Former CBS Producer on How Pres. Bush's National Guard Service Brought Down Dan Rather

We look at the story that brought down CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather and prompted CBS to force out four of its top journalists. On September 8th, 2004, the Wednesday edition of 60 Minutes aired a report critical of President Bush's service in the National Guard. In the report, Dan Rather charged that President Bush had received preferential treatment in the National Guard in the early 1970"s and used as evidence copies of memos that had been provided to the network by a confidential source.

Almost immediately, the validity of the memos and the credibility of the source came under attack. The source turned out to be retired Texas National Guard officer, Bill Burkett.

Initially, Dan Rather defended the story but then 12 days later, Rather apologized on the national CBS Evening News broadcast for what he called a mistake in judgment.

* CBS News, September 20, 2004.

On that same broadcast, Rather played an interview he had conducted with Bill Burkett just days before.

* Dan Rather interviewing Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, September 20, 2004.

Also in that broadcast, Rather announced that CBS was convening an independent panel to investigate the controversy, and that the network would make the findings public. The investigation was headed up by the CEO of the Associated Press Louis Boccardi and former U.S Attorney General Dick Thornburgh who had served in the Presidential administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Senior.

In January of last year CBS released the findings of the investigation and promptly fired four producers involved with the story, including the lead producer, Mary Mapes. Dan Rather resigned from his anchor position a few months later.

Mary Mapes is a long time television news producer and reporter who worked for CBS for 15 years. In 2004, just a few months before the Texas National Guard story aired, she uncovered the photos of torture at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison bringing worldwide attention to the practices there.

Mapes has always stood by the National Guard story and maintains that the documents in question were never found to be false. She condemned the CBS investigation as politically biased and has said that she was fired because the Chief Executive of Viacom, which is the corporate parent of CBS, feared regulatory retaliation by the Bush administration. CBS maintains that Mapes was fired because of faulty reporting. Mary has written a book about her experience titled, "Truth and Duty: The Press, The President and the Privilege of Power."

* Mary Mapes, former CBS producer. Author of "Truth and Duty: The Press, The President and the Privilege of Power."

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