When it comes to having outstanding credentials in the journalism industry, few are on par with the former anchor of CBS Evening News Dan Rather. This is why it came as such a shock when a report on W.'s service in the national guard prompted a Marie Antoinette styled beheading of three CBS executives including Rather himself. In the contemporary news media, not even 24 years of rock star like notoriety can save you from the clutches of blogosphere speculation.
As far as the controversy of the actual report goes, Rather could have stated that Bush was spotted in a XXX theatre next to Pee Wee Herman and it would have only improved my opinion of our former president. The interesting part for me was not derived from the speculation that the documents suggesting Mr. Bush disobeyed an order to appear for a physical examination were fraudulent. The interesting part was the corporate and public reaction to the mere blogosphere supposition that the documents were fraudulent.
In a modern day David vs. Goliath, Rather and CBS initially defended the story's credibility against some partisan blogger's claims that the memos were forgeries, initiating a week long 'he said she said' dispute that to this day has not come to a satisfactory resolution.
The counterintuitive part of this whole story comes in when considering the public's reaction to the controversy. After CBS conducted a PR stunt aimed at finding out who the public sided with, it became apparent that the blogosphere's version of reality was coming out on top and so Rather was subsequently asked to step down.
This unimaginable turn of events signals a dramatic shift in the public's perception of what reliable journalism means today. The public looked at Dan Rather's 24 years of service as a prominent news anchor and decided that it was not as reliable as a small group of relatively unknown 'bathrobe journalists' who were slinging their stones at the giant from a personal computer.
The CBS corporation sought exoneration by asking Rather to resign his position, but the interesting thing was that the CBS corporation sought exoneration in the first place.
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I very much like your use of 'Marie Antoinette styled beheading' because it really gets the point across with a historical sort of instance that everyone understands (unless they live under a rock).
ReplyDeleteI think you really show your strength in linking topics that people might not grasp (Rathergate / memogate) with everyday common references that are easy to understand. I like seeing that in blogs because it may make me look at it from a different perspective.
Well done.
Hey Tyson,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how you broke down the Rathergate story and proved extended analysis on this peace. This made it much easier to understand the story even more.
I would like though to hear more about your opinions. Such as, what you think of blogs and their role or how you think a Dan Rather and CBS were treated in this instance? Just examples but I think your piece could be even stronger with more of your viewpoint.
Good post. Good treatment, good voice.
ReplyDeleteWatch the compound adjectives, they will need hyphens:
Marie Antoinette-styled
rock star-like