The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: dutch508 on October 13, 2015, 10:59:27 AM
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RockaFowler (5,952 posts) http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027256012
‘Truth’ Review: Not A False Note In Film That Puts ‘60 Minutes’ Under The Knife
http://deadline.com/2015/10/truth-review-robert-redford-dan-rather-cate-blanchett-1201577879/
It was a momentous time in journalism when a 2004 60 Minutes II piece questioning the military record of then-President George W. Bush blew up in everyone’s face and caused a mini-earthquake at CBS. And now the whole affair has been turned into a feature film based on 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes’ bestseller, Truth And Duty: The Press, The President And The Privilege Of Power. It has been 10 years since the book was published, but as I say in my video review (click the link above), the film version starring Cate Blanchett in a blistering turn as Mapes and Robert Redford as legendary CBS anchor Dan Rather is well worth the wait.
SNIP
What seemed like a solid piece — though rushed to air to be timely — turned out not so good when commenters on the Internet began questioning the authenticity of some key points. It started a firestorm. The whole thing became a black eye in CBS’ view and Mapes, and finally Rather, were basically thrown under the bus. It began Rather’s downfall at the network. Vanderbilt has meticulously laid it all out, without turning anyone into heroes or villains. What I found most interesting was this all happened just as the Internet was gaining power and turning journalism as we knew it on its face. Five or 10 years earlier, the outcome might have been quite different.
As a Redford fan I can't wait for this. Cate Blanchett is gonna kick a$$ on this part!!
So excited to see this . . . TRUTH!
Brand new so wait for comments but from the review:
Blanchett, who also is terrific in the upcoming Carol, should rate strong Oscar consideration again for her interpretation of Mapes. After seeing the film, even Rather himself said he felt like he was actually watching Mapes. The same goes for Redford. It is one of Redford’s best screen turns in years.
A good acting job by good actors.
from indywire:
During a September 2004 segment on CBS' "60 Minutes II," Rather and producer Mary Mapes (played by a searing Cate Blanchett in the film) aired a story uncovering George W. Bush's involvement in the Air National Guard from 1972-73. Based on documents the pair had come in contact with, Rather reported that Bush had been AWOL from the Guard for over a year. Right wing and conservative media attacked the two after finding the documents to be fabricated, and the resulting scandal made national headlines and cost Rather and Mapes their jobs from CBS.
Dan rather says:
Our story was true...They couldn’t attack the truth of the story, so they attacked the process by which we arrived at the truth — was it flawed? Yes, it was flawed. Was it more flawed than it should have been? Yes. Am I responsible for some of that? Yes. This is the point: The story was true. It was true then, it was true now."
CBS News says:
The authenticity of the Killian memos was almost instantly called into question by journalists and bloggers. Robert Bluey, now the Editor in Chief of the Daily Signal, was a journalist for CNS News in 2004 and was one of the first to report on the documents. Bluey consulted typography and other experts who were not able to authenticate the Killian memos.
After increasing scrutiny from the media, on September 20 Rather stated, "If I knew then what I know now – I would not have gone ahead with the story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question.†CBS News President Andrew Heyward said, "Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in the report. We should not have used them. That was a mistake, which we deeply regret." Unable to authenticate the documents, CBS ultimately fired “60 Minutes†producer Mary Mapes (played in “Truth†by Cate Blanchette) along with several other producers and apologized to viewers.
hmm..
Robert Bluey, the CNS News reporter who was one of the first to cover the story, gave a statement to CNS News: “More than a decade after Rathergate, it appears Dan Rather is still in denial about the story that ended his career at CBS News and badly damaged his reputation as a journalist. Instead of attacking those of us who pursued the truth about the Killian documents, Rather should take responsibility for his actions and stop making excuses.â€
ouch.
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Rather should take responsibility for his actions and stop making excuses.â€[/i]
ouch.
That is not the liberal way. The only time they do take responsibility is if there is some benefit to them for doing so. Until then, it is the blame game.