Rathergate Roundup
Ratings for the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather (search) have dropped
24 percent in New York, 35 percent in Philadelphia, and 42 percent in
Atlanta since Rather first reported on those disputed National Guard
documents on “60 Minutes II? last Tuesday.
Familiar Roles for Rather and His Critics
Sixteen years ago Dan Rather, the CBS news anchor, squared off on live
television against Vice President George H.W. Bush, then running for
president. The interview turned into a tense shouting match that
cemented the impression among conservatives that Mr. Rather favors the
other side.
Dan Rather on the spot over report on Bush war record
Dan Rather, one of the icons of American television, is fighting to
preserve his reputation after conceding misgivings about documents he
used for a report attacking President George W Bush’s military service.
Rather has yet to explain adequately his conduct. He can start by answering these questions:
Forgive those of us who are taking delight in the shriveled pickle
Rather and CBS now find themselves in. If any New Yellow Journalists
deserve it more, I don’t know who they are.
As we celebrate the 217th anniversary of the signing of the U.S.
Constitution, it’s easy to forget how revolutionary its underlining
principles really were.
Thinking with your ideology rather than your brain makes you
susceptible to being duped. Dan Rather and CBS News are finding this
out the hard way.
When people are in deep, deep - China Syndrome deep - denial about
their predicament, you can get a really good sense of how they see the
world.
Why do TV commentators on CBS’ forgery-gate insist on issuing lengthy
caveats to the effect that of course this was an innocent mistake and
no one is accusing Dan Rather of some sort of “conspiracy,” and
respected newsman Dan Rather would never intentionally foist phony
National Guard documents on an unsuspecting public merely to smear
George Bush, etc., etc.?
Dan Rather and the end of the liberal monopoly.
However the flap over CBS and those National Guard “memos” turns
out, the past few weeks mark a milestone in U.S. media and politics.
Along with the Swift Boat Veterans’ ads, the widespread challenge to
Dan Rather’s reporting–to his credibility–means that the liberal
media establishment has ceased to set the U.S. political agenda.
