I find it more than just a little sad. Businesses become dinosaurs when they fail to adapt, and accelerate that decline when they become arrogant. Such is the present for CBS News, once the ultimate news organization.
The Times jumps on the story, although not with a lot of venom–the NYT has had to deal with similar issues of their own. It may simply be Monday-morning quarterbacking, but there apparently some at CBS News that feared this eventual result:
But the production staff member said the staff at CBS did not feel powerful enough to bring about change. “We have no juice,” the staff member said. “We’re a dying business, and this didn’t help us. Some people feel like CBS News could be out of business in five years.”
I’m sympathetic with those in the organization who feel betrayed by those in power. And I’m not one who sees media bias as a bad thing, as long as it’s recognized. A vibrant media with conflicting views on a story only adds to the information we have. When all outlets tell a story in the same way, we miss out.
But one thing must be present regardless of bias–honesty. There are many ways the story could have been handled in a way that intellectual integrity was maintained, but it would have been a non-story. Unacceptable.
I don’t celebrate the failures at CBS. I’m sure there are some real professionals in the shop who will suffer because of egos at the top. But maybe, just maybe, someone in management will now listen when voices of reason speak up. They can still maintain their bias, just report facts and not speculation presented as fact.
****UPDATE****
Of course, Liberal Larry whines about four more jobs being lost during Dubya’s tenure.