Kudos to Mary Mapes writing in Huffpo on Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS

[flpoljunkie]

Excerpt:

Our myopic zeal was what gave us the energy and tenacity at CBS News to break the Abu Ghraib story and every other decent, difficult story I have done in my professional life. I think journalism today could use a little more real zeal.

It still sickens me that good people at CBS lost their jobs over this. It breaks my heart that people with a political ax to grind interfered with a story at a major network news outlet.

And I personally pray to God that somebody someday will get some real answers on where George W. Bush was for more than a year while other Americans were fighting and dying in Vietnam. That we have no answers this long after he has taken office and taken us into two wars should disturb every American.

But I'm afraid this entire episode just encapsulates what has happened to journalism in general in this country. It has become corporatized, trivialized and castrated.

I know that filing a suit had to be a tough decision for Dan to make. But I'm not sure he had a choice. This episode deserves to be examined again and this may be the only way to accomplish that. Besides, a lawsuit also gives him that delicious power of discovery. Who knows what might shake loose?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-mapes/courage-for-dan-rather_b_65257.html

[mmonk]

1. Yes

I have her book, Truth and Duty. A good read with the same theme. We are really in a screwed up country right now. The loss of the press to inform and do so without political pressure or greed is what helped cause us to lose our democracy and our neighbors to lose their minds.

[mmonk]

2. .

Kick for Dan's courage.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

3. The Rather incident symoblized the whole 2004 campaign

and what Kerry was up against in the entire anti-Democratc biased press.

[Terri S]

4. kick and more kudos to Mary Mapes!

To this day no one is discussing the content of those documents, and the president continues to get a pass on everything. "corporatized, trivialized and castrated" indeed!!

[BrklynLib at work]

5. and THAT'S the TRUTH!!!!

[L. Coyote]

6. Shot heard across the media: Great journalist with power of discovery!

That should chill some bad corporate decision making.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. K&R

[hvn_nbr_2]

8. "that delicious power of discovery"

Yummmm.

[WillyT]

9. Big K & R !!!

:bounce::kick::bounce:

[democrank]

10. It will take victory over some very large forces to

ever get the truth out about AWOL Bush.