ACTION ITEM: '60 Minutes' Niger story that never aired

[Terre]

I originally posted this over in the GD forum, but due to the activity over there it kept dropping to the bottom quickly, so I've decided to post again here as well. 'Course that could me that most consider this a non-starter? :boring: :shrug:

Earlier this morning I came across a diary over at Daily Kos (which didn't hit the recommended) that I think should be followed up on, and hope that DU'ers will take it to your keyboard:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/25/111113/627

Here is the top half of jbalazs's diary, which refers to a story written by Michael Isikoff The Story that Didn't Run back in September, 2004.

Two television stories now that could have made a difference in the election that weren't aired when it counted. :banghead:

Consider this an actionable item diary for all of you Kossacks. I think the tone in the media has changed sufficiently over the past few months that now is the time to push to get stories out there.

One story in particular is already done but has never been aired. 60 Minutes has it ready to go, they've just never aired it. Now is the time to contact them and request they show this important story. Here is the contact information:

EMAIL: [e-mail]

PHONE: [phone]

You can also send a request by going directly to CBS's website:
http://www.cbs.com and clicking the Feedback link at the bottom of the page.

Maybe with a little input from us, they'll agree to pull it off the shelf like CNN did with Dead Wrong.

[shraby]

1. I contacted cbs. I also put this on

but not much response. C'mon people, time to tell CBS to get on the stick and run this program!!!!

[kaygore]

2. Recommended on DailyKos and will call CBS

[wtmusic]

3. Done. nt

[Nothing Without Hope]

4. Excellent idea. Recommended.

The GD forum is now a very difficult place to get a thread seen. Glad you reposted.

[Proud_Lefty]

5. Thanks

Just wrote them. We are definitely ready for the truth.

[rodeodance]

6. will do.

[rodeodance]

7. and recommended.

[rodeodance]

8. kick

[Terre]

9. Thanks people! :o)

I knew you wouldn't let me down, and I know jbalazs is appreciative.

Imagine if we could get this story to air... :bounce:

[spuddonna]

10. Just sent a letter off... kick!

Hope it helps! :)

I'd love to see some really hard hitting news stories on TV again... other that Jon Stewart! lol

[Al-CIAda]

11. Great suggestion -nt

[Jackpine Radical]

12. Remember when Josh Marshall was talking about a story

that was gonna move the tectonic plates? This was apparently the story.

[Terre]

13. No, I don't remember

so I must have missed it. Would you happen to have a link handy?

[Jackpine Radical]

16. You could start here:

http://www.overspun.com/

What’s Josh Marshall working on?
by @ 12:22 pm. Filed under General


In June, Josh Marshall of the indomitable Talking Points Memo Weblog went on vacation with this note to readers:

A few points before signing off, though. You may have noticed a slight down-tick in the frequency of posts of late. And that’s for a few different reasons. But a principal one is that I and several colleagues have been working on a story that, if and when it comes to fruition — and I’m confident it shall — should shuffle the tectonic plates under that capital city where I normally hang my hat. So that’s something to look forward to in the not too distant future. And that’s taken some of my time away from TPM and prevented me from sharing with you some delectable tidbits which otherwise I would have loved to have done.

Well, as far as I know, Josh Marshall has yet to inspire any earthquakes in D.C. That leaves me to wonder if he’s still working on this political-landscape-altering story. Here’s a more recent tip, again from Marshall, this time about the Sandy Berger mess, that he may be up to something big:


I’ve spent so much time over the last several months reporting on a project that has to do with classified materials that I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know just what the rules are for taking notes of such classified documents in secure reading rooms.

I realize it’s a bit inside the box to report on someone else’s reporting, but I believe Marshall has the potential to blow-up a la Drudge and the Clinton affair. The difference, of course, is that Marshall is a bonafide reporter committed to getting the story right, rather than first. If he breaks something, it will be well documented and accurate.

Still, I can’t help but wonder. When Marshall went on vacation Atrios readers speculated on the
“big story.” Unfortunately, the comments have been deleted from Atrios’ archives. A few I remember: Proof that Bush bailed on military service, Bush ordered the torture in Iraq, Cheney leaked Plame’s identity, and my personal favorite guess, Howell Raines (former NY Times editor) is CIA.

[txindy]

14. I remember that

He took - and still takes - a lot of grief about the imminent "shifting of the tectonic plates" that never happened. This certainly sounds as if it could be that story.

[Terre]

15. Could it be this blog?

Although it's posted on 6/17/2004, 3 months before the Isikoff story above:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_06_13.php#003068

a follow-up blog from OverSpin here:
http://www.overspun.com/?p=521

and then there was this diary over at Daily Kos on 8/27/04 that mentions Josh's "months of work" (along with the diarist's help) but it has to do with Iran and not Iraq (I didn't read the whole thing, nor did I check out the links in the diary):
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/8/28/0028/16851

[Jackpine Radical]

17. Here's the passage from the current story that triggered my memory:

“This is like living in a Kafka novel,” said Joshua Micah Marshall, a Washington Monthly contributing writer and a Web blogger who had been collaborating with “60 Minutes” producers on the uranium story. “Here we had a very important, well-reported story about forged documents that helped lead the country to war. And then it gets bumped by another story that relied on forged documents.”

[kath]

23. Uh, Josh, hello-there never was any proof that those documents were forged

[renate]

18. well, if it's any consolation

You said that this could have made a difference in the election if it'd been aired when it counted... just remember--it would have been stolen anyway.

[Terre]

19. That's true

but I have to believe that if both of these stories came to light before the election, enough Ohioan's (and other close states) would have switched enough to make the crucial difference.

Having said that, I'll be forever haunted with "what if's". *sigh*

[Al-CIAda]

20. .

[Terre]

21. Kick! For the evening crowd

and before it falls into oblivion. :kick:

[rrrevolution]

22. 60 Minutes Has a History of Punting on big stories(ie. big tobacco)

They still do journalistic research over there, but they punt way too often on big stories --and the call to punt always seems to come from upper corporate management.

I realize putting one's career on the line is a big deal, but it seems when a big story in the public's interest gets shelved for corporate interest, then the journalist should do the right thing and do what it takes to get the story out.

I think we would all be shocked if we knew what the MSM has been "sitting on" in regard to this president and the Iraq war, and Valerie Plame Outing. They know, everyone knows they know, but they remain silent. A form of public betrayal by omission.