Changes

==Rathergate==

==Rathergate==

In September 2004, the middle of the presidential election, Rather claimed on "60 Minutes" that he had documents which called into question [[George W. Bush|Bush's]] [[National Guard]] service.  These documents were almost immediately ruled to be shoddy forgeries.  CBS and Rather himself later apologized for running the story<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/20/politics/main644546.shtml</ref>.

In September 2004, the middle of the presidential election, Rather claimed on "60 Minutes" that he had authetnic typed documents from the 1970's which called into question [[George W. Bush|Bush's]] [[National Guard]] service.  These documents were almost immediately questioned in blogs to be forgeries based on font and script print that was not available to typewriters of that time period.  Indeed, it appeared to be written in MicroSoft Word, a program that did not exist at the time the documents claimed to have been written.  Instead of admitting the documents may have to be looked at further, the initial response of Rather and CBS was to stick to their guns that they were genuine. <blockquote>"As a standard practice at CBS, each of the documents broadcast on "60 Minutes" was thoroughly investigated by independent experts and we are convinced of their authenticity,"</blockquote>  Indeed, CBS had actually been warned by some of the people they interviewed for the story that the document they were talking about was probably a forgery, but they were dismissed as 'pro-Bush'. Only when it was overwhelmingly apparent that they were shoddy forgeries, did CBS and Rather relent.  CBS and Rather himself later apologized for running the story, but their obstinence in light of the building evidence had already done its damage.<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/20/politics/main644546.shtml</ref><ref>http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/9/192002.shtml</ref><ref>http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/11/100726.shtml</ref>.

Four CBS employees were later fired over the controversy, including the Senior Vice President, and many suspect that Rather retired in order to avoid the same fate<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/10/national/main665727.shtml</ref>.  The documents were later reviewed by experts who decided that the documents were false, and that CBS was negligent in airing them<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21675-2004Sep14.html?nav=hcmodule</ref><ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9967-2004Sep9.html</ref><ref>http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/complete_report/appendix_4.pdf</ref>.   

Four CBS employees were later fired over the controversy, including the Senior Vice President, and many suspect that Rather retired in order to avoid the same fate<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/10/national/main665727.shtml</ref>.  The documents were later reviewed by experts who decided that the documents were false, and that CBS was negligent in airing them<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21675-2004Sep14.html?nav=hcmodule</ref><ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9967-2004Sep9.html</ref><ref>http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/complete_report/appendix_4.pdf</ref>.   

Some have said that Rather intentionally ran the story in order to influence the election.  Others have said that the false documents were included due to the story being rushed, and that they were not intentionally used for political purposes.  A senior official of the [[John Kerry|Kerry]] campaign made a phone call to the man who was the source of the false documents four days before they were aired.  Republicans have pointed to this as a conspiracy<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-21-cbs-parties_x.htm</ref>.  Kerry claimed that his employee did nothing wrong<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040922-122835-2135r.htm</ref>.  A few [[Democrats]] blamed [[Karl Rove]], and he denied the accusation<ref>http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040922-101433-4296r.htm</ref>.

Some have said that Rather intentionally ran the story in order to influence the election.  Others have said that the false documents were included due to the story being rushed, and that they were not intentionally used for political purposes.  A senior official of the [[John Kerry|Kerry]] campaign made a phone call to the man who was the source of the false documents four days before they were aired.  Republicans have pointed to this as a conspiracy<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-21-cbs-parties_x.htm</ref>.  Kerry claimed that his employee did nothing wrong<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040922-122835-2135r.htm</ref>.  A few desperate [[Democrats]] tried to blame [[Karl Rove]], but apart from a knee-jerk accusation to deflect attention, there was no evidence.<ref>http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040922-101433-4296r.htm</ref>.

== References ==

== References ==