encourage the president to establish a White House commission on public media,” the legendary newsman said. Such a commission on media reform, Rather said, ought to make recommendations on saving journalism jobs and creating new business models to keep news organizations alive. At stake, he argued, is the very survival of American democracy.

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather called on President Barack Obama to form a White House commission to help save the press Tuesday night in an impassioned speech at the Aspen Institute. “I personally encourage the president to establish a White House commission on public media,” the legendary newsman said. Such a commission on media reform, Rather said, ought to make recommendations on saving journalism jobs and creating new business models to keep news organizations alive. “A truly free and independent press is the red beating heart of democracy and freedom,” Rather said in an interview yesterday afternoon. “This is...

The sad news of the death of former correspondent and newscaster Walter Cronkite gripped the entire nation last week and continues to do so. Many generations are grieving for the man who brought the truth of living history into our homes and into our lives. Each generation has its own vision of the man who became affectionately known as “Uncle” Walter. To the older generations, born during the Great Depression and prior, he first gained national attention by reporting firsthand on the struggle of World War II. His coverage of the war included North Africa and Europe, where he participated...

It's time for a post-Cronkite post-mortem, but not on the late "icon" himself — the "most trusted man in America," the "voice of G-d," "the gold standard," the "proxy for a nation," or, in plainer English, the lush-lived celebrity "anchor" who died this month at age 92. No, the Cronkite post-mortem that's needed is for the zombies who conjured up the hollow rapture and the living dead who fell for it. Harsh words? You bet. But I don't know how else to begin to assess a nation that sees fit to celebrate, crown, even worship a man who said his...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--A state judge on Tuesday reinstated a fraud claim by former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather in a $70 million lawsuit against CBS Corp. (CBS). At a hearing Tuesday, New York State Supreme Court Justice Ira Gammerman ruled that Rather could file an amended complaint in the case that alleges fraud by CBS. The judge had previously thrown out the fraud claim. "The reasonable, objective analysis is it was a bad day at Black Rock," said Rather, referring to CBS's headquarters in midtown Manhattan. Rather also has alleged breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty...