CBS responds to Batiste dismissal

May 11, 2007

Following up on an earlier item, CBS News yesterday fired Major Gen John Batiste (Ret.), former commanding general of the first infantry division in Iraq, 48 hours after he appeared in a television ad criticizing the president’s war policy.

This afternoon, ThinkProgress spoke with Linda Mason, CBS News’ vice president for Standards and Special Projects, who had an odd spin on Batiste’s dismissal.

“When we hire someone as a consultant, we want them to share their expertise with our viewers,” she said. “By putting himself front and center in an anti-Bush ad, the viewer might have the feeling everything he says is anti-Bush. And that doesn’t seem like an analytical approach to the issues we want to discuss.”

This is wrong for (at least) two reasons. First, Batiste’s analysis of the president’s war policy, as featured in an ad for a non-partisan, non-profit veterans’ organization, is absolutely “analytical.” Batiste, a life-long Republican, “analyzed” the war first-hand and saw the failures of Bush’s approach.

Second, as Faiz noted, CBS News hired former Bush White House communications director Nicolle Wallace, who has offered insights such as:

“* The Democrats have to walk a fine line and be careful. People don’t want to turn on the TV and see every story being about the obstruction of people trying to do things.” [Washington Post, 3/7/07]

* “Well, you know, people ask me all the time, ‘Do they [in the White House] get it? Do they get how bad things are?’ And the answer is yes.” [CBS Evening News, 12/12/06]

* At the end of the day, no matter how discontent some voters are, they really don’t want to see Democrats in control of the Congress. [CBS Evening News, 10/23/06]

Funny, CBS never seemed particularly worried about whether viewers might get the feeling that everything she says is pro-Bush.

Your “liberal media” strikes again.

Funny how it took them 2 weeks and a ntional uproar to get rid of Imus attacking non-deserving non-public college girls and only 2 days and no public outcry to get rid of Battiste.
This only proves the genius the far right used when tarring and feathering Dan Rather, not on the substance of what he reported, but on the superficiality of some papers.
And it probably ties in to ABC news refusal to actually allow Brian Ross to name names after the weeklong hype of the DC Madames phone list.
Note to Ms Palfry and her attys: Give the 47LBS of phone records to Carpetbagger, TPM ,No Quarter or even FireDogLake folks and let them do the necessary research to bring the names out. ABC failed you. These liberal blogs with much credence in their reportings and opinions would not.

  • I think there’s a difference here: Has Nicolle Wallace appeared on any political television ads?

    I hate to defend the evil media, but if Baptiste had simply expressed an opinion on the news about what he thought of the surge, CBS probably would not have fired him. But he chose to get involved in the political process by joining in the ad.

    That’s his right, of course, but if his contract forbade it, CBS has every right to terminate him.

    If you are aware of any right-wing “consultants” who have been retained by CBS after they participated in ads, those examples would show CBS’s hypocrisy. But I don’t think the Nicolle Wallace thing does.

  • The Freepers are quoting you on Giuliani’s farm photo op — and agreeing with you!

    [Runs outside to look for falling celestial bodies]

    Sheesh, when I wrote “Next stop, Freeperville!” yesterday (?) this isn’t what I had in mind. Funny how enough disgust can blur the battle lines.

  • Dee Loralei, @1:

    A federal judge has just put a restraint on Palfrey’s little black book. She’s forbidden from making any of its contents public.

  • Steve H. wrote: “If you are aware of any right-wing “consultants” who have been retained by CBS after they participated in ads, those examples would show CBS’s hypocrisy. But I don’t think the Nicolle Wallace thing does.”

    I think TCR’s argument is that CBS has no problem keeping extreme partisan hacks on the right with a huge partisan bias but can’t stand people on the left to show any favoritism at all, real or imagined. Batiste put himself front and center in a single ad: Nicolle Wallace had been front and center in the Bush administration , and she spends her time discussing the politics of the Bushies. It sounds really hypocritical for CBS to claim that it is only interested in “analytical discussion” with her on the payroll. In other words, CBS claims it doesn’t want consultants with a partisan slant, but one can hardly imagine anyone with a bigger slant than Nicolle.

    Incidentally, CBS has shown some hypocrisy in the past regarding advocacy ads; anyone remember this oldie via Media Matters?

    http://mediamatters.org/items/200406180006

  • The MSM has “reported” rightwing talking points as “fact” or “common knowledge” for so long that people who depend on the MSM don’t know the difference. (Even I fall into the trap now and again when I don’t have my brain fully engaged.)

    I’m reading Al Franken’s 2003 book “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them”. If you want to read a perfect example of what I’m saying above, read Chapter 25: “This was not a memorial to Paul Wellstone”. Read it and weep for the truth (and for the memory of Sen. Wellstone).

    Re #1: Imus has been spreading hate speech for many years, not just lately. But it took the most recent incident to get him off the air. Pretty sad.

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