Was Rathergate's Real Aim Elimating Mary Mapes Before the Election?

[McCamy Taylor]

Read this Greg Palast piece about how Mary Mapes, the top producer at CBS was fired over the Karl Rove plant 60 Minutes story and then ask yourself "Did Karl Rove want to give Viacom an excuse to muzzle and then fire this woman before Election 2004 so that she would not investigate election fraud?" From what Palast describes, she appears to have been one of the few MSM journalists with any balls. Maybe we should make her a DU Martyr and send her some letters of support.

http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=407&row=0

"And who are the journalists whom CBS has burned at the corporate stake? The first lined up for career execution is '60 Minutes' producer Mary Mapes. Besides the Bush draft dodge story, Mapes produced the exposé of the torture at Abu Ghraib when other networks had the same material and buried it.

"I admit to a soft spot for Mapes. Four years ago, BBC Television London broadcast my report that Jeb Bush had wrongly purged thousands of African-Americans from the voter rolls, thereby fixing the election for his big brother. CBS Evening News ran away scared from the story, as did ABC and other US networks. This year, when Bush tried to repeat the trick, Mapes wanted to put it on '60 Minutes.' However, after the draft dodge story hullabaloo, that was not going to happen."

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. kick

[McCamy Taylor]

2. More on Mary Mapes: The Media Lynching

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4847-2004Oct3.html

The Washington Post

http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110005711

The WSJ

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-21-cbs-mapes_x.htm

USA Today


Looks like a coordinated attack to me.

[spanone]

19. Thanks for those links.....

[JDPriestly]

3. Thanks. Great post.

[McCamy Taylor]

4. Tell 60 Minutes What You Think About Them Firing Ms. Mapes

Please go to

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/opinion/main215.shtml

At the bottom of the page click "Contact US"

You will get a feedback form that gives you an option of commenting on 60 Minutes and a box where you can tell them what you think about them.

Be frank.

:mad:

[xynthee]

6. Done. n/t

[sickinohio]

7. Done

[McCamy Taylor]

5. Can we invite Mary Mapes to speak at the Inauguration?

I dont know if she is a media kind of person. She may be shy and retiring. But if she is a public kind of person, her story would be an interesting one to hear.

Also, does anyone know her personally? I would like to talk to her at DU if she feels up to it.

She also needs to start working on a book. Her MSM career may seem to be over, but she could be looking at the start of a very sucessful protest media career. Plus, politically speaking, when a big bully like Karl Rove goes after a petite blonde woman like her, it is the big bully like Rove who comes off looking bad. I know. I belong to the petite blonde school myself and I have played that game from time to time.

Ms. Mapes may not be interested, but if she is, she could become a serious thorn in the side of Karl Rove and the White House.

[Niche]

8. She should work for INDTV now! I'm so tired of these f*cks

bullying reports and their livelyhood. There are other options. We can have FACT BASED NEWS.

[RevCheesehead]

9. Here's my little epistle to Mr. Moonves:

Congratulations, Mr. Moonves. You have succeeded in destroying one of the last bastions of ethical journalism.

It is astonishing enough that your “independent” review was done by the former Attorney General of the “Bush 41” administration. How on earth does Mr. Thornburg, in your eyes, avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest? Don't you think he MIGHT have an agenda of his own?

But Mr. Moonves, what is even more disturbing is your zeal to fire your own staff of reporters and producers, simply because it was politically uncomfortable for you.

After Dan Rather reported the National Guard story on the evening news, I had made a conscious decision to watch CBS news, and wrote Mr. Rather a letter of support. I let him know that I was proud of his journalistic integrity, and the willingness to report what the rest of the media avoided, simply because it would offend the White House.

But I can no longer support your network. It's bad enough that we have entertainment masquerading as news over at FOX and CNN. But your deliberate decision to swallow the Corporate Media Kool-Aid is appalling. Your firing of your producers was a treasonous and cowardly act, designed simply to show your “friends” in the Capitol that you are willing to sit up and beg for media access.

I don't blame Dan Rather for "retiring." I'm sure he's relieved he doesn't have to swallow hard before he goes on the air.

Mary Mapes may have been one of the best things going at your network. Alas, you gave in to copycat journalism - you are now no better that the rest of the Corporate Media.

It would be interesting to hear what Walter Cronkite thinks of this debacle. I'm fairly certain that Edward R. Murrow is spinning furiously in his grave.

So congratulations again, Mr. Moonves. Good luck in your descent to obscurity.

(RevCheesehead)

[McCamy Taylor]

10. Good one about Walter Cronkite!

[flyarm]

16. great letter..and........

thanks for the inspiration to write my own letter to the suck heads at cbs!!
i can't even gag them down my throat any longer!!

:toast: to you rev!!

fly:hi:

[RaulVB]

11. They got her because her Abu-Graib report (n/t)

[McCamy Taylor]

12. Agree. She is a heroine. She stood up to the bastards.

[RevCheesehead]

13. KICK for a good read.

[Catamount]

14. Could we hire her to work for us as a group of citizens?

To write that book!

Of course, she might prefer to live somewhere else now, so that she isn't 'accidented' or 'suicided'

[McCamy Taylor]

15. Changing my mind--a little--real story is Iraq

Election was stolen because the Bushies thought they would go to jail if Kerry won and got his hands on the Iraq Investigation.

[bush_is_wacko]

17. They may yet still end up there. There is a teensy problem

regarding chain of command though. This may be a 4 year battle for control with lawsuits and investigations going on everywhere. The problem is the chain of command is pretty well up to it's neck in criminal behavior as well. The law does not provide for ANY remedy of a near complete criminal administration. Kerry has no chance of becoming president without a complete re-vote. That is highly unlikely IMO but the battles ARE going to be incredible I think. I'm thinking any criminal convictions will come at the end of ****'s term or after he is out of office. Meanwhile there is going to be an attempt to keep control out of the hands that have screwed things up so badly.

[mod mom]

18. Agree! We must work at exposing this horrific debacle that the

*ies got us into. their arrogance and hubris will be their downfall. we should help spread dissension in the repug ranks! I can't believe that with recent comments by McCain, Scrowcroft Baker and others, his supporters will continue to adhere to the party line. I suggest contacting all middle of the road repugs and plead the case of the military. They are putting their lives on the line, for what 0 WMDs AND AN ADMINISTRATION THAT WAS WILLING TO START A WAR OVER KNOWN LIES!

[McCamy Taylor]

20. Keith Olberman just revealed that only Mapes Was fired, other 3

who were reported fired are in contract negotiations! CBS/Viacom lied to us! They were part of the plot to get rid of Matry Mapes because she offended the White House. Im going to let them know all over again how mad I am at them!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: