Patient, Heal Thyself

The Thornburgh report makes it clear: myopic zeal made CBS news doggledly pursue the TexasANG story and rush it to air.

CBS News Chair Leslie "Moonbeam" Moonves still sees no charge of bias in the report. What is myopic zeal if not bias? Did CBS show myopic zeal to pursue the Swiftboat story and rush it to the air? Did they pursue Kerry's Senate record with the same myopic zeal with which they pursued Bush's TexasANG records? Of course not.

Just because no one, not even the empassioned Mary Mapes, ever put the words "Let's pursue this with our typical leftie bias" in a memo, doesn't mean bias didn't exist at CBS, as it exists throughout the MSM. "Bias" could be defined as letting your agenda show through, but it's just as good to define it as letting your agenda cloud your judgment. Moonves follows his news staff in exemplifying both definitions.

And in its first opportunity to show a different face, MSM appeared unwilling to do so. Last night on Hannity and Colmes, MSM icon Bob Woodward tried to have it both ways, and in so doing, displaid the very bias he declined to admit exists. After first denying there is left-wing bias in the media, and defended Dan Rather as an exceptional journalist whose record since Vietnam should be cherished above his record during the last campaign. Then he confessed broadcast news' dirty not-so-secret: "They don't really do much reporting." Well, which one was it, Bob? Is he a great journalist or just a guy who doesn't do much reporting?

The two are mutually exclusive, of course, and Rather's history of lousy reporting, from his early "Vietnam vets are nuts" stories right through his reluctance to report on Swiftboats, TexasANG, and his uncompromising defense of an obviously compromised story, shows he put agenda ahead of reporting regularly throughout his career as "an execeptional journalist." So he wasn't exceptional -- except to the biased.

And what are other MSM bigs saying this morning after? Here's a rundown of their editorial pages:

NYTimes: Mum

WashPost: Mum

LATimes: Mum

Boston Globe: Mum

Finally, the Chicago Tribune raised its head and opined ... and did so bluntly:

The subsequent discrediting of the story was difficult for those of us who work in the news business. CBS, the one-time Tiffany Network, had stature. But reading the book-length report issued Monday on how CBS News prepared that story is more than difficult. It's embarrassing.

We journalists talk often about the trust we try to build--day upon day, decade upon decade--with our readers and viewers. About the responsibility we feel to that relationship. About how bad we feel when we get things wrong.

Now the report of an independent panel on how recklessly CBS misbehaved threatens to make those sincere words sound hollow. Rather, his long career in tatters, is heading off into retirement, and four other CBS News employees, including three executives, are being ousted.

The panel's report is a devastating indictment.

The editorial summarizes the most damning evidence presented by Thornburgh and concludes:

The panel blames this debacle on CBS News' "myopic zeal" to air a story that was "neither fair nor accurate" before someone else did. Was political bias at work? No, says the panel, although it "found certain actions that could support such charges." If that conclusion sounds mealy-mouthed, it's one of a kind in an otherwise blunt report sure to strain the relationship between all journalists and their audiences.

Despite the wiggle at the end ... it is so difficult for them to admit this bias thing ... I like the tone of this editorial and I hope it's echoed throughout the media.

The next question is, as my pastor concludes every sermon, "Now what?" Will standards be set and adhered to? Will editors and reporters who don't follow the standards get the axe? Will there be no more silly appointments of old school insiders like Linda Mason to drive change and guard integrity?

Personally, I doubt it, but let's not be biased. Let's give them one more well scrutinized and skeptical chance.