Should Dan Rather lose his job because of the whole fake documents affair? I think so, but Tom Brokaw says such sentiments are part of an Internet-led jihad,
Brokaw blasted what he called an attempt to “demonize” CBS and Rather on the Internet, where complaints about the report first surfaced. He said the criticism “goes well beyond any factual information.”
“What I think is highly inappropriate is what going on across the Internet, a kind of political jihad … that is quite outrageous,” the NBC anchor said at a panel on which all three men spoke.
Well, if anyone knows about criticism that “goes beyond any factual information” it would be Brokaw.
In 1996, you might remember, Brokaw engaged in character assassination and slander of Richard Jewell when he said on national TV,
there’s probably enough to arrest him [Jewell], there’s probably enough to prosecute him.
Where was Brokaw’s concern about inappropriate and outrageous demonization in 1996? Is the rule that outrageous demonization is only permissible if it is done to increase NBC’s ratings?
Brokaw, along with ABC News’ Peter Jennings, was also responsible for the excessive and demonizing coverage of the disappearance of Chandra Levy which ultimately ended Gary Condit’s political career.
The major network news organizations make their bread and butter on using a single mistake in a person’s life to demonize and destroy that person. It’s more than a bit hypocritical for Brokaw now to claim that this is a lousy standard when he and his ilk are the ones who created and promoted it.
Source:
Brokaw, Jennings Show Support for Rather. Deepti Hajela, Associated Press, October 2, 2004.