CBS Document Drama and Journalistic Integrity

Hosted by
When Dan Rather and CBS admitted yesterday that they had mistakenly relied on false documents in a report on President Bush's National Guard service, some pundits called it a watershed moment for the media. But if questions are being raised about what's next for Rather, what about the bigger question of what happens to real issues when the media becomes the story? With the rise of popularity in partisan magazines, blog sites and talk shows, is objectivity an old-fashioned idea? Is the US headed for the kind of partisan reporting that's popular in Europe? Guest host Sara Terry speaks with journalism scholars and media watchdogs as well as those who report the news--including a founding employee of CNN. Making News: President Bush Speaks to the UN President Bush spoke to the United Nations today, and defended his decision to invade Iraq, which was made without UN Security Council approval. Michael Hirsch, senior editor at Newsweek magazine, says that despite his admonition to the world' body's international delegates that all nations have a stake in defending democracy his real target was the American electorate in anticipation of the November election. Reporter's Notebook: Saudi Woman Running for Office? She can't go out in public without being fully covered. She can't travel without permission from a male guardian. She can't even drive a car. But she can run for political office, and she will. Next spring, Nadia Bakhurji plans be on the ballot for a local municipal council. Faiza Saleh Amba, who's based in Riyadh for the Christian Science Monitor, reports on the first woman in Saudi history to run for political office.
When Dan Rather and CBS admitted yesterday that they had mistakenly relied on false documents in a report on President Bush's National Guard service, some pundits called it a watershed moment for the media. But if questions are being raised about what's next for Rather, what about the bigger question of what happens to real issues when the media becomes the story? With the rise of popularity in partisan magazines, blog sites and talk shows, is objectivity an old-fashioned idea? Is the US headed for the kind of partisan reporting that's popular in Europe? Guest host Sara Terry speaks with journalism scholars and media watchdogs as well as those who report the news--including a founding employee of CNN.
  • Making News: President Bush Speaks to the UN
    President Bush spoke to the United Nations today, and defended his decision to invade Iraq, which was made without UN Security Council approval. Michael Hirsch, senior editor at Newsweek magazine, says that despite his admonition to the world' body's international delegates that all nations have a stake in defending democracy his real target was the American electorate in anticipation of the November election.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Saudi Woman Running for Office?
    She can't go out in public without being fully covered. She can't travel without permission from a male guardian. She can't even drive a car. But she can run for political office, and she will. Next spring, Nadia Bakhurji plans be on the ballot for a local municipal council. Faiza Saleh Amba, who's based in Riyadh for the Christian Science Monitor, reports on the first woman in Saudi history to run for political office.
Guest host Sara Terry is an award-winning writer and photographer, who has written for the Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, Fast Company, Rolling Stone and the Boston Globe. Her photo-documentary project, Aftermath: Bosnia's Long Road to Peace, will be published in September, 2005.

President Bush's address to the United Nations

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urging respect for international rule of law

CBS on document controversy

60 Minutes feature on George W. Bush's National Guard service

Politics Feeling Bloggers' Impact, To the Point Reporter's Notebook feature on

New York Times admission on errors in fact-checking sources

US News and World Report on George Bush's National Guard service

USA Today statement on Jack Kelley

Ambah's article on Saudi voting rights

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney