Edited for the conclusion
Mr. Rather and his CBS bosses are sticking to their story, despite the growing evidence on the other side, leaving unanswered the biggest question of all: Who perpetrated this apparent fraud on CBS and the American voters? As journalists who sometimes go out on a limb ourselves, we'd have thought Mr. Rather's first recourse would not be to get mad but instead to double- and triple-check his sources. That Mr. Rather isn't disclosing those sources, despite the damage to his reputation, raises the possibility that they are connected to the Democratic Party or the Kerry campaign. If that is true, then Mr. Rather would be revealed not just as a dupe, but also as the willing vehicle for a political dirty trick.
In any case, there's no question that CBS is feeling the heat--and that it felt it far more quickly and intensely than it would have 20 years ago. None of this is to suggest that the liberal media are dead, much less that conservatives now dominate the press corps. The traditional media remain important if diminished; liberals are trying to make inroads into talk radio (Air America) and cable news (Al Gore's prospective network), and there is no shortage of left-wing bloggers. All of which is to the good. The Rather episode shows that a competitive media marketplace serves the cause of truth, and does so with impressive speed. It also reminds us of the dangers of arrogance and complacency--temptations from which none of us, regardless of ideology, are immune. |