Sharyl Attkisson was, for some 20 years, an investigative reporter at CBS.
But Ms. Attkisson was a problem to the CBS people…because, as a professional journalist, she was committed to reporting what her investigations uncovered rather than adjusting those stories to please the partisans who run the show there.
So, over a relatively short period of time, Ms. Attkisson was given less and less air time, until it became clear that she was intentionally being suppressed by the network. She eventually “resigned” (if, under those circumstances, you can call her departure a real resignation).
Post-CBS, Ms. Attkisson has created a website; www.sharylattkisson.com, which promises to deal with “Untouchable subjects. Fearless reporting”. And does.
She has also written a book, titled “Stonewalled”, which is available in pre-publication (UPDATE: publication date of November 4th). I have no doubt that it will be very worthwhile reading.
Several years ago, Ms. Attkisson and I had a very interesting conversation about one of the issues she was covering. I promised her confidentiality then and that promise is not going to be broken here. But one thing Ms. Attkisson said, that I can pass along, is that she felt CBS was seriously trying to overcome its reputation for partisanship.
Which proves that even talented investigative reporters can be wrong some of the time.
I will end by reprinting a blog I wrote about Ms. Attkisson in May of last year – with regret that it is as valid now as it was then:
SHARYL OUT-KISSON?
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Ken Berwitz
Is Sharyl Attkisson, the single most important investigative asset CBS News has, being pushed out the door specifically because she is the single most important investigative asset CBS News has?
Dyan Byers, at politico.com, seems to think so. Excerpted from his short, but informative and disturbing blog:
CBS News, which has grown increasingly frustrated with Attkisson\’s Benghazi campaign. CBS News executives see Attkisson wading dangerously close to advocacy on the issue, network sources have told POLITICO. Attkisson can\’t get some of her stories on the air, and is thus left feeling marginalized and underutilized. That, in part, is why Attkisson is in talks to leave CBS ahead of contract, as POLITICO reported in April.
What, exactly, is CBS\’s problem? Is it that Ms. Attkisson, more than any other investigative journalist on TV, first kept a light shining on the Operation Fast and Furious scandal, and now has set her sights on the as-big-if-not-bigger Benghazi massacre scandal? Is her crime that she dares to pursue the stories CBS and its cohorts at NBC and ABC have decided to withhold from the general public?
It sure seems that way.
As Mr. Byers notes, these days you barely ever see Ms. Attkisson\’s work at all. She is starting to look more and more like the unwanted corporate executive who is told “We\’ll let you stay here until your contract runs out. But we won\’t use you, nor will we give you a raise or promotion. You\’ll just sit at your desk doing nothing, in full view of your peers, until you are bored or humiliated enough to leave on your own”.
As a matter of disclosure, I had a telephone conversation with Sharyl Attkisson last year, of maybe 10 to 15 minutes in length. It was very pleasant very interesting and very illuminating. Although I will not divulge any specifics (thus keeping the promise I make to Ms. Attkisson, and other sources), I will tell you in very general terms that her comments suggested a belief that CBS was increasingly open to reporting all sides of major stories.
Based on what I am reading now, however, if our telephone conversation took place today I doubt she would have the same outlook, or anywhere near it.
Personally, I hope Ms. Attkisson stays at CBS — because the network reinstates the premise that real journalism means reporting news rather than tailoring it to one side , thus changing it to propaganda.
But since that almost certainly will not happen, I hope she leaves CBS, then resurfaces in a place where the powers that be understand this premise, and let Sharyl Attkisson\’s very considerable investigative skills take her where each story leads.
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