Implausible Deniability

Putting the "BS" in CBS

by Thomas Lindaman
01/16/05

That collective sigh of relief coming from New York City recently originated in CBS headquarters from the office of Dan Rather. With the recent release of an independent panel's findings on the "Memogate" scandal, CBS has been scrambling to at least give the appearance that they will do things better going forward. In a stunning move, four employees, including three executives, were fired, and but Rather, the most visible figure of this controversy, is still allowed to eat at the CBS employee commissary.

After reviewing the findings of the panel, I had two thoughts: we can't trust the findings of the panel because they're tiptoeing around the main issue like CBS is, and I really need a cheeseburger. One trip to Wendy's later, I was left with the nagging impression that the panel really didn't do its job, and certainly not to the level that we expected. The report reminded me a lot of the 9/11 Commission: appearing to take action, but really just a waste of time because we could have written the report the day after it was announced that a panel would be formed to "investigate" and come up with "solutions."

And what did they both come up with? Crap. Absolute, utter, 100% USDA Grade A Crap.

The main problem I had with the panel's conclusions was that they said there was no political agenda pushing the story forward to air. You would have to be blind, a CBS sycophant, or Paris Hilton not to see the biases in play. First off, we were told about Bush's Air National Guard service in 2000, and many of the same questions that came up then and answered in the public's eyes were brought up in 2004. The public didn't really care then, and they didn't care in 2004. So why bring it back up if people are paying it less attention than Janet Reno at a nude beach?

Can you say "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth"?

Shortly before the Bush story aired, Democrat contender for the Presidency John Kerry was being hit with questions about his own service. And Kerry was slow to respond to the Swift Boat Vets' allegations, leading to his poll numbers dropping faster than the box office receipts of "Alexander." The Swifties essentially scooped the mainstream press, leaving them having to either report on a story they discredited or try to find something that would put Kerry and Bush on the same level. That's when CBS dug up the Air National Guard story, made a couple of phone calls, and rushed to air without checking the facts...or the documents they claimed to have.

The political element was also seen in Executive Producer of the Bush piece, Mary Mapes, calling then-senior official in the Kerry campaign Joe Lockhart and offering to put the campaign in touch with the main source of the piece, retired Texas National Guard Lt. Col. Bill Burkett. The panel did say it was a "clear conflict of interest that created the appearance of political bias." Hmmm...a producer of an anti-Bush piece calling up a senior advisor of the candidate running against Bush and offering to hook them up with a source that could provide other details that the campaign could use against Bush to make him look bad. The only thing missing from this turn of events is a giant neon sign pointing to CBS saying, "We're Anti-Bush and We're Not Ashamed to Admit It!" Yet, the panel either chose not to put two and two together or did so and tried to downplay it.

By now, some of you are probably saying, "You're just saying that because CBS went after Bush." My response to that is I would take any media outlet to task if I felt they let their politics blind them to the truth, especially considering the nature of the mainstream media. When a network like CBS gets caught doing their own version of Jayson Blair, it casts a shadow over most of the media and it calls into question the state of journalistic ethics. I know, "journalistic ethics" to some of you is like "jumbo shrimp," "honest lawyer," and "funny show on Air America," but I still believe that there are a good number of journalists left in the business who fight for the truth, regardless of who gets hurt.

Unfortunately, it seems these journalists aren't working for CBS. After the report came out, longtime staple of CBS News Bob Schieffer was interviewed on Sean Hannity's radio program. I expected a man of his years and journalistic experience to say, "Hey, we screwed up worse than the Los Angeles Lakers letting Kobe Bryant make our hiring decisions." I was sorely disappointed. Schieffer did his best to put the report in the best possible light for CBS, thus proving he's sold out to the company.

And that's what CBS appears content to do. They've repeatedly apologized to the American people for misleading them in such a way, but does anyone in their right minds believe they're really sorry? I don't. I guarantee if they hadn't gotten caught, they wouldn't have said a word and the story would have aired anyway. That's a sad commentary on the mainstream press as a whole, and what makes it even more sad is the fact that they couldn't even get the job done! Bush got reelected by a handy margin, and CBS is left feeling like an omelet for all the egg on its face.

But here's the final straw that makes me believe CBS hasn't learned anything from "Memogate." In all of their apologies from Les Moonves on down, there is one person they have yet to mention: George W. Bush. Their efforts could have brought down a sitting President, and they don't feel even a twinge of remorse? If I had done something like that at my job, I would be rightfully canned, but CBS lets four people go, let's Dan Rather keep his job because he's leaving the CBS Evening News in March even though he was a major player in getting the story on air, promises to fix things, and we're supposed to accept that justice has been served?

No dice, guys. You screwed up, and the independent report only confirms it, even if they don't see the screamingly obvious bias problem. No matter how many times CBS promises to clean up its act, one thing will prevent me from watching anything it produces.

They say "Everybody Loves Raymond," but I'm more standoffish towards him than anything else. Who died and made you king of my likes and dislikes, huh?!?!?!?!?!?!?

And that's the Bottom Line.

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