See No Bias: CBS Stabs Transparency in the 'Public Eye'

Photo of Ken Shepherd.
By Ken Shepherd (Bio | Archive)
January 3, 2008 - 15:35 ET

R.I.P., Public Eye. [Sept. 12, 2005- Dec. 21, 2007] We hardly knew ye.

Yes, confirms TVNewser, CBS's eye on itself, the Public Eye ombudsblog, is sadly no longer with us (h/t Eat the Press):

TVNewser has learned the CBS News blog PublicEye, once described as a "de facto ombudsman" of CBS News, has ceased operations. CBS Interactive cut several staff members last month, including Matthew Felling who was editor of the site.

A spokesperson for CBS Interactive tells TVNewser, "We weren't able to find a sustainable business model for Public Eye. We are exploring ways to maintain a similar spirit of public discourse by engaging the CBSNews.com audience and building a community around multiple voices."

Launched July 12, 2005, PublicEye stated its "fundamental mission" was "to bring transparency to the editorial operations of CBS News."

The return to opacity is unfortunate just as election '08 heats up. After all, it was former anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes and their obsessive adherence to discredited phony National Guard memos in 2004 that set the wheels in motion to provide CBS News consumers an advocate and watchdog in the form of PublicEye.

That's not to say, however, that Public Eye has exactly lived up to its defined mission. A review of NewsBusters archives yields evidence of that:

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Public Eye is survived by Katie Couric's "Couric & Co." In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Media Research Center CBS Credibility Memorial Fund.

—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters


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Cockroaches hate the light.

January 3, 2008 - 15:39 ET by c5then

 

The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.

"The return to opacity is

January 3, 2008 - 15:46 ET by mattm

"The return to opacity is unfortunate just as election '08 heats up."

Unfortunate, or timely?

Timely. But I'm trying to be

January 3, 2008 - 15:51 ET by Ken Shepherd

Timely. But I'm trying to be less cynical in the new year. Thanks for ruining my resolution!

I once resolved to no longer

January 3, 2008 - 16:43 ET by mattm

I once resolved to no longer make resolutions...

See? B.S. News.

January 3, 2008 - 16:02 ET by thoridfly

There's only 2 kinds of news - excuse me, misinformation and gossip - you're going to get from the alphabet networks : B.S. news and B.C. news.

"A lie told often enough becomes the truth." - Vladimir Lenin

"The press should be not only a collective propagandist and a collective agitator, but also a collective organizer of the masses." - Vladimir Lenin

"Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world." - Thomas Carlyle

"Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." - Josef Stalin

"Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." - Josef Stalin

Dumped, like all the bells

January 3, 2008 - 16:06 ET by Chris Norman

Dumped, like all the bells and whistles they have tried over the past few years. They all eventually return to their roots: a liberal anchor, sitting there, introducing liberal biased stories, reported by liberal "journalists".

I think...

January 3, 2008 - 18:53 ET by heldmyw

It must have been disturbing for the Poobahs at CBS to have a portal to the great unwashed masses...

Particularly when they seemed to ask awfully pointed and embarassing questions.

You could almost hear them muttering, "bloody peasants".

Let Katie pay

January 3, 2008 - 21:01 ET by nkviking75

"We weren't able to find a sustainable business model for Public Eye."

Take it out of Katie's salary.  Judging by the ratings, she's overpaid.

When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.