CBS evening news-back from the dark side?

[juslikagrzly]

I watched...waiting tensely for the Berger "scandal" and Dan didn't mention it. Is this a sign that the media is getting the message that repeating repug talking points may not be actual journalism?

[Bush was AWOL]

1. Oh come on, Rather is fair and if anything he is on

our side.

[movonne]

4. Unfortunely this is not true...

[Bush was AWOL]

7. Explain how my statement is not true, please eom

[Robbien]

11. Explain how it is. eom

[Bush was AWOL]

14. Well, see, I watch Rather quite often for news

and consider him to be very, very fair. But then again, that is just my opinion. I think it is ok to be critical of Dems. as long as you are telling the truth. I don't find myself catching Rather in many lies or whoring for Bush, but then again, that is just me.

[Robbien]

20. If he is fair, why are you saying he is a lefty and on "our side"

Fair is just an unbiased opinion. A reporter who reports all sides fairly with an allegiance to none. But you stated CBS is on "our side".

Why do you state that?

[Bush was AWOL]

24. He is a lefty that reports the news fairly.

I'm a lefty and I try to look at things objectively.

[Robbien]

28. There are no lefty reporters on TV news

None. If there were then we would have had pre-war TV news shows saying we should not go to war. We would have news shows saying BushCo lies. We would have news shows showing how many people in foreign countries are dieing because Georgie will not fund the AIDS programs he said he is funding.

There are a few reporters who report the fair news in the center, but most of them toe the RW propaganda talking points.

[Bush was AWOL]

30. They fell for the same shit Kerry and Edwards did

Lots of Americans did who now oppose the war.

[Robbien]

32. No, they did not. They were told to toe the RW line so they did.

If they were lefty, they would have been reporting the lefty line.

[bahrbearian]

8. Right ,They had a big War-Hardon like the rest of em.

[Robbien]

9. What is this "our side" business?

CBS is a business and will always be on the side of its corporate interest.

When you say "our side" what do you mean?

[Bush was AWOL]

17. I mean, I think CBS leans left

Republicans hate it and consider Rather to be a very biased lefty. That is just my opinion of course, though.

[Robbien]

22. Yes, now I understand because you also think Chrissy Matthews

leans left (from a previous thread) and we here know that Chrissy is so far right of center. Faux must be good TV in your opinion.

CBS is in the middle, but the RW thinks that anyone who does not toe the RW propaganda line must be the enemy.

[Bush was AWOL]

25. Ok. But that is your opinion against mine

Edit: I absolutely do not think for a second that Faux news is ever fair.

[Robbien]

29. No, that is not just my opinion

Every single lefty web site and blog also holds that opinion. We all say there are no liberal/progressive news on television. The only liberal news available is through AirAmerica and alternative radio stations. That is it.

[Bush was AWOL]

34. Explain to me how the Republicans get away

with the lie that the media is liberal. You know the old excuse for bad news: "It's the liberal media"

[Robbien]

36. Read David Brock's "Blinded by the Right"

The RW has worked long and hard and put a lot of time and money into acquiring the media. Now, after thirty years, all talk radio (except alternatively funded) is conservative. Rush/Hannity/Faux blare out over and over, liberal media. The RW have RW "think tanks" who have their "intellectuals" go on the radio and television spreading the rumor. The RW owns a good majority of the print media who print the RW propaganda of liberal media.

Anyone who does not toe the RW propaganda line is labeled by them to be "liberal". Not fair, but "liberal".

There is no liberal media, except alternatively funded.

[Mad As Hell]

12. Dan got in trouble

for attending a Democratic fundraiser in Texas a few years back, actually.

[Yogi]

26. Rather is....

IMHO the fairest of all the news readers.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

2. CBS has always been the best out there as far....

as American Journalism goes.

Last night they had a fair view of what occured. They made IT clear that this was an ONGOING investigation.

[FlashHarry]

3. CBS has been--all things considered--pretty fair.

[juslikagrzly]

5. I agree, he's always been the best

but it's been really really hard to watch any network news lately, what with all the crap. He very much restored my view of him tonight.

[murielm99]

6. The Kerry interview was decent, too. nt

[wryter2000]

10. Welcome to DU

Rather was very good last night, imho, on the subject. He reported the story but added that it seemed to be politically motivated. (He put it a bit better than that.) The repugs didn't get any bounce off the CBS reporting, and I'm not surprised he didn't mention it tonight. It must be driving them nuts that they aren't getting the spin they want 24/7 like they used to.

[juslikagrzly]

13. Thanks

It's been an eye-opening experience to be on DU. But, I'm spending way too much time here :-).

I am so happy that it's not getting the play they obviously hoped for. Maybe there's hope for us yet.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

16. I am so happy that it's not getting the play they obviously hoped for. May

They have enough things to worry about besides trying to project their mistakes upon others who served this country well.

[aquart]

15. He disposed of it yesterday. Stressed the political timing.

[2Design]

18. abc mentioned it in world news tonight./.....eom

[West Coast Democrat]

19. They mentioned it skeptically last night

it wasn't the top story either. The Iraq death count at 900 was the top story.

[annxburns]

21. Look, anyone who doesn't think we have to continually fight ...

.... and call the media back to account is crazy. We have allowed, and yes I am blaming myself too, a RW cabal to control three branches of government, steal an election and start a war on false pretense. Yes, that is my FAULT. I was quiet, I didn't hold the media to account. I didn't hold the democratic party to account. I fell asleep - because we had an excellent, charming, skilled chief executive in Bill Clinton and I thought everything was okay. And I dismissed Rush Limbaugh, and the National Review, and Fox News because "Hey, nobody will be stupid enough to believe them.". Well guess what? If your silent - you lose.

So okay, let's see our wonderful first amendment in action and take it back. Doing so will sometimes let hapless but by no means evil people at CBS and NBC and ABC report facts and truth instead blindly repeating RW spin. So I bless and pray for Michael Moore and for Joe Wilson and for the creator of Outfoxed and for all those good people at mediamatters.org and newshounds.us. Because they are why Dan Rather might be able to slip over from the dark side and give us just a peak at what is really going on ..... And maybe next time, 1000 young men and women won't have to go into the ground before I wake up.

[Cleita]

23. Here's something on Dan Rather that people have forgotton.

From his bio: http://www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/d/da/dan_rather.html

<snip>
Disliked in Nixon White House

During the presidency of Richard Nixon, conservative political figures accused him of being unfair in his coverage. At a Houston, Texas news conference in 1974, Nixon fielded a question from a ABC reporter, but Rather, still CBS's White House correspondent, jumped in: "Thank you, Mr. President. Dan Rather, of CBS News. Mr. President..." The room filled with jeers and applause, prompting Nixon to joke "Are you running for something?" Rather replied "No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?"

CBS apparently considered firing Rather and its news president met with administration official John Ehrlichman to discuss the situation. According to NBC's Tom Brokaw, the network considered hiring him as its White House correspondent to replace Rather. But CBS' plans to do so were scrapped after word was leaked to the press.

Reagan and Bush

In the 1980s, Rather became a hero to many American liberals for his tough, skeptical reporting on the Iran-Contra Affair which led to a famous on-air confrontation he had with then-vice-president George H. W. Bush. The incident is widely believed to have been pivotal in Bush's campaign to win the presidency in the 1988 election. It also marked the beginning of Rather's ratings decline, a slump from which he has never recovered. Bush never forgave him and refused to grant Rather an interview after their initial tangle. His son, George W. Bush has apparently followed suit, and has thus far declined to grant Rather an interview during his presidency.

Soft on Democrats?

Up until the presidency of Bill Clinton, Rather's reputation as a skeptical journalist was unquestioned. That changed during the Clinton years when his critics accused Rather of going easy on the president. During Clinton's impeachment, Rather was a vocal defender of the president and a persistent critic of Kenneth Starr, one of the independent counsels appointed to investigate allegations of corruption within the administration.

Rather's critics gained further ammunition when the CBS anchor was revealed by The Washington Post to have raised money for the Democratic Party of Texas. The incident dogged Rather for weeks and he was asked about it repeatedly by fellow journalists.
<snip>

[efhmc]

27. Probably not a good move for a newsperson but as a Texas

Dem., I like(d) the help. We sure could and can use it.

[monchie]

31. I think that last paragraph is a misrepresentation:

"Rather's critics gained further ammunition when the CBS anchor was revealed by The Washington Post to have raised money for the Democratic Party of Texas. The incident dogged Rather for weeks and he was asked about it repeatedly by fellow journalists."

I don't have time to do the research now, but I vaguely remember that the flap was about Rather accompanying his daughter, who was a Democratic Party official, to the fundraiser. I don't recall anything about him actually raising funds.

Interestingly enough, very few eyebrows rose when Brit Hume, who was then ABC's chief White House correspondent, played tennis on several occasions with the man he was supposed to be covering, George H.W. Bush. Excuse me if I'm wrong, but isn't it a breach of journalistic ethics to socialize with the official you're supposed to be covering?

[Cleita]

33. I do remember the exchange he and Poppy Bush had on

live TV, when Rather asked him if he knew about Iran-Contra beforehand. Poppy turned into the nasty person we knew he was and said he wasn't doing the interview to be asked that question and then abruptly ended the interview. I dropped the soda I was drinking at the time. Dan was in trouble from that day forward.

As far as for the fund raising, if he was a Democrat helping a Democratic candidate on his own time, I really don't know what the conservatives had to flap about except their usual MO of character assassination and getting people fired from their jobs.

[Forkboy]

35. Rather is the only one worth a damn

He's not perfect but he's miles beyond the rest.