First off, can't the media come up with a more original name than Memo-gate? How about How Dan Rather got screwed by someone. Once again, I agree with Bill O'Reilly on this one. Dan got duped. I don't think, as radical right wingers believe, that he truly wanted the documents to be true, and even though he knew they were falsified (if indeed they are fake), he went with the story anyway. I would like to hope that Dan Rather has higher journalistic standards than that, and I think he does. However, I think Dan Rather is going about the aftermath in the wrong way. Sticking by his story is one thing, but to say that he doesn't think an investigation should take place concerning the documents is wrong. CBS' rating have plummetted off the map in the past week because of this, and something needs to be done.
The story is no longer GW's military service, which as I stated in an earlier blog, most Americans already know about, and don't care (before you liberals freak out about that last statement, I also don't think the average American cares about Kerry's record either, but he is the one who continues to bring it up and base his campaign on). I know I don't care about what either one of them did 30 years ago, I want to know what they are going to do about current problems. Anyway, as I was saying, GW's service is no longer the story. Now it's about who wrote the fake documents, where was CBS' famous investigative journalism, and who approved these documents for Dan Rather to present as the main evidence in his case against Bush?
What does this say about journalism in America? I think standards are dropping. Especially with the rise of the internet. Independent bloggers now have a huge voice in politics. How do we know that they have standards in their reporting. Rumors flying, anonymous sources, unsubstantiated facts, cunning editing of other reports, accusations.... I think it will eventually spin out of control until we won't know who to believe.
Related links:
CBS Evening News
Article discussing the ins and outs of why the documents are suspected to be fake.
Shattered Glass - a movie about less than honest reporting.
Code of ethics for journalists.
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1 comment:
Too many news outlets leads to a rush to the marketplace. News outlets no longer have the luxury of checking facts and sources before getting the story out first. They have to get the story out first to "scoop" all other outlets. With the internet, cable 24 hour news, you can be scooped in minutes, not hours like in the old days.
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