Re: The Sam Factor! (Fox News can legally lie?)

[Robert Munn]

I heard suggestions by more than one commentator yesterday that CBS should bring in third party experts under an agreement of confidentiality to examine the research in the case and render a judgement. One person (I think it was on MSNBC) pointed out that CNN had a story on the Tailwind scandal where some of the original research in the story was shoddy and they retained outside experts- lawyers, I think- to look at the facts, and they eventually backed off and corrected the story. Very professional from a journalistic point of view.

This is bad news for CBS is they don't do an about-face. I wish I had the quote, but a journalism professor from Columbia on with either Chris Matthews or Joe Scarborough said he had a ton of respect for Dan Rather but that Rather was following the incorrect path and he needed to reverse course. The important thing is that they can have the research verified by someone else without compromising their sources.

>Sam, they don't seem to think the source pulled a fast one. But
>supposing he or she did... it would be an interesting problem in
>journalistic ethics if the source had been promised anonymity. I think
>they would probably stand by the anonymity and do a story about
>how/why the information was accepted as correct that does not reveal
>the source. If that were possible.

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