Rooney'd rather CBS fessed up
BY PAUL D. COLFORD
NY DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER
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CBS curmudgeon Andy Rooney indicated yesterday he believes the controversial documents on President Bush's National Guard service are fake and said it could cost Dan Rather down the road.
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"I'm surprised at their reluctance to concede they're wrong,"<font color=black> Rooney said, referring to CBS brass.
Despite praising Rather as <font color=blue>"a good, honest newsman,"<font color=black> Rooney added, <font color=blue>"I'm unsure if they're whistling in the dark instead of apologizing."<font color=black>
The flap over the documents has rocked CBS News, has Republicans calling for Rather's head and has people questioning the credibility of Rather instead of Bush.
Rooney doesn't think the network would try to ease out Rather over the memo mess, but he added, <font color=blue>"It might have an effect on him six months from now."<font color=black>
Rooney and other CBS staffers are still holding out hope that Rather will produce something to authenticate the supposed memos from the early 1970s that criticized Bush's record in the Texas Air National Guard.
Alex Jones, head of the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard, described a recent phone call from Rather: <font color=blue>"He is very much aware that this is his story, his responsibility, and he's got to sort it out and resolve it."<font color=black>
Jones added, <font color=blue>"Journalism is a human activity. If they made a mistake, they should own up to it, take the bullet and move on."<font color=black>
CBS News spokeswoman Sandy Genelius said there has been no consideration of Rather stepping down, but others were less certain of Rather's standing.
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"If Dan Rather wants to stay at the 'CBS Evening News' and be the premier anchor at the network, this whole imbroglio didn't help him,"<font color=black> said Max Robins, editor in chief of Broadcasting & Cable magazine.
However, unlike NBC News, which has groomed Brian Williams to take over from Tom Brokaw after the presidential election, CBS has no succession plan.
The betting is that CBS White House correspondent John Roberts or "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley will one day succeed Rather, who's 72. |
