Free Republic

As headlines read "Triumph of the bloggers" and Reuters posits that American journalism may never be the same, a media watchdog and conservative web group are leading protests today outside CBS' Washington headquarters. The event led by Accuracy in Media and Free Republic comes the day after anchor Dan Rather and CBS News President Andrew Heyward issued statements saying they no longer will defend the authenticity of documents used in a Sept. 8 "60 Minutes II" report that raised questions about President Bush's National Guard service. Free Republic began as a staunchly conservative web community but has been drawing a...

Posted Sunday, September 27, 2004 Having caught the scent of a juicy story from the MSM (mainstream media) to bite into, the bloggers were waiting to pounce like a pack of hounds behind the butcher shop. On Sept. 7, the day before the CBS broadcast, left-leaning blog talkingpointsmemo.com announced that 60 Minutes was to air "documents that shed light on Bush's guard service or lack thereof." The following afternoon, bloggers at freerepublic.com, a conservative website, began anticipating the coverage with comments such as, "CBS should have to register as a Democrat [campaign organization]." Minutes into the broadcast, another Free Republic...

After days of expressing confidence about the documents used in a "60 Minutes'' report that raised new questions about President Bush's National Guard service, CBS News officials have grave doubts about the authenticity of the material, network officials said last night. Those officials, who asked not to be identified, said CBS News would most likely make an announcement as early as today that it had been deceived about the documents' origins, and that it was mounting an intensive news investigation of where they came from. But these people cautioned that CBS News could still pull back from an announcement. Officials...

According to the CBS News web site, tonight's CBS Evening News will address the latest developments in Rathergate. Let's pile on.

Back in March, American journalists and news organisations celebrated a special anniversary. Exactly 50 years before, CBS broadcaster and TV news pioneer Edward R. Murrow took to the airwaves with a blistering indictment of Red-baiting drunk and Cold War smear artist Senator Joe McCarthy. As the feared prime mover behind the anti-communist witch-hunt and Hollywood's blacklists, the credibility of the man who made paranoia the guiding principle of American politics was out of bounds until Murrow began his broadcast, which coolly and methodically exposed McCarthy's lies, distortions and moral corruption. That was the end of "Tailgunner Joe", who would never...

WASHINGTON — It was the first public allegation that CBS News used forged memos in its report questioning President Bush's National Guard service — a highly technical explanation posted within hours of airtime citing proportional spacing and font styles. But it did not come from an expert in typography or typewriter history as some first thought. Instead, it was the work of Harry W. MacDougald, an Atlanta lawyer with strong ties to conservative Republican causes who helped draft the petition urging the Arkansas Supreme Court to disbar President Clinton after the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the Times has found.

<p>WASHINGTON — It was the first public allegation that CBS News used forged memos in its report questioning President Bush's National Guard service — a highly technical explanation posted within hours of airtime citing proportional spacing and font styles.</p> <p>But it did not come from an expert in typography or typewriter history as some first thought. Instead, it was the work of Harry MacDougald, an Atlanta lawyer with strong ties to conservative Republican causes and who helped draft the petition urging the Arkansas Supreme Court to disbar President Clinton after the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the Los Angeles Times has found.</p>

I Am Buckhead": Newspaper Exposes Blog Folk Hero By E & P Staff Published: September 18, 2004 NEW YORK It was the scoop of the day in the presidential campaign (which tells you something): The Los Angeles Times found Buckhead. The paper reports that it has solved the mystery of who exactly posted the very first (and in some minds, very suspicious) blog blast at the credibility of the "60 Minutes" Killian memos. But as the Times put it, "it did not come from an expert in typography or typewriter history as some first thought." Buckhead, as he was known...