When journalism gets a black eye

By Chris Bury

Subjects: Investigative reporting, Documentary films, Reporters and reporting, Films for the hearing impaired, 60 minutes (Television program), CBS Television Network, Journalism

Description: "What are the long-term effects of journalism scandals? When the public's trust is damaged, what can the Fourth Estate do to repair it? And how is technology affecting journalism in the 21st century? To speak to those points, this ABC News program examines the notorious "60 Minutes" (Wednesday edition, September 8, 2004) incident involving George W. Bush's National Guard record. Anchor Dan Rather claimed to have documents showing that Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian had declared First Lieutenant Bush unfit for flight status for failure to obey an order to submit to a physical examination; the Killian files were later proven to be forgeries. Two related journalistic issues are briefly discussed: the growing influence of new media (it was a blog that first questioned the authenticity of the anti-Bush documents) and the opportunism of right-wing media, which accused CBS of pursuing a political agenda in reporting such a story at the height of the 2004 presidential campaign."--Container.