CBS Apologizes, Says They Were Duped
Apologizing for a “mistake in judgment” in its story questioning President Bush’s Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air National Guard, CBS News claimed Monday it was misled by the source of documents that many experts have singled out as fakes.
The network said it would appoint an independent panel to look at its reporting about the memos. The story has mushroomed into a major media scandal, threatening the reputations of CBS News and chief anchor Dan Rather.
I suppose we can be charitable and accept their words at face value. Personally, I think the went willingly. I doubt that even CBS would be so stupid that they would use the documents if they knew they were fake, but I believe that, due to their own bias, they were predisposed to believe. (Sort of like Agent Mulder’s poster of the UFO–“I Want To Believe”.)
I don’t think the new media, of which this blog is a tiny and insignificant part, is going to supplant the old media–ever. But we sure do seem to be a handy source of fact-checking. Score one for the little folks.