CBS News, Armstrong Williams and Media Credibility

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Conservative pundit Armstrong Williams says he should not have taken $240,000 from the Bush Administration to promote No Child Left Behind. Yesterday, an investigative panel issued a scathing report on CBS News for airing a pre-election story, fronted by Dan Rather, critical of President Bush without checking out evidence first. When Internet bloggers questioned the documentation, CBS defended the story, but then conceded it had made mistakes. A former Attorney General and retired president of the Associated Press faulted the journalism as -flawed at almost every turn- and driven by a -myopic zeal- to be first with the story, but not for political bias. How much are news coverage and commentary driven by payoffs and politics? Are competition and the 24-hour news cycle to blame? How does a news consumer know what to believe? We examine media credibility with journalists, those who tarin them and industry watchdogs. Making News: Michael Chertoff Nominated for Homeland Security Chief President Bush has named Michael Chertoff to replace Tom Ridge at the Department of Homeland Security. Bush praised the appellate court judge for his -deep commitment to the cause of justice and an unwavering determination to protect the American people.- Fay Bowers, national security correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor says that despite problems with his first choice, Bernard Kerik, the President is confident Chertoff will win Senate confirmation. Reporter's Notebook: Blowing a Hole in a Comet Previous space explorations have orbited planets or sent probes by parachute to delicately land on the surface. Tomorrow, at Cape Canaveral, NASA plans a launch aimed at hitting a comet so hard it-ll leave a crater the size of the Rose Bowl. Cornell University Professor Joe Veverka, who's part of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Deep Impact science team, has more on the project known at JPL as "the revenge of the dinosaurs."
Conservative pundit Armstrong Williams says he should not have taken $240,000 from the Bush Administration to promote No Child Left Behind. Yesterday, an investigative panel issued a scathing report on CBS News for airing a pre-election story, fronted by Dan Rather, critical of President Bush without checking out evidence first. When Internet bloggers questioned the documentation, CBS defended the story, but then conceded it had made mistakes. A former Attorney General and retired president of the Associated Press faulted the journalism as -flawed at almost every turn- and driven by a -myopic zeal- to be first with the story, but not for political bias. How much are news coverage and commentary driven by payoffs and politics? Are competition and the 24-hour news cycle to blame? How does a news consumer know what to believe? We examine media credibility with journalists, those who tarin them and industry watchdogs.
  • Making News: Michael Chertoff Nominated for Homeland Security Chief President Bush has named Michael Chertoff to replace Tom Ridge at the Department of Homeland Security. Bush praised the appellate court judge for his -deep commitment to the cause of justice and an unwavering determination to protect the American people.- Fay Bowers, national security correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor says that despite problems with his first choice, Bernard Kerik, the President is confident Chertoff will win Senate confirmation.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Blowing a Hole in a Comet
    Previous space explorations have orbited planets or sent probes by parachute to delicately land on the surface. Tomorrow, at Cape Canaveral, NASA plans a launch aimed at hitting a comet so hard it-ll leave a crater the size of the Rose Bowl. Cornell University Professor Joe Veverka, who's part of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Deep Impact science team, has more on the project known at JPL as "the revenge of the dinosaurs."

President Bush nominates Chertoff as head of Homeland Security

Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff

Department of Homeland Security

Bowers' article on Chertoff

Armstrong Williams on running paid ad for President's No Child Left Behind Act

60 Minutes feature on George Bush's National Guard Service

Report of Independent Review Panel on CBS News concerning President Bush-s Texas Air National Guard Service (234 pages)

CBS reaction to Independent Review Panel

To the Point discussion on CBS, journalistic integrity (September 21, 2004)

NASA's Deep Impact Project

Credits

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Warren Olney