Rathergate

I can't read all the postings about Rathergate. I can deal with the fact that right wing bloggers nailed a left wing big media guy in the middle of a presidential election. I think Rather should have stepped down about 20 years ago. I've never watched him and wouldn't watch him. He's terrible.

But what I can't deal with is all the celebration around this david beating goliath. The blog world is full of so much crap that it makes mainstream media look clean by comparison. So anyone who thinks this is "vindication" for the bloggers is wrong.

I've wanted to post these feelings for days, but couldn't come up with a way to do it. The Tom Watson wrote this post and when I read it, I finally felt like posting my own thoughts on the subject.

Comments

[Tony Alva]

"Hello Kettle? This the Pot, you're black." Jumping on bloggers for getting at the truth? "...The blog world is full of so much crap that it makes mainstream media look clean by comparison." What the...(spit reflex of my crappy Starbucks)?

Tom Watson (since when did he give up golf for blogging?) wants to drag this thing into partisan corners, when the "celebration" has nothing to do with that (If the Army football team broke their 17 game losing streak don’t you think they’d have cause to celebrate even though the win does nothing as far as improving their chances at a BCS bowl?).

As Jackson would say, "It's the lies Tony...". CBS has what they tout is a well-managed news desk dedicated to the transparency and accuracy of the stories they report. Dan Rather heads this up. The buck stops with him. He pounced like a tiger on a wounded Gazelle with this story and in his zeal, failed to do his duty to ensure the tenants written above. Then, he arrogantly decides to stick with his story above the truth (for whatever motives he had, I don't care). If this was a Michael Moore movie, I'd simply write it off to his personal agenda and let it rest, but this is a national network news organization, broadcasting on public airwaves, with a prominent spokesperson at the tip of the spear, during an election year.

I am no blogger zealot, but I'm with Jarvis on this one. Bloggers got it right, Rather got it wrong. It ain't about the election, it's about newsmen trying to be part of the story. It's the disgraceful state of our countries news organizations that brought me to blogging earlier this year. Long before this story broke, I have seen nothing but blogger bashing from all corners of the big media world from CNN to FOX news. The big media desks are scared and threatened. Stories like this have them quaking that much more. Good, they deserve it. They have screwed it up for long enough.

I agree that this story tells us nothing that we didn't already know, and that in the big picture, it's deserves 3rd page coverage (as would an Army victory), but give props where props are due. The Bloggers got it right, and CBS and Rather got clowned.

[jackson]

Big media has destroyed any chance of have a worthwhile debate on issues. Rather is a big part of that.