Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Mapes the Yenta
Ach! Nu!
CBS Producer Mary Mapes didn't just bury expert's testimony that the CBS documents weren't reliable. Now she's playing the
She couldn't have become a bigger tool if she had "Craftsman" stamped on her forehead.
Such is the journalistic/ethical climate at CBS News.
This kind of internecine dealmaking--this quid-pro-quo for access--reminds me of another ethically bankrupt Mary who fell from grace and power just a few years ago.
Mapes, unfortunately, is a lousy dealmaker. And by ignoring serious doubts about the documents and playing the power broker between the Kerry Campaign and promising hacks, she has forfeited all claims to be an independent analyst or journalist.
Splash, out
Jason
UPDATE: More here.
It turns out that Mapes was a well known and outspoken liberal.
Why doesn't that surprise me?
Nevertheless, that's no crime. Newsrooms are crawling with them. I don't even blame Mapes, all that much. I think the larger problem is the command climate set by editors and senior producers at CBS. Editors ought to know the political leanings of their reporters and writers. It's their job to monitor their work and see that their natural biases and enTOOsiasms don't wind up distorting and cheapening their reporting.
Obviously, there's no such system of checks and balances in place at CBS.
Which is why I'm not calling for Mapes to resign. I'm calling for Rather and the President of CBS News to resign.
Splash, out
Jason
P.S., Inexplicably, ABC News put this story on the Entertainment page!
CBS Producer Mary Mapes didn't just bury expert's testimony that the CBS documents weren't reliable. Now she's playing the
yenta, the matchmaker, inserting herself into the news process by introducing partisans with--she thinks--incriminating documents about Bush to the Kerry Campaign.
She couldn't have become a bigger tool if she had "Craftsman" stamped on her forehead.
Such is the journalistic/ethical climate at CBS News.
This kind of internecine dealmaking--this quid-pro-quo for access--reminds me of another ethically bankrupt Mary who fell from grace and power just a few years ago.
She may be the greatest dealmaker around. The problem is, she's supposed to be an analyst.
Mapes, unfortunately, is a lousy dealmaker. And by ignoring serious doubts about the documents and playing the power broker between the Kerry Campaign and promising hacks, she has forfeited all claims to be an independent analyst or journalist.
Splash, out
Jason
UPDATE: More here.
It turns out that Mapes was a well known and outspoken liberal.
Why doesn't that surprise me?
Nevertheless, that's no crime. Newsrooms are crawling with them. I don't even blame Mapes, all that much. I think the larger problem is the command climate set by editors and senior producers at CBS. Editors ought to know the political leanings of their reporters and writers. It's their job to monitor their work and see that their natural biases and
Obviously, there's no such system of checks and balances in place at CBS.
Which is why I'm not calling for Mapes to resign. I'm calling for Rather and the President of CBS News to resign.
Splash, out
Jason
P.S., Inexplicably, ABC News put this story on the Entertainment page!
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