CBS is going down!
The recently termed "Memogate" is just another in a long line of scandals that have essentially killed this network. As a matter of background, the network appeals primarily to viewers in the 50 and older age group, and has been steadily losing those with it's attempts to be hip and cool and appeal to a younger audience with it's sitcoms and miniseries which nobody really watches. Aside from CSI, CBS's only redeeming show, CBS really has nothing now that their main news anchor, Dan Rather, and their main primetime news special 60 Minutes has been openly discredited.
So what the hell is Memogate, and why should I care? Well, about two weeks ago, CBS released a bombshell exposee on new documents regarding Pres. Bush (W, not H.W.)'s service in the Alabama Air National Guard. These documents were supposed to have been written by his superiors (who, conveniently, have died, making it impossible to question them) specifically naming Bush for dereliction of duty, failure to follow orders, and requests to "sugarcoat" his record. After reading them myself, I felt that their tone was entirely too unprofessional to have been written by an officer in the US armed services, and entirely too open in their discussion of corrupt behavior. Any normal intelligent person would not create a legal document directly implicating them in the breaking of laws, and I don't believe that Bush's commanding officers were that dumb either.
Interestingly, the red flags of fakes don't stop here. The formatting is inconsistant, and as experts were quick to point out publicly, it looked like it was written on MS Word. It was that coincidence that started the controversy, and CBS's unwillingness to admit it was wrong initially, or hell, to even authenticate the documents before airing them, that killed them. Every other network immediately called in every expert they could find to authenticate the documents and no unbiased experts could be found. The FBI is now investigating some guy in Texas regarding the fraud, and there are rumors now that it is a person who has a history of attacks on the Bush family and mental instability. You might as well have handed Kerry a pen and asked him to write the documents. It's hilarious that CBS's "unnamed sources" (that standard reporter cliché) include retarded old guys from Texas. As journalism goes, you might as well make up the stories like the NYTimes did.
So anyway, after CBS has attracted the attention of the head of the FCC and members of Congress with their little stunt, and after having the largest fine ever imposed by the FCC ($500,000) for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" stunt having Justin Timberlake rip off her bra and show her boob to the fans at the friggin Super Bowl, CBS is looking at the inside of it's own coffin. Hell, I don't watch them anyway, but if sleazy stunts and making up sources is their idea of journalistic integrity, these guys need to go. They hold a lot of power over people as a news agency and to see it abused pisses me off.
So what the hell is Memogate, and why should I care? Well, about two weeks ago, CBS released a bombshell exposee on new documents regarding Pres. Bush (W, not H.W.)'s service in the Alabama Air National Guard. These documents were supposed to have been written by his superiors (who, conveniently, have died, making it impossible to question them) specifically naming Bush for dereliction of duty, failure to follow orders, and requests to "sugarcoat" his record. After reading them myself, I felt that their tone was entirely too unprofessional to have been written by an officer in the US armed services, and entirely too open in their discussion of corrupt behavior. Any normal intelligent person would not create a legal document directly implicating them in the breaking of laws, and I don't believe that Bush's commanding officers were that dumb either.
Interestingly, the red flags of fakes don't stop here. The formatting is inconsistant, and as experts were quick to point out publicly, it looked like it was written on MS Word. It was that coincidence that started the controversy, and CBS's unwillingness to admit it was wrong initially, or hell, to even authenticate the documents before airing them, that killed them. Every other network immediately called in every expert they could find to authenticate the documents and no unbiased experts could be found. The FBI is now investigating some guy in Texas regarding the fraud, and there are rumors now that it is a person who has a history of attacks on the Bush family and mental instability. You might as well have handed Kerry a pen and asked him to write the documents. It's hilarious that CBS's "unnamed sources" (that standard reporter cliché) include retarded old guys from Texas. As journalism goes, you might as well make up the stories like the NYTimes did.
So anyway, after CBS has attracted the attention of the head of the FCC and members of Congress with their little stunt, and after having the largest fine ever imposed by the FCC ($500,000) for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" stunt having Justin Timberlake rip off her bra and show her boob to the fans at the friggin Super Bowl, CBS is looking at the inside of it's own coffin. Hell, I don't watch them anyway, but if sleazy stunts and making up sources is their idea of journalistic integrity, these guys need to go. They hold a lot of power over people as a news agency and to see it abused pisses me off.
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