CBS NEWS AND "MEMOGATE"

The independent investigation into the 60 Minutes story about President Bush and his National Guard service should serve as a cautionary tale for all journalists. Haste in the face of competitive pressure--real or perceived--and reliance on "star" employees led CBS News into a colossal blunder.

The news division then compounded the error by its "rigid and blind" defense of the original segment. MSNBC contributor Howard Fineman calls the entire affair a setback for mainstream media.

The ethical lapses revealed in the report should prompt discussion in every newsroom. NewsLab's "Lessons Learned?" is a good starting point for conversation.

The investigation took four months and cost four CBS employees their jobs, but not anchor Dan Rather nor CBS News president Andrew Heyward. The statement by CBS chairman Les Moonves calls Heyward "an executive of integrity and talent." In an interview with the Boston Globe, Moonves hinted that Rather already has paid a price by agreeing to step down from the evening news. But he's still going to report for 60 Minutes, according to CBS. Rather did not anchor the newscast on Monday when the report was released.

The question on everyone's mind, says Newsday's Verne Gay, is what about Dan? No question his reputation has taken a hit. Not guilty due to overwork, scoffs Newsday's Marvin Kittman. Critic Tom Shales believes that Rather was done wrong. The New York Post speculates that CBS will look outside the company for a new image after Rather. Moonves appeared to confirm that during the January 05 critics' tour in Los Angeles, raising the possibility of multiple anchors in different cities (shades of Huntley-Brinkley). It seems clear that if CBS had a strong inside candidate for solo main anchor, they wouldn't drag things out.

New York Times reporter Bill Carter says the report was "a crushing blow" to CBS News' credibility. Staff morale is lower than low, and some question the decision to let Heyward keep his job. Most at CBS won't talk for the record, but 60 Minutes own Andy Rooney didn't hold back. "The people most instrumental in getting the broadcast on escaped," he told USA Today.

That's significantly different from what happened after reporting scandals at the New York Times and USA Today when top editors were forced out. And unlike the independent investigation at USA Today, the CBS report makes no mention of a newsroom culture that rewards aggressive reporting, sometimes at the expense of accuracy. The problem, the report suggests, was too much deference to Rather and hot-shot producer Mary Mapes, as the Baltimore Sun puts it, but clearly they aren't the only ones who get such treatment. An editorial in the LA Times concurs that the network star system is much to blame for what happened at CBS.

CBS has adopted the report's recommendations to prevent similar lapses in the future, naming long-time news executive Linda Mason to the position of senior vice president for standards. But that will just be window dressing unless Mason has real enforcement authority, something CBS insiders doubt.

The report does make clear that CBS wouldn't be in this fix today if it hadn't gone to such lengths to defend its flawed story. That's particularly true for Rather who should have apologized immediately or kept his mouth shut, says Louisville critic Tom Dorsey.

Conservatives aren't satisfied with the results, saying the report lets CBS off the hook on the charge of political bias, according to the Washington Times. That charge, says the LA Times' Tim Ruttenberg, was the most damaging question raised in the whole affair, and the investigators failed to answer it. Howie Kurtz writes in the Washington Post that critics are "aflame" about that.

The CBS Evening News took a ratings hit after the controversial 60 Minutes story aired, but the numbers have steadied. Parent company Viacom, however, is doing fine, according to the Washington Post.