CBS Offers Withering Assessment of the Rathergate Movie ‘Truth’

CBS Offers Withering Assessment of the Rathergate Movie ‘Truth’

by John Sexton 8 Oct 2015

http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2015/10/08/cbs-offers-withering-assessment-rathergate-movie-truth/

CBS has offered a harsh assessment of the film “Truth” which stars Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett in a supposedly accurate account of the Dan Rather scandal. The film is based on the book by disgraced CBS News producer Mary Mapes.

CBS does not appear inclined to participate in Mapes’s creative retelling of her own downfall. A spokesperson for CBS gave Variety the following statement on the veracity of the film:

It’s astounding how little truth there is in “Truth.” There are, in fact, too many distortions, evasions and baseless conspiracy theories to enumerate them all. The film tries to turn gross errors of journalism and judgment into acts of heroism and martyrdom. That’s a disservice not just to the public but to journalists across the world who go out every day and do everything within their power, sometimes at great risk to themselves, to get the story right.

One of the “conspiracy theories” CBS mentions may be a central contention of the film about why CBS pulled the story, demoted Rather, and fired Mapes. The Hollywood Reporter suggested the film claims, “Rather and Mapes were fired to appease the Bush White House and to protect the CBS financial bottom line.”

As Breitbart News noted last month, Dan Rather appeared at the Toronto Film Festival premiere of the film and endorsed its accuracy saying, “We reported a true story. And there has never been any doubt the story was true.”

That was not the conclusion of an investigation launched by CBS after the story collapsed. The investigation identified, “10 serious defects” in the reporting including, “failure to obtain clear authentication of the documents or to investigate the controversial background of the source of the purported documents.” The documents themselves were determined to be fraudulent and the supposed source, a woman named Lucy Ramirez, was never identified. She appears to be a fiction.

Dan Rather 

Dan Rather was an anchor for the CBS News, a trustee at the Paley Center for Media, and is an advisory board member for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Note: Walter L. Cronkite was an honorary chairman for the Committee to Protect Journalists, and an anchorman for the CBS News.

CBS News is a subsidiary of CBS.

William S. Paley was the chairman for CBS, the founder of the Paley Center for Media, and a friend of Prescott S. Bush.

Prescott S. Bush was a friend of William S. Paley, a director at CBS, and George H.W. Bush’s father.

Sundance Channel is a partner with CBS.

Robert Redford is a partner with the Sundance Channel, the founder & president for the Sundance Institute, a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and an honorary board for Green Cross International.

Green Cross International

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Cross_International#Honorary_Board

Ted Turner, (USA) is an honorary board for Green Cross International.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Sundance Institute, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and was a board member for Global Green USA.

Global Green USA is a US affiliate of Green Cross International.

Mikhail Gorbachev is the founder of Green Cross International, an advisory board member for the Global Security Institute, was the general secretary for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

David A. Hamburg is an advisory board member for the Global Security Institute, and the president emeritus for the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Norman Pearlstine is a trustee for the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and a director at the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Newton N. Minow is an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and was a director for CBS.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.                    

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP, and his attorney is Robert B. Barnett.

Robert B. Barnett is Barack Obama’s attorney, and married to Rita Braver.  

Rita Braver is married to Robert B. Barnett, and a senior correspondent for the CBS News.

R. Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.   

William M. Daley is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a contributor for the CBS News, and was the chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.

CBS News is a subsidiary of CBS.

Dan Rather was an anchor for the CBS News, a trustee at the Paley Center for Media, and is an advisory board member for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Sundance Channel is a partner with CBS.

Robert Redford is a partner with the Sundance Channel, the founder & president for the Sundance Institute, a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and an honorary board for Green Cross International.

William S. Paley was the chairman for CBS, a friend of Prescott S. Bush, and the founder of the Paley Center for Media.

Jeff Zucker was a trustee at the Paley Center for Media, and the president & CEO for NBCUniversal.

NBCUniversal is a partner with the Sundance Channel.

Sundance Channel is a partner with CBS.

Robert Redford is a partner with the Sundance Channel, the founder & president for the Sundance Institute, a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and an honorary board for Green Cross International.