CBS’s newsroom now and then

What a difference the last three and a half years have made in the life of CBS News, once “the premier news network.”

The AP reported yesterday - - -

CBS Corp. Chairman Leslie Moonves paid a surprise visit to the CBS newsroom Friday to support embattled anchor Katie Couric.

Moonves told CBS News employees that "there are no plans for a change—today, tomorrow and into the future," according to a network executive who was there. The executive spoke on condition of anonymity because the comments were not made public.

That doesn't mean Couric's status won't be reviewed if ratings continue to lag—but that won't happen until after the election, the executive said. …

The entire AP story’s here.

Now take a look at this Jan. 11, 2005 NY Times report - - -

CBS yesterday dismissed four of its top journalists, including a high-ranking news executive, after an independent panel concluded that a September report that raised questions about President Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service never should have been broadcast.

The panel concluded that the network's news division, in a dash to beat its competitors, suffered a breakdown in judgment as it rushed the report onto the air on Sept. 8. Among its findings was that the news report was approved by inattentive executives; was delivered by an overworked anchor, Dan Rather; and did not undergo even the most rudimentary fact-checking.

The segment, broadcast on the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes," raised new questions about Mr. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard in the early 1970's. It presented four documents, described as memorandums from the files of his commander, suggesting that Mr. Bush, then a lieutenant, had received preferential treatment. The panel said that the documents had not been properly authenticated, but that it had no evidence they were forgeries. ...

Leslie Moonves, the chairman of CBS, said that Mr. Heyward had "issued direct instructions to investigate the sourcing of the story" but that his instructions had not been "implemented in a prompt or systematic way." He said Mr. Heyward would remain in his job.

Mr. Rather, who narrated the news report but played only a limited role in assembling it, will remain a CBS correspondent for the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes" - the program that broadcast the troubled news report - as well as the fabled Sunday edition of "60 Minutes." …

The entire NY Times report's here.

Folks, the Times did not explain why Dan Rather and CBS went 10 days telling the public the anonymous source of the documents was “unimpeachable,” when they knew all along he was Bush-hater and Democratic Party activist Bill Burkett.

And nowhere does the Times report asking Moonves why CBS lied about Burkett until bloggers and a few MSM journalists finally exposed CBS.

Are the Times' omissions examples of “professional courtesy” among MSM news organizations?

I think so. What about you?

And what about today?

Well, despite economic setbacks, both the NYT and CBS remain very powerful news manipulation organizations.

That should concern all Americans who want unbiased news.

The fight goes on.