INDIVIDUALCASE STUDYREPORT:ThisIndividualCase Study Reportwill serve asyour first formal written exercise. Itwill be worth a total of 100points (10%of your final grade).It will be due as noted in the course calendar (see syllabus)or as noted on the course website.Students that do not, for whatever reason,submit this completed assignment on the noted due date will be penalized according to instructor discretion. You must, as a business associate, be able to meet deadlines. Further, it is important that you be able to make decisions and produce a quality product without supervision or hand holding. Each student grade will be based on the quality and structure of the Report, ability to address and solve key issues, writing skills, and other criteria articulated below. Please be sure to closely review the Analyzing and Reporting Case Studieshandout the instructor posted on the course website.PURPOSES:The purpose of the IndividualCase StudyReportassignment isto(1) apply the textbook material inreal world scenarios;(2) emphasize the importance of transparency in communications with customers and regulatory agencies;(3) encourage critical analysis and synthesis of business strategies;(4) highlight the need for honest communication of sound policies that promote the publics best interest;(5) discuss the need for companies to find a balance between their rights and consumer needs;(6) identify business problems and associated stakeholders;(7) identify and defend viable solutions;(8) investigate how companies manage a crisis situation;and (9)identify how, employing the Arthur W. Page seven principles of public relations management, companies should responsibly conduct business.YOU WILL NEED TO DO THE FOLLOWING:I.Thoroughly read the case study.II.Write a 1-2 page (more than one page but no more than two pages), single-spaced,Report (following the guidelines below and in the attached case study) that analyzes the major issues in the case and identifies specific recommendations on what to do. You will act as an external management consultant, and complete this analysis for Gil Schwartz, EVP and Chief Communications Officer, and Sean McManus, President, CBS News.GUIDELINES:BE SURE TO USE THE FOLLOWING FOUR HEADINGS IN YOUR REPORT.Summation of the DilemmaKey Business Issues/ConcernsStakeholdersSolutions/Recommendation(s) for ActionYou should also have a very brief introduction and conclusion (3-6 sentences each).HELPFUL TIPS:Use Times New Roman, 10-12 font size; use margins of 1-inch; single-spacedUse boldheadingsUse bullets for key pointsDo not justify typeDo not use a heading near the end of apageUse full names, where appropriateBe direct, succinct, and state the factsDo not use contractionsProvide a short introduction and conclusionAvoid phrases such as, the fact that, or due to the factUse proper grammar and syntaxAvoid fluff and superfluous languageWrite in an unbiased toneProvide a firm and clear solutionRemember, this a business document; NOT an academic paper

05-05 Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication Mendoza College of Business University of Notre Dame CBS News: Challenging the Authenticity of a News Source It is a rare situation when those reporting the news become the news. Yet on the evening of Tuesday, November 23, 2004, Dan Rather, the veteran CBS News anchor, became the story once again when he announced he would retire the following March. In fact, Mr. Rather had been in the news for several weeks since he became the center of a controversial story on President George W. Bush. The announcement of his retirement, many media observers felt, was the epilogue of the tumultuous story of the Bush National Guard Memos. In a written statement, Mr. Rather said, I have always said that I'd know when the time was right to step away from the anchor chair. This past summer, CBS and I decided that the close of the election cycle would be an appropriate time."' What Mr. Rather did not say was how the events of September helped influence this decision. The History of CBS News The CBS television network traces its roots back to January 27, 1927, when it began as a network of 16 independent radio stations called United Independent Broadcasters, Inc. By September of 1928, the 27-year-old William S. Paley acquired United Independent Broadcasters Inc. Mr. Paley EVALUATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL CASE STUDY REPORT: 05-05 Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication Mendoza College of Business University of Notre Dame Is your business document properly formatted? it clear and direct? Have you done the research that's necessary? Are the main claims/paints identifiable and documented (with the proper and correct citation style with sources credible and sufficient necessary? Does the report contain information that is substantive? Have you considered audience analysis, and adapted the text to the intended audience? Do your points fit together logically, with one point leading to the next? the Report easily readable (esthetically? Is the language in formal business style? Does the writing avoid casualinimal langunge? the Report edited to the highest standards of Business English? Do you use bulet lists, where appropriate? Have you done a spelling, gramma/syntes, and punctuation check? Have you revised and proofread? Does your document meet the criteria for the resignment requirements? . Have you accomplished the goal of the document? . Carrider the entirety of business communication concepts we have discussed in class Overal, course assignment evaluations are based on the professional academic judgment of the instructor CBS News: Challenging the Authenticity of a News Source It is a rare situation when those reporting the news become the news. Yet on the evening of Tuesday, November 23, 2004, Dan Rather, the veteran CBS News anchor, became the story once again when he announced he would retire the following March. In fact, Mr. Rather had been in the news for several weeks since he became the center of a controversial story on President George W. Bush. The announcement of his retirement, many media observers felt, was the epilogue of the tumultuous story of the Bush National Guard Memos. In a written statement, Mr. Rather said, "I have always said that I'd know when the time was right to step away from the anchor chair. This past summer, CBS and I decided that the close of the election cycle would be an appropriate time." What Mr. Rather did not say was how the events of September helped influence this decision. The History of CBS News The CBS television network traces its roots back to January 27, 1927, when it began as a network of 16 independent radio stations called United Independent Broadcasters, Inc. By September of 1928, the 27-year-old William S. Paley acquired United Independent Broadcasters Inc. Mr. Paley changed the name to the Columbia Broadcast System and became president of the company. First with Many Firsts Radio was to the Roaring Twenties what the Internet was to the 1990s. In similar fashion to the founders of Yahoo or Amazon.com, Mr. Paley embarked with his young radio network on many groundbreaking endeavors. One example of this was the November, 1928 CBS Radio This case was prepared by Research Assistants Christopher C. Stevenson and Kevin P. Suhanic under the direction of James S. O'Rourke, Concurrent Professor of Management, as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Information was thered from corporate as well as puble sources Copyright 2005. Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise - without permission. Dan Rather coverage of the presidential election that pitted Herbert Hoover against Alfred E. Smith. On election night, CBS relied on their announcer, Ted Husing, for live reports on election returns. Husing used a microphone that was set-up in the city room of the New York World building. This was the first live coverage of a U.S. presidential election. For its efforts, CBS received 12,000 congratulatory telegrams. This live broadcast set the standard for many future CBS firsts, including the first battlefield broadcast in radio news history during the Spanish Civil War Like Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather grew up in Texas. Daniel Irvin Rather was born October 31, 1931 in Wharton, Texas. By 1953, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State Teachers College. The school has since named its journalism and communications building after him. On January 8, 1929, Paley made an on-air appearance to announce to his audience that CBS then had the greatest number of radio broadcasting stations ever assembled. In less than four months, Paley had tripled CBS broadcasting coverage. His burgeoning radio empire included 49 stations in 42 cities, but Paley had his CBS eye on more than radio. He had the foresight to recognize that television would eventually become the American public's principal source of entertainment and news. CBS began its early movement into television on July 21, 1931 when the network broadcast the first regularly scheduled program simulcast on both radio and television A Network Empire Built on News The integrity, quality, and broad public appeal of CBS News laid the foundation on which Paley built his network. 1933 saw CBS News Editor, Paul White, organize the Columbia News Service This was the first network news operation. Bureaus were established in New York, Washington, Chicago, and Los Angeles. By 1935, CBS had become the nation's largest radio network with 97 stations. News legend Edward R. Murrow joined CBS the same year. On March 13, 1938 CBS broadcast a special report on the events that would eventually lead to WWII, What was truly special about this report was that correspondents from multiple locations across Europe were connected to a central news desk in New York during a daily national broadcast. This daily report became the World News Roundup," the longest-running news program in the history of broadcasting. The term "anchor" was coined on July 7, 1952 to describe Walter Cronkite's role at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. This CBS broadcast was the first nationally televised convention coverage. Rather began his career in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Mr. Rather went on to become a reporter for the United Press International, several Texas radio stations, and the Houston Chronicle. By 1959, he became a television reporter for KTRK TV in Houston. In 1961, Rather gave live reports from the Galveston seawallas Hurricane Carla battered the Texas coastline. This action impressed the network executives at CBS, as Rather was among the first broadcasters to capture the drama of reporting in dangerous weather. CBS hired him as a news correspondent in 1962, and made him chief of its Southwest bureau in Dallas. Rather eventually moved to London to become CBS News bureau chief. He was also the White House correspondent during the Johnson and Nixon administrations. After years of progressing through the ranks at CBS, on March 9, 1981, Rather was named Anchor and Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News. He would be looked upon to fill the shoes of perhaps the most famous newsman in American broadcast history, Walter Cronkite. Rather also continued work on the CBS news magazine 48 Hours, made regular contributions to CBS Radio News, and was a full-time correspondent for CRS 60 Minutes II. In addition to his various roles and ties at CBS, Rather became a prolific writer. He is the author of such titles as The View Menu Dream and The Camera Never Blink Twice: The Further Adventures of a Television Journalist. Rather has often been referred to as "the hardest working man in broadcast journalism." Rather Controversial Cronkite Bridges Historie Murrow to Contemporary Rather By 1954, CBS News joined the CBS Radio and Television divisions and created the News and Public Affairs department. Yet another first, this news organization would provide content for both the CBS radio and television networks. With the television broadcast becoming ever more important to CBS, on April 16, 1962 Walter Cronkite was named anchor and managing editor of the "CBS Evening News." At different points in his career, Cronkite was a competitor, contemporary, and colleague of Edward R. Murrow, who is still widely seen by historians as the epitome of honesty and integrity in American broadcast journalism. Before the end of his career, Cronkite established himself as an American icon who was often termed "the most trusted man in America. In 1975, Cronkite's eventual successor, Dan Rather, joined Mike Wallace and Morley Safer on CBS 60 Minutes as co-editor. Even though he has been awarded the highest honors in broadcast journalism, including multiple Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award, Dan Rather has always been a lightening rod for controversy at CBS News. Enter the words "Dan Rather" into the Google search engine and you'll find a series of websites critical of his work, including http://www.ratherbiased.com. Such criticism has been spurred by his run-ins with prominent Republicans, including Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush. More recently, his February 2003 one-on-one interview with Saddam Hussein was seen as sympathetic to the Iraqi dictator and, therefore, implicitly critical of President George W. Bush's policies. Rather has been controversial not only for his political views, but has caused controversy within the CBS organization itself. His views about broadcast news led to the infamous "dead air incident" of September 11, 1987, in which Rather walked off the set of the CBS Evening News when he suspected a tennis match might preempt his broadcast. The match ended sooner than expected, leaving CBS personnel scrambling to locate Rather. More than 100 CBS broadcast 2 3 affiliates were left with six minutes of dead air to broadcast. Reacting to Rather's actions, Walter Cronkite told a reporter, "I would have fired him. There's no excuse for it.** Viacom's Insulation Viacom Corporation, the corporate parent of CBS, had humble beginnings. The company was founded by Sumner Redstone, its current chairman, in the 1990s when he bought a chain of movie theatres. It grew into a media conglomerate, aggregating cable networks, dozens of radio stations, a book publisher, Blockbuster Video, and a movie studio. At one point during the 1990s, Viacom even owned New York's Madison Square Garden." Viacom acquired CBS for US$50 billion in 1999. While Viacom's U.S. Security and Exchange Commission filings indicate that the television division provided about 31% of operating income for 2003, CBS News provided just one-sixth of the total television division revenues and operating income, according to a company insider. This means that CBS News accounts for approximately 4-to-5 percent of Viacom revenues and operating income. (See Exhibit 8 for a more detailed analysis of CBS News' impact on the Viacom bottom line.) The sheer size and diversity of Viacom's operations provide significant protection from any fallout at CBS News, Redstone, Viacom's chairman, commented on controversy at CBS, saying "I don't think it could negatively impact the brand." In fact, CBS itself relies much more heavily on its entertainment content, where it was the leader in prime-time ratings during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons. The company's news division, which has consistently finished third in national news viewership, has done little for Viacom revenues. Blogs are basically personal logs that individuals post on the Internet. They include daily running commentary (some posted solely by the blog owner, while others include postings from readers around the world). They address a wide variety of topics, from working at a particular company to the life of a professional chef. A number of blogs now focus on breaking news, including what some would call the original news blog, The Drudge Report, written by Matt Drudge. Mr. Drudge's site, along with similar sites, focuses on two main goals: reporting news they feel is glossed over by the mainstream media, and breaking new stories as they happen, in near real-time. These sites do, in fact, often break stories early, but many readers question the accuracy of some claims. In the 2004 presidential election, many of these sites posted preliminary exit polling data showing John Kerry with a lead in nearly every battleground state, but George W. Bush ended up winning many of those states. The difficulty with blous is that they are written by individuals who may indeed have first- hand information, or they may just have an agenda. It can be very difficult to ascertain the accuracy and sources of information reported in blogs, and the sheer volume of bloggers allows people of all sorts to hide in the anonymity of a web name. The explosive growth of these blogs and other Internet news outlets has created a tension between "radical" bloggers and traditional news media. As one CBS executive said, "You couldn't have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of check[s) and balances (at 60 Minutes and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing." The 60 Minutes Il Feature Story The Growth of Internet and Cable News Sources Alterative news outlets have dramatically eaten into CBS's audience for news, along with the overall audience for broadcast network news. Cable news has captured much of the audience for major network news, as Fox News Channel (FNC), Cable News Network (CNN and others grew steadily from 2000 through 2004. Fox News is seen by many critics and observers as a more conservative organization, while the traditional broadcast networks are seen as more politically liberal. This is a somewhat self-reinforcing view, as self-described conservatives are more likely to watch FNC and self-described liberals are more likely to watch broadcast news." On Wednesday, September 8, 2004, the CBS Evening News broadcast a story as a set-up to that evening's broadcast of 60 Minutes II. The story was about President George W. Bush's service in the Texas National Guard and it centered on a set of documents that came into the possession of CBS. Known as the Killian Documents, as well as the CBS documents, they were attributed to the late Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian (see Exhibits 1 through 4). Killian was the Texas Air National Guard Squadron Commander of President George W. Bush. The theme carried throughout the memos was that, then-Lieutenant Bush was lax in his duties in the Texas Air National Guard. They suggested that Bush disobeyed orders, did not meet flight requirements, and tried to use the position and influence of his father in order to receive preferential treatment The memos spanned 1972 and 1973 and were used by CBS News producer Mary Mapes for the September 8 60 Minutes // segment. That segment also included accounts from those who were involved with Bush's unit at the time, but the documents were the foundation for the entire story. These alternative media outlets were originally confined to cable channels, but their ranks have swelled in recent years to include Internet sites and web logs, or "blogs." In 1995, the number of people who said they got news online three or more days a week was just 2 percent of the total audience. By 2004, that figure grew to 29 percent." The frequency of use of Internet news and information sources also grew over the same period. The main sources of news on the Internet are the web sites of broadcast and cable news operations (FoxNews.com, CNN.com, ABCnews.go.com., among others). By 2004, however, non-traditional sources grew dramatically Especially noteworthy is the growth of news-related blogs. Aftermath of the Feature Blogs and Internet Sources Question Memos Almost immediately after the 60 Minutes Il segment aired, rumors began circulating on Internet blogs. The first known post, questioning the authenticity of the memos, was on a blog hosted by http://wwwfiserepublic.com, just before midnight on Wednesday, September 8, just four hours 4 S after the documents were shown on the 60 Minutes Il broadcast." Free Republic is a largely conservative Internet news site but, by the next day, the questions had spread to blogs throughout the Internet, and President Bush's statements questioning the memos only added to the doubts about the memos origins. Bloggers picked up on several key inconsistencies in the memos. The first was that the characters were not evenly spaced, even though nearly all typewriters of the time spaced letters evenly. The memos exhibited "proportional spacing" which was only available on the newest model IBM Selectric L. It was doubtful the Texas Air National Guard owned one of these typewriters, as they were new and very expensive. Also of note is that other documents from the same squadron did not exhibit proportional spacing. The other inconsistency bloggers uncovered was the fact that, in one instance, the document said "111 Fighter Wing." The superscript "th" was highly suspect, as no typewriter of the time was known to have that capability. Other problems with the memo would later surface, but these two problems led to the story becoming more widespread. Mainstream Media Pick up the Story As the more established conservative news sites (Drudge Report, Free Republic) started talking about superscript and proportional spacing, major newspapers and the networks began to take notice. Fox News began reporting that questions had arisen surrounding the source of the documents Kelli Edwards declined to respond to questions raised by experts who examined copies of the papers at the request of The Washington Post, or to provide the names of the experts CBS consulted. Marjorie Connell, the widow of the documents' alleged author, stated that the documents are a farce... her husband did not keep files." In addition, she said that her husband considered Bush "un excellent pilot." She also made that statement that she was "livid" at CBS. A CBS reporter contacted her briefly before the on-air release, but did not ask her to authenticate the records. In addition to Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian's widow, his former secretary, Marian Carr Knox, questioned the authenticity of the documents. Later that week, Rather traveled to Texas to interview Bill Burkett, a retired National Guard official who some alleged was the source of the documents. Mr. Burkett, however, had strong ties to the Democratic Party, and even reportedly urged Democratic activists to wage "war" against Republican "dirty tricks.* This did little to quiet speculation on conservative sites that the discovery" (perhaps, creation") of these memos was the product of anti-Bush political elements. CBS Continues to Follow the Story It was not until Wednesday, September 15, 2004 that Dan Rather acknowledged for the first time that, there are serious questions about the authenticity of the documents he used to question President Bush's National Guard record last week on 60 Minutes ? Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent, stated that, "I think that this is very, very serious. At the same time, Rather wanted the press to question the Bush administration about the President's service record instead of questioning him about where and how he acquired the documents. With fires all around them, CBS issued a statement (See Exhibit 6) maintaining that the documents were authentic. This statement was to set the stage for that night's broadcast of 60 Minutes II, one week after the initial story broke. Soon thereafter, the story was picked up by the major media outlets, but only after being published by a series of often anonymous bloggers. The Washington Post sought independent experts to review the documents, but they knew they were self-admittedly behind the Internet news sources." The fever-pitch blog postings would reach would eventually lead to sites dedicated to debunking the story, such as http://wwwrathergate.com and http://www.ratherbiased.com. Some blogs even posted lists of major Viacom shareholders and urged people to contact them en masse, which some felt bordered on harassment." CBS/Viacom Response The Washington Post Reviews the Documents The Washington Post chose to conduct its own examination of the documents in question. The Post investigation discovered inconsistencies in both the format and origin of the documents, concluding that the Killian memos were formatted differently from other Texas Air National Guard documents of that same period. The Post brought in William Flynn, a forensic document specialist with 35 years of experience in police crime labs and private practice, who said that "the CBS documents raise suspicions because of their use of proportional spacing techniques. 19 Exhibit 5 highlights Flynn's findings. By the 6:00p.m news hour the next day (Thursday, September 9) reactions to the story on Bush's guard service (or apparent lack thereof) were headline news on most network broadcasts During the CBS Evening News, Dan Rather mentioned that some "Republican Congressmen had questioned the authenticity of the documents, but he reiterated that CBS believed the story was accurate, CBS News also released a statement that day, declaring that each one of the documents "was thoroughly vetted by independent experts and we are convinced of their authenticity..60 CBS also supported the authenticity of the documents by having their reporters talk with unidentified individuals who saw them at the time they were written CBS spokeswoman CBS News Retracts the Story On September 20, 2004, CBS news released a statement effectively retracting the story that questioned President Bush's Service. CBS released the following: (See Exhibit 7). 6 7 Pressure on Dan Rather and the CBS Television Network Bill Burketr, in a weekend interview with CBS News Anchor and Correspondent Dan Rather, has acknowledged that he provided the now-disputed documents used in the Septembergu "60 Minutes Wednesday" report on President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. Burkert, a retired National Guard lieutenant colonel, also admits that he deliberately misled the CBS News producer working on the report, giving her a false account of the documents' origins to protect a promise of confidentiality to the actual source. In light of this and other developments reported by CBS News and other news organizations, CBS News President Andrew Heyward issued the following statement: Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in the report. We should not have used them. That was a mistake, which we deeply regret. Nothing is more important to us than our credibility and keeping faith with the millions of people who count on us for fair, accurate, reliable, and independent reporting. We will continue to work tirelessly to be worthy of that trust. Other Anchors Defend Mr. Rather Dan Rather, a fixture of network news for more than two decades, was now on the defensive, along with the entire CBS News organization. Other network news figures came to the defense of Mr. Rather, including NBC anchor Tom Brokaw and ABC anchor Peter Jennings. Brokaw was particularly strong in his support of Rather, saying, "There's a political jihad against Dan Rather and CBS." He continued, "We know a mistake was made, but it's been blown out of proportion. It's an attempt to demonize CBS News. It's a demagoguery unleashed on the Internet." The three titans of broadcast news: Brokaw, Jennings, and Rather appeared together at the New York Public Library on October 2, 2004 to show solidarity during this situation. At that point, CBS News had backed away from the memos, but bloggers and conservative pundits continued to press CBS for details on what checks had been performed on the documents. CBS's own admission that it may not have done enough background checking prior to airing the story led many to question the continuing role of Rather as Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News Many who saw or read about Brokaw's comments accused him of bias in his support of Rather. For his part, Jennings displayed a somewhat wider perspective, and made one of the best received remarks when he shared his thoughts on the situation, "You never judge a man by one event in his career." Jennings added, "I think the attack on CBS is an attack on mainstream media, an attack on the so-called "liberal media. To me, when you make a mistake, you apologize. You go back and review your standards." After retracting their story on President Bush's service record, both CBS and Dan Rather were placed under considerable scrutiny. The question that loomed over both CBS News and Mr. Rather was why CBS did not catch the problems with their sources before broadcasting the story Any chance that the media firestorm surrounding these documents would die off after the retraction quickly evaporated, as bloggers and conservative web sites felt emboldened by their apparent "victory over the media giant. Hard questions were being asked by outlets ranging from cable broadcasters to Internet weblogs. Dan Rather was, in effect, indicted by the alternative news media, and the questioning did not subside. Was there an agenda or bias in the way they reported on this story? Independent readers on the Internet bud poked holes in the CBS story within 24 hours of its broadcast, yet none were noticed prior to running the story. How were CBS and Rather so easily misled, or did they tum a blind eye? CBS was asked these questions repeatedly, yet had no easy answers. Rather Announces His Retirement On November 23, 2004, in a written statement, Mr. Rather said, "I have always said that I'd know when the time was right to step away from the anchor chair. This past summer, CBS and I decided that the close of the election cycle would be an appropriate time. This announcement meant that the face of CBS News for nearly 24 years would be gone by the end of March. The strain of the previous three months showed clearly on Rather's face, and few doubted that the scandal had taken a toll on the veteran newsman. Rather would sign-off as anchor and managing editor on March 9, 2005, some 24 years to the day after be took the position. While he planned to eventually return to a contributing role on CBS 60 Minutes, there was no doubt that the face of CBS News had changed, first metaphorically and then literally. Where does CBS go from here? CBS Television launched an inquiry into what led to the allegedly forgod memos reaching the airwaves. They have appointed Richard Thornburgh, who ran the Justice Department during parts of the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, and Louis D. Boccardi, who retired as chief executive of the Associated Press. "It's a joumalistic challenge to look at the handling of the story, what was done, what was not done and see what lessons we can derive for CBS News," Mr. Boccardi said. The investigation's findings were slated for release in early 2005 CBS News has been defined by great newsmen: Murrow, Cronkite and Rather. Dan Rather's dual role as anchor and managing editor would have to be filled, yet no obvious successor existed. CBS News gradually lost market share, and witnessed the overall market for broadcast news dwindle each year from the late 1990s. Internet and 24-hour cable news continued to attract viewers, and, in this case at least, proved to be more accurate than CBS's reporting. With dwindling viewership, accusations of bias and shoddy reporting, and a long-time anchor and 8 05-05 Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication Mendoza College of Business University of Notre Dame CBS News: Challenging the Authenticity of a News Source It is a rare situation when those reporting the news become the news. Yet on the evening of Tuesday, November 23, 2004, Dan Rather, the veteran CBS News anchor, became the story once again when he announced he would retire the following March. In fact, Mr. Rather had been in the news for several weeks since he became the center of a controversial story on President George W. Bush. The announcement of his retirement, many media observers felt, was the epilogue of the tumultuous story of the Bush National Guard Memos. In a written statement, Mr. Rather said, I have always said that I'd know when the time was right to step away from the anchor chair. This past summer, CBS and I decided that the close of the election cycle would be an appropriate time."' What Mr. Rather did not say was how the events of September helped influence this decision. The History of CBS News The CBS television network traces its roots back to January 27, 1927, when it began as a network of 16 independent radio stations called United Independent Broadcasters, Inc. By September of 1928, the 27-year-old William S. Paley acquired United Independent Broadcasters Inc. Mr. Paley EVALUATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL CASE STUDY REPORT: 05-05 Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication Mendoza College of Business University of Notre Dame Is your business document properly formatted? it clear and direct? Have you done the research that's necessary? Are the main claims/paints identifiable and documented (with the proper and correct citation style with sources credible and sufficient necessary? Does the report contain information that is substantive? Have you considered audience analysis, and adapted the text to the intended audience? Do your points fit together logically, with one point leading to the next? the Report easily readable (esthetically? Is the language in formal business style? Does the writing avoid casualinimal langunge? the Report edited to the highest standards of Business English? Do you use bulet lists, where appropriate? Have you done a spelling, gramma/syntes, and punctuation check? Have you revised and proofread? Does your document meet the criteria for the resignment requirements? . Have you accomplished the goal of the document? . Carrider the entirety of business communication concepts we have discussed in class Overal, course assignment evaluations are based on the professional academic judgment of the instructor CBS News: Challenging the Authenticity of a News Source It is a rare situation when those reporting the news become the news. Yet on the evening of Tuesday, November 23, 2004, Dan Rather, the veteran CBS News anchor, became the story once again when he announced he would retire the following March. In fact, Mr. Rather had been in the news for several weeks since he became the center of a controversial story on President George W. Bush. The announcement of his retirement, many media observers felt, was the epilogue of the tumultuous story of the Bush National Guard Memos. In a written statement, Mr. Rather said, "I have always said that I'd know when the time was right to step away from the anchor chair. This past summer, CBS and I decided that the close of the election cycle would be an appropriate time." What Mr. Rather did not say was how the events of September helped influence this decision. The History of CBS News The CBS television network traces its roots back to January 27, 1927, when it began as a network of 16 independent radio stations called United Independent Broadcasters, Inc. By September of 1928, the 27-year-old William S. Paley acquired United Independent Broadcasters Inc. Mr. Paley changed the name to the Columbia Broadcast System and became president of the company. First with Many Firsts Radio was to the Roaring Twenties what the Internet was to the 1990s. In similar fashion to the founders of Yahoo or Amazon.com, Mr. Paley embarked with his young radio network on many groundbreaking endeavors. One example of this was the November, 1928 CBS Radio This case was prepared by Research Assistants Christopher C. Stevenson and Kevin P. Suhanic under the direction of James S. O'Rourke, Concurrent Professor of Management, as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Information was thered from corporate as well as puble sources Copyright 2005. Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise - without permission. Dan Rather coverage of the presidential election that pitted Herbert Hoover against Alfred E. Smith. On election night, CBS relied on their announcer, Ted Husing, for live reports on election returns. Husing used a microphone that was set-up in the city room of the New York World building. This was the first live coverage of a U.S. presidential election. For its efforts, CBS received 12,000 congratulatory telegrams. This live broadcast set the standard for many future CBS firsts, including the first battlefield broadcast in radio news history during the Spanish Civil War Like Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather grew up in Texas. Daniel Irvin Rather was born October 31, 1931 in Wharton, Texas. By 1953, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State Teachers College. The school has since named its journalism and communications building after him. On January 8, 1929, Paley made an on-air appearance to announce to his audience that CBS then had the greatest number of radio broadcasting stations ever assembled. In less than four months, Paley had tripled CBS broadcasting coverage. His burgeoning radio empire included 49 stations in 42 cities, but Paley had his CBS eye on more than radio. He had the foresight to recognize that television would eventually become the American public's principal source of entertainment and news. CBS began its early movement into television on July 21, 1931 when the network broadcast the first regularly scheduled program simulcast on both radio and television A Network Empire Built on News The integrity, quality, and broad public appeal of CBS News laid the foundation on which Paley built his network. 1933 saw CBS News Editor, Paul White, organize the Columbia News Service This was the first network news operation. Bureaus were established in New York, Washington, Chicago, and Los Angeles. By 1935, CBS had become the nation's largest radio network with 97 stations. News legend Edward R. Murrow joined CBS the same year. On March 13, 1938 CBS broadcast a special report on the events that would eventually lead to WWII, What was truly special about this report was that correspondents from multiple locations across Europe were connected to a central news desk in New York during a daily national broadcast. This daily report became the World News Roundup," the longest-running news program in the history of broadcasting. The term "anchor" was coined on July 7, 1952 to describe Walter Cronkite's role at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. This CBS broadcast was the first nationally televised convention coverage. Rather began his career in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Mr. Rather went on to become a reporter for the United Press International, several Texas radio stations, and the Houston Chronicle. By 1959, he became a television reporter for KTRK TV in Houston. In 1961, Rather gave live reports from the Galveston seawallas Hurricane Carla battered the Texas coastline. This action impressed the network executives at CBS, as Rather was among the first broadcasters to capture the drama of reporting in dangerous weather. CBS hired him as a news correspondent in 1962, and made him chief of its Southwest bureau in Dallas. Rather eventually moved to London to become CBS News bureau chief. He was also the White House correspondent during the Johnson and Nixon administrations. After years of progressing through the ranks at CBS, on March 9, 1981, Rather was named Anchor and Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News. He would be looked upon to fill the shoes of perhaps the most famous newsman in American broadcast history, Walter Cronkite. Rather also continued work on the CBS news magazine 48 Hours, made regular contributions to CBS Radio News, and was a full-time correspondent for CRS 60 Minutes II. In addition to his various roles and ties at CBS, Rather became a prolific writer. He is the author of such titles as The View Menu Dream and The Camera Never Blink Twice: The Further Adventures of a Television Journalist. Rather has often been referred to as "the hardest working man in broadcast journalism." Rather Controversial Cronkite Bridges Historie Murrow to Contemporary Rather By 1954, CBS News joined the CBS Radio and Television divisions and created the News and Public Affairs department. Yet another first, this news organization would provide content for both the CBS radio and television networks. With the television broadcast becoming ever more important to CBS, on April 16, 1962 Walter Cronkite was named anchor and managing editor of the "CBS Evening News." At different points in his career, Cronkite was a competitor, contemporary, and colleague of Edward R. Murrow, who is still widely seen by historians as the epitome of honesty and integrity in American broadcast journalism. Before the end of his career, Cronkite established himself as an American icon who was often termed "the most trusted man in America. In 1975, Cronkite's eventual successor, Dan Rather, joined Mike Wallace and Morley Safer on CBS 60 Minutes as co-editor. Even though he has been awarded the highest honors in broadcast journalism, including multiple Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award, Dan Rather has always been a lightening rod for controversy at CBS News. Enter the words "Dan Rather" into the Google search engine and you'll find a series of websites critical of his work, including http://www.ratherbiased.com. Such criticism has been spurred by his run-ins with prominent Republicans, including Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush. More recently, his February 2003 one-on-one interview with Saddam Hussein was seen as sympathetic to the Iraqi dictator and, therefore, implicitly critical of President George W. Bush's policies. Rather has been controversial not only for his political views, but has caused controversy within the CBS organization itself. His views about broadcast news led to the infamous "dead air incident" of September 11, 1987, in which Rather walked off the set of the CBS Evening News when he suspected a tennis match might preempt his broadcast. The match ended sooner than expected, leaving CBS personnel scrambling to locate Rather. More than 100 CBS broadcast 2 3 affiliates were left with six minutes of dead air to broadcast. Reacting to Rather's actions, Walter Cronkite told a reporter, "I would have fired him. There's no excuse for it.** Viacom's Insulation Viacom Corporation, the corporate parent of CBS, had humble beginnings. The company was founded by Sumner Redstone, its current chairman, in the 1990s when he bought a chain of movie theatres. It grew into a media conglomerate, aggregating cable networks, dozens of radio stations, a book publisher, Blockbuster Video, and a movie studio. At one point during the 1990s, Viacom even owned New York's Madison Square Garden." Viacom acquired CBS for US$50 billion in 1999. While Viacom's U.S. Security and Exchange Commission filings indicate that the television division provided about 31% of operating income for 2003, CBS News provided just one-sixth of the total television division revenues and operating income, according to a company insider. This means that CBS News accounts for approximately 4-to-5 percent of Viacom revenues and operating income. (See Exhibit 8 for a more detailed analysis of CBS News' impact on the Viacom bottom line.) The sheer size and diversity of Viacom's operations provide significant protection from any fallout at CBS News, Redstone, Viacom's chairman, commented on controversy at CBS, saying "I don't think it could negatively impact the brand." In fact, CBS itself relies much more heavily on its entertainment content, where it was the leader in prime-time ratings during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons. The company's news division, which has consistently finished third in national news viewership, has done little for Viacom revenues. Blogs are basically personal logs that individuals post on the Internet. They include daily running commentary (some posted solely by the blog owner, while others include postings from readers around the world). They address a wide variety of topics, from working at a particular company to the life of a professional chef. A number of blogs now focus on breaking news, including what some would call the original news blog, The Drudge Report, written by Matt Drudge. Mr. Drudge's site, along with similar sites, focuses on two main goals: reporting news they feel is glossed over by the mainstream media, and breaking new stories as they happen, in near real-time. These sites do, in fact, often break stories early, but many readers question the accuracy of some claims. In the 2004 presidential election, many of these sites posted preliminary exit polling data showing John Kerry with a lead in nearly every battleground state, but George W. Bush ended up winning many of those states. The difficulty with blous is that they are written by individuals who may indeed have first- hand information, or they may just have an agenda. It can be very difficult to ascertain the accuracy and sources of information reported in blogs, and the sheer volume of bloggers allows people of all sorts to hide in the anonymity of a web name. The explosive growth of these blogs and other Internet news outlets has created a tension between "radical" bloggers and traditional news media. As one CBS executive said, "You couldn't have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of check[s) and balances (at 60 Minutes and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing." The 60 Minutes Il Feature Story The Growth of Internet and Cable News Sources Alterative news outlets have dramatically eaten into CBS's audience for news, along with the overall audience for broadcast network news. Cable news has captured much of the audience for major network news, as Fox News Channel (FNC), Cable News Network (CNN and others grew steadily from 2000 through 2004. Fox News is seen by many critics and observers as a more conservative organization, while the traditional broadcast networks are seen as more politically liberal. This is a somewhat self-reinforcing view, as self-described conservatives are more likely to watch FNC and self-described liberals are more likely to watch broadcast news." On Wednesday, September 8, 2004, the CBS Evening News broadcast a story as a set-up to that evening's broadcast of 60 Minutes II. The story was about President George W. Bush's service in the Texas National Guard and it centered on a set of documents that came into the possession of CBS. Known as the Killian Documents, as well as the CBS documents, they were attributed to the late Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian (see Exhibits 1 through 4). Killian was the Texas Air National Guard Squadron Commander of President George W. Bush. The theme carried throughout the memos was that, then-Lieutenant Bush was lax in his duties in the Texas Air National Guard. They suggested that Bush disobeyed orders, did not meet flight requirements, and tried to use the position and influence of his father in order to receive preferential treatment The memos spanned 1972 and 1973 and were used by CBS News producer Mary Mapes for the September 8 60 Minutes // segment. That segment also included accounts from those who were involved with Bush's unit at the time, but the documents were the foundation for the entire story. These alternative media outlets were originally confined to cable channels, but their ranks have swelled in recent years to include Internet sites and web logs, or "blogs." In 1995, the number of people who said they got news online three or more days a week was just 2 percent of the total audience. By 2004, that figure grew to 29 percent." The frequency of use of Internet news and information sources also grew over the same period. The main sources of news on the Internet are the web sites of broadcast and cable news operations (FoxNews.com, CNN.com, ABCnews.go.com., among others). By 2004, however, non-traditional sources grew dramatically Especially noteworthy is the growth of news-related blogs. Aftermath of the Feature Blogs and Internet Sources Question Memos Almost immediately after the 60 Minutes Il segment aired, rumors began circulating on Internet blogs. The first known post, questioning the authenticity of the memos, was on a blog hosted by http://wwwfiserepublic.com, just before midnight on Wednesday, September 8, just four hours 4 S after the documents were shown on the 60 Minutes Il broadcast." Free Republic is a largely conservative Internet news site but, by the next day, the questions had spread to blogs throughout the Internet, and President Bush's statements questioning the memos only added to the doubts about the memos origins. Bloggers picked up on several key inconsistencies in the memos. The first was that the characters were not evenly spaced, even though nearly all typewriters of the time spaced letters evenly. The memos exhibited "proportional spacing" which was only available on the newest model IBM Selectric L. It was doubtful the Texas Air National Guard owned one of these typewriters, as they were new and very expensive. Also of note is that other documents from the same squadron did not exhibit proportional spacing. The other inconsistency bloggers uncovered was the fact that, in one instance, the document said "111 Fighter Wing." The superscript "th" was highly suspect, as no typewriter of the time was known to have that capability. Other problems with the memo would later surface, but these two problems led to the story becoming more widespread. Mainstream Media Pick up the Story As the more established conservative news sites (Drudge Report, Free Republic) started talking about superscript and proportional spacing, major newspapers and the networks began to take notice. Fox News began reporting that questions had arisen surrounding the source of the documents Kelli Edwards declined to respond to questions raised by experts who examined copies of the papers at the request of The Washington Post, or to provide the names of the experts CBS consulted. Marjorie Connell, the widow of the documents' alleged author, stated that the documents are a farce... her husband did not keep files." In addition, she said that her husband considered Bush "un excellent pilot." She also made that statement that she was "livid" at CBS. A CBS reporter contacted her briefly before the on-air release, but did not ask her to authenticate the records. In addition to Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian's widow, his former secretary, Marian Carr Knox, questioned the authenticity of the documents. Later that week, Rather traveled to Texas to interview Bill Burkett, a retired National Guard official who some alleged was the source of the documents. Mr. Burkett, however, had strong ties to the Democratic Party, and even reportedly urged Democratic activists to wage "war" against Republican "dirty tricks.* This did little to quiet speculation on conservative sites that the discovery" (perhaps, creation") of these memos was the product of anti-Bush political elements. CBS Continues to Follow the Story It was not until Wednesday, September 15, 2004 that Dan Rather acknowledged for the first time that, there are serious questions about the authenticity of the documents he used to question President Bush's National Guard record last week on 60 Minutes ? Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent, stated that, "I think that this is very, very serious. At the same time, Rather wanted the press to question the Bush administration about the President's service record instead of questioning him about where and how he acquired the documents. With fires all around them, CBS issued a statement (See Exhibit 6) maintaining that the documents were authentic. This statement was to set the stage for that night's broadcast of 60 Minutes II, one week after the initial story broke. Soon thereafter, the story was picked up by the major media outlets, but only after being published by a series of often anonymous bloggers. The Washington Post sought independent experts to review the documents, but they knew they were self-admittedly behind the Internet news sources." The fever-pitch blog postings would reach would eventually lead to sites dedicated to debunking the story, such as http://wwwrathergate.com and http://www.ratherbiased.com. Some blogs even posted lists of major Viacom shareholders and urged people to contact them en masse, which some felt bordered on harassment." CBS/Viacom Response The Washington Post Reviews the Documents The Washington Post chose to conduct its own examination of the documents in question. The Post investigation discovered inconsistencies in both the format and origin of the documents, concluding that the Killian memos were formatted differently from other Texas Air National Guard documents of that same period. The Post brought in William Flynn, a forensic document specialist with 35 years of experience in police crime labs and private practice, who said that "the CBS documents raise suspicions because of their use of proportional spacing techniques. 19 Exhibit 5 highlights Flynn's findings. By the 6:00p.m news hour the next day (Thursday, September 9) reactions to the story on Bush's guard service (or apparent lack thereof) were headline news on most network broadcasts During the CBS Evening News, Dan Rather mentioned that some "Republican Congressmen had questioned the authenticity of the documents, but he reiterated that CBS believed the story was accurate, CBS News also released a statement that day, declaring that each one of the documents "was thoroughly vetted by independent experts and we are convinced of their authenticity..60 CBS also supported the authenticity of the documents by having their reporters talk with unidentified individuals who saw them at the time they were written CBS spokeswoman CBS News Retracts the Story On September 20, 2004, CBS news released a statement effectively retracting the story that questioned President Bush's Service. CBS released the following: (See Exhibit 7). 6 7 Pressure on Dan Rather and the CBS Television Network Bill Burketr, in a weekend interview with CBS News Anchor and Correspondent Dan Rather, has acknowledged that he provided the now-disputed documents used in the Septembergu "60 Minutes Wednesday" report on President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. Burkert, a retired National Guard lieutenant colonel, also admits that he deliberately misled the CBS News producer working on the report, giving her a false account of the documents' origins to protect a promise of confidentiality to the actual source. In light of this and other developments reported by CBS News and other news organizations, CBS News President Andrew Heyward issued the following statement: Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in the report. We should not have used them. That was a mistake, which we deeply regret. Nothing is more important to us than our credibility and keeping faith with the millions of people who count on us for fair, accurate, reliable, and independent reporting. We will continue to work tirelessly to be worthy of that trust. Other Anchors Defend Mr. Rather Dan Rather, a fixture of network news for more than two decades, was now on the defensive, along with the entire CBS News organization. Other network news figures came to the defense of Mr. Rather, including NBC anchor Tom Brokaw and ABC anchor Peter Jennings. Brokaw was particularly strong in his support of Rather, saying, "There's a political jihad against Dan Rather and CBS." He continued, "We know a mistake was made, but it's been blown out of proportion. It's an attempt to demonize CBS News. It's a demagoguery unleashed on the Internet." The three titans of broadcast news: Brokaw, Jennings, and Rather appeared together at the New York Public Library on October 2, 2004 to show solidarity during this situation. At that point, CBS News had backed away from the memos, but bloggers and conservative pundits continued to press CBS for details on what checks had been performed on the documents. CBS's own admission that it may not have done enough background checking prior to airing the story led many to question the continuing role of Rather as Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News Many who saw or read about Brokaw's comments accused him of bias in his support of Rather. For his part, Jennings displayed a somewhat wider perspective, and made one of the best received remarks when he shared his thoughts on the situation, "You never judge a man by one event in his career." Jennings added, "I think the attack on CBS is an attack on mainstream media, an attack on the so-called "liberal media. To me, when you make a mistake, you apologize. You go back and review your standards." After retracting their story on President Bush's service record, both CBS and Dan Rather were placed under considerable scrutiny. The question that loomed over both CBS News and Mr. Rather was why CBS did not catch the problems with their sources before broadcasting the story Any chance that the media firestorm surrounding these documents would die off after the retraction quickly evaporated, as bloggers and conservative web sites felt emboldened by their apparent "victory over the media giant. Hard questions were being asked by outlets ranging from cable broadcasters to Internet weblogs. Dan Rather was, in effect, indicted by the alternative news media, and the questioning did not subside. Was there an agenda or bias in the way they reported on this story? Independent readers on the Internet bud poked holes in the CBS story within 24 hours of its broadcast, yet none were noticed prior to running the story. How were CBS and Rather so easily misled, or did they tum a blind eye? CBS was asked these questions repeatedly, yet had no easy answers. Rather Announces His Retirement On November 23, 2004, in a written statement, Mr. Rather said, "I have always said that I'd know when the time was right to step away from the anchor chair. This past summer, CBS and I decided that the close of the election cycle would be an appropriate time. This announcement meant that the face of CBS News for nearly 24 years would be gone by the end of March. The strain of the previous three months showed clearly on Rather's face, and few doubted that the scandal had taken a toll on the veteran newsman. Rather would sign-off as anchor and managing editor on March 9, 2005, some 24 years to the day after be took the position. While he planned to eventually return to a contributing role on CBS 60 Minutes, there was no doubt that the face of CBS News had changed, first metaphorically and then literally. Where does CBS go from here? CBS Television launched an inquiry into what led to the allegedly forgod memos reaching the airwaves. They have appointed Richard Thornburgh, who ran the Justice Department during parts of the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, and Louis D. Boccardi, who retired as chief executive of the Associated Press. "It's a joumalistic challenge to look at the handling of the story, what was done, what was not done and see what lessons we can derive for CBS News," Mr. Boccardi said. The investigation's findings were slated for release in early 2005 CBS News has been defined by great newsmen: Murrow, Cronkite and Rather. Dan Rather's dual role as anchor and managing editor would have to be filled, yet no obvious successor existed. CBS News gradually lost market share, and witnessed the overall market for broadcast news dwindle each year from the late 1990s. Internet and 24-hour cable news continued to attract viewers, and, in this case at least, proved to be more accurate than CBS's reporting. With dwindling viewership, accusations of bias and shoddy reporting, and a long-time anchor and 8