The Credibility Gap: Rather and CBS News
By Sharon Anderson, 10.04.04

The controversy surrounding the CBS memos has led to questions of journalistic ethics in mixing politics and press, according to Eric Burns, host of “Fox News Watch.” Dan Rather has apologized for his judgment in relying on false documents to discredit President Bush’s National Guard Record, at a news conference, on Sept. 21. Burns however said the damage has been done.

“Journalists should not campaign for politicians.” said Burns, who writes regularly on journalism ethics for FOXNews.com. “But they do not give up their rights as citizens when they enter their field.”

Journalist should be allowed to make contributions to political campaigns, but this information must be made public so the audience can determine a bias, he said. A reporter should not be assigned to a political campaign to which he has made a financial gift, Burns said.

“I don't think there has ever been an event that has tarnished the reputation of a network news organization like this,” Burns said. “CBS has lost credibility on all matters political, it seems to me, and it deserves to lose ratings as well.”
The 60 Minutes of Rather
On the Sept. 8 broadcast of “60 Minutes” Rather announced highlights of that night's program.

"CBS News has exclusive information, including documents ... (that) indicate Mr. Bush may have received preferential treatment in the Guard after not fulfilling his commitments," Rather said.

In the program Rather reported that the “government documents … are from the personal files of the late Col. Jerry Killian, Bush’s squadron commander.”

Bloggers flooded the Internet with reports challenging the authenticity of the report, almost instantly after the show aired. Bloggers stated that Rather and CBS attempted to discredit President Bush’s National Guard service.

In defense of Rather, Burns said that Rather’s role in the broadcast might have been minimal.

“You should know, however, that Rather played a very minimal role in the piece; the credit, or opprobrium, belongs to producers and researchers,” Burns said. “Although it is fair to say that the conclusions of the “60 Minutes” report jibe with Rather's known political views.”

Figuring in Burkett
CBS News reported, on Sept. 21, that Bill Burkett gave the disputed documents to CBS. In an interview Burkett, an ex-lieutenant colonel in the Texas Guard, said he lied about where he got them and has doubts about their authenticity.

Burkett told CBS News that he was an agent for the records that are allegedly from the private files of Col. Killian. Burkett said that he lied to “USA Today” about the source of the documents. He also said he too had been duped into believing the documents were authentic.

And the blame belongs to…
At the forefront of the firestorm is Mary Mapes, CBS News producer. Her role in accepting manufactured documents about President Bush's Texas Air National Guard service has been questioned. “USA Today” reported that she arranged a phone meeting between John Kerry’s campaign adviser Joe Lockhart and Burkett

Lockhart confirmed that report on Sept. 22 when she told CBS News that Mapes, put him in touch with Burkett.

"She said he [Burkett] was interested in talking to me and she gave me his number," Lockhart said, a former White House spokesperson during the Clinton administration. "I called him. He gave me some advice on how to respond to the Swift Boat smears against John Kerry. We talked about three to four minutes; the guard document issue never came up. And that was the end of it," he said.

Mapes has continued to decline to comment. But, CBS News said in a statement on Sept. 22, "It is obviously against CBS News standards to be associated with any political agenda.”

White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett asked for an investigation to include "whether the president's political opponents were behind these attacks," on Sept. 20.

"Since CBS News and “USA Today” had both obtained these forged documents, we now urge them to lead the way in finding the truth," Bartlett said.

An Independent Investigation
In response to viewer and White House demands, CBS News executives announced on Sept. 22 that an investigation will be conducted.

Richard Thornburgh, a former governor of Pennsylvania, and Louis D. Boccardi, retired president and chief executive officer of “The Associated Press,” will conduct the independent investigation of how the faked memos appeared on the air.

Following the CBS announcement, bloggers and conservative talk show hosts had a field day questioning the integrity of the “independent review.” They reported that Rather was one of the speakers at Boccardi’s retirement dinner.

Burns said that he is confident that there will be an independent review.

“What they will find is already known: CBS did not follow conventional, and basic, journalistic procedures. What Thornburgh and Boccardi will not be able to do is answer the question, why,” Burns said. “To which the answer is also already known. Mary Mapes and her colleagues found the story too well suited to their biases.”