I spent 6 years in the print media, 30+ reporters/writers, 8 person copy desk, etc.
There's no doubt that even at CBS, some news pros would have been questioning this story. Some might even have been going ballistic over running with it (I've seen phone books thrown across the bullpen during hot editorial disagreements).
Rather might even had disagreements with the senior editors/reporters, though he'd be the big dog because it's his face on the tube. So ultimately he won, and ran with a bogus story.
I'll venture that right now, several CBS news staffers want Rather's head on a plate, perhaps to the point of threatened resignations and unfettered newsroom grumbling. Rather has embarrassed the entire CBS staff.
The coin of the realm for Rather is the validation of his own political beliefs. He's not supposed to do that, and he knows it, but he's obviously lost his news judgement. I don't believe there's a "payoff" beyond that.
Believe it or not, there are no doubt others on the CBS staff who see this for exactly what it is, but they are not in the postition to make public the internal strife on the inside. They'll probably be talking about it with their news colleagues (at other networks and newspapers), but no one at CBS will want to directly air the dirty laundry. It'll come out in the next few days as gossip, guaranteed.
"So ultimately he won, and ran with a bogus story."
Given the can of whupa$$ Fox put on the MSM during the Rep. Convention and the poor ratings of CBS it's not leap of faith to conclude Danny boy was desperate and Fubar'ed.
There's no doubt that even at CBS, some news pros would have been questioning this story. Some might even have been going ballistic over running with it (I've seen phone books thrown across the bullpen during hot editorial disagreements).
Rather might even had disagreements with the senior editors/reporters, though he'd be the big dog because it's his face on the tube. So ultimately he won, and ran with a bogus story.
I'll venture that right now, several CBS news staffers want Rather's head on a plate, perhaps to the point of threatened resignations and unfettered newsroom grumbling. Rather has embarrassed the entire CBS staff.
The coin of the realm for Rather is the validation of his own political beliefs. He's not supposed to do that, and he knows it, but he's obviously lost his news judgement. I don't believe there's a "payoff" beyond that.
Your comments about grumbling within CBS are spot-on. I still have a few friends in the business, including some at CBS. Rather has been a master of news division politics over the past 30 years, but he's made a lot of enemies in the process. He shamelessly promotes "favorites" among producers and editors, as Bernard Goldberg described in his book "bias." You can almost tell which reporters are currently in favor with "The Dan," based on the amount of air time they receive. Jim Axelrod, Byron Pitts and John Roberts fall into that category right now. Reporters viewed as a potential threat (such as Russ Mitchell) are not as visible. BTW, a former CBS staffer told me that Rather was pissed on 9-11 when Mitchell was temporarily assigned to spell him on the anchor desk. You'll note that Mitchell "disappeared" in the late afternoon, allowing Ironman Dan to occupy the desk by himself. You may also recall Rather's campaign to get rid of Connie Chung as co-anchor on the Evening News. Playing games like that may eliminate short-term "threats," but it also creates enemies, and there are plenty of reporters and producers at CBS who'd like to see Dan get his comeuppance. Rathergate may provide just that opportunity.
Beyond the newsroom, Rather's support in the CBS hierarchy seems to be dwindling. Les Moonves, the former Entertainment Division President who now runs the whole show, sees Rather's faltering evening news as a drag on the schedule, doing nothing to generate a lead-in for local news, prime time access programs, and CBS' prime-time schedule. Those sentiments are shared by Dennis Swanson, who runs CBS' important stations division. The network owned-and-operated stations are a vital revenue source for any network, and CBS' have lagged behind for years. Swanson is trying to turn it around, but he's reportedly frustrated because the Evening News is mired in last place, and provides no lead-in audience for the 6 pm news on stations like WCBS in New York, WBBM (Chicago) and KCBS in Los Angeles. All three of those stations remain in last place, at a cost of millions of dollars a year in lost advertising revenue. Believe me, CBS has done studies on the impact of a more successful Evening News on its local and prime time ratings, and the numbers don't look good for Gunga Dan. BTW, Swanson could well become the next president of CBS News, if Rathergate explodes as many believe.
The planets are beginning to align against Rather--he'll never know what hit him...