CBS fires Catherine Herridge and confiscates her files
To tell you the truth, I was surprised when they hired Herridge, for the simple reason that she seemed to be an intelligent and fair reporter. Now they’re fired her as part of a cost-saving layoff – they say that’s the reason, but there’s no particular reason to believe them.
From The Hill, (which is not a right-wing site), written by Jonathan Turley:
There is trouble brewing at Black Rock, the headquarters of CBS, after the firing of Catherine Herridge, an acclaimed investigative reporter. Many of us were shocked after Herridge was included in layoffs this month, but those concerns have increased after CBS officials took the unusual step of seizing her files, computers and records, including information on privileged sources.
The position of CBS has alarmed many, including the union, as an attack on free press principles by one of the nation’s most esteemed press organizations.
I have spoken confidentially with current and former CBS employees who have stated that they could not recall the company ever taking such a step before. One former CBS journalist said that many employees “are confused why [Herridge] was laid off, as one of the correspondents who broke news regularly and did a lot of original reporting.”
That has led to concerns about the source of the pressure. He added that he had never seen a seizure of records from a departing journalist, and that the move had sent a “chilling signal” in the ranks of CBS.
One thing that caught my attention about Turley’s piece is that appeared at all at The Hill; people in the news business really do seem concerned about this, I guess. Another is the phrase “one of the nation’s most esteemed press organizations.” Perhaps that’s even true, but only because many of the others are even worse. I could even argue that CBS has long been one of the worst; after all, Rathergate was perpetrated at CBS. No travesty surprises me anymore on the part of the MSM.
Perhaps the upset over CBS’s treatment of Herridge is also because her fellow workers at CBS recognized her as a person of integrity interested in pursuing truth as best she could. But it also has to do with source confidentiality.
I believe it is meant to have a chilling effect on reporters who stray from the Democrat party line.
Turley writes:
CBS is one of the world’s premier news organizations, with a legendary history that includes figures from Murrow to Walter Cronkite to Roger Mudd. That is why the hiring of Herridge was so welcomed by many of us. The network was at risk of becoming part of the journalistic herd, an echo-chamber for Democratic and liberal narratives. It had been mired in third place for ages, and it was moving in the wrong direction by alienating half of the country.
Not that Cronkite was unbiased, however (please see my posts about him). But I, likewise, welcomed the hiring of Herridge as a potential breath of fresh air at CBS.
More:
The timing of Herridge’s termination immediately raised suspicions in Washington. She was pursuing stories that were unwelcomed by the Biden White House and many Democratic powerhouses, including the Hur report on Joe Biden’s diminished mental capacity, the Biden corruption scandal and the Hunter Biden laptop. She continued to pursue these stories despite reports of pushback from CBS executives, including CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews.
So it is logical to suspect a Biden pressure campaign, or at the very least an understanding on the part of CBS executives that in an election year the network doesn’t want to give any support to the Trump forces by emphasizing Biden’s myriad flaws. At least, not until a replacement is found – which may not happen.
This is about the confidentiality problem:
CBS is suggesting that it will allow unnamed individuals to rifle through Herridge’s files to determine what will remain with the network and what will be returned to the reporter. That could fundamentally alter how reporters operate and how willing sources are to trust assurances that they will be protected. …
CBS could be forcing a showdown with the union, which must protect not only this journalist but all journalists seeking to maintain control and confidentiality of their files.
The union may have no choice but to go to court to force CBS to protect journalistic values, including a demand for an injunction to force the company to secure these files and bar review until a court has had a chance to consider these questions of confidential and proprietary claims to the files.
Now, that would be an interesting development.
Just. Wow.
I’ll believe it when I see it. So far it seems like most of these mainstream journalistis are just partisan hacks who are happy to toe the (D) line and have no problem with punishing anyone guilty of committing acts of actual journalism that may reflect badly on regime Democrats and other deep state creatures (like Harridge evidently did here). They may make a little noise, but I’d be surprised if they did anything more forceful.
Remember they had mike morell as consultant who recently donated to haley was the one that vetted lara logans sources re that 60 minutes piece they used to force her from the network after she had nearly died contracting ebola in sierra leone
It’s all part of the plan….
The positive news in all of this is that the ulterior media outlets that will replace “traditional” televised and print media are already built and thriving.
The death of the old structures will still occasionally create noise, chaos and bedlam, but Catherine Herridge can continue to reach a wide audience with her talent, if she so chooses.
“The death of old structures….”
Hmmm. Is the following blast from the past’s appearance on the Powerline blog a coincidence?
(Do “coincidences” even exist…? Should we pray hard for Catherine Herridge?)
Anyway, something that miguel might be able to help us out with…
“FEBRUARY SURPRISE TURNS FOUR”—
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/02/february-surprise-turns-four.php
Opening graf:
“On February 21, 2020, in Amador County, California, police found the dead body of Philip Haney, 66, hardly the typical Sierra foothills resident. A UC Riverside alum, Haney worked as an agricultural entomologist in the Middle East, where he studied Arabic and the Quran. With that background, Haney seemed a good fit for the Department of Homeland Security, but DHS bosses had a problem….”
And from the “I’ll Teach You A-Holes NOT to F&#% With Me” File:
“Biden ‘releasing everyone’ at border in latest secret move”—
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/2864556/biden-releasing-everyone-at-border-in-latest-secret-move/
H/T Instapundit.
(…which, to be sure, has POTUS 44’s MO all over it….)
+Epilogue:
“AND LEAVE MY GOSHDARN PETS OUT OF IT I’M WARNING YOU!!!”
https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2024/02/22/down-boy-bidens-dog-commander-bit-secret-service-agents-at-least-24-times-n4926660
“AND GET OFF MY LAWN!”
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19781004&id=miMhAAAAIBAJ&pg=2808,1603672
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/prestons-wild-white-house-ride-180962400/
https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Rensselaer-man-id-d-as-Pokemon-White-House-fence-5756522.php
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dominic-adesanya-23-accused-white-house-fence-jumper-sentenced/57437/
CBS doesn’t deserve the presumption of innocence here. Show me this wasn’t a Dem-inspired targeted move to get hold of Herridge’s files and confidential sources.
Indeed, “Biden” is on a rollllllllll…..
“This new Biden regulation could wipe out 1 million US jobs, manufacturing leader says”—
https://nypost.com/2024/02/22/us-news/new-biden-epa-regulation-could-wipe-out-up-to-1-million-jobs-manufacturing-leader-says/
(Not to worry, though, since the destruction will only be “transitory”….)
It’s probably nothing more than one of Decent Joe’s Best Beijing Boys calling in for a favor or two.
Nonetheless, I’m waiting for Sharyl Attkisson to make a comment…
(Or James Risen…)
Obama’s people doing Obama things.
SSDD.
We’re going to need more rope and bullets to clean this up. We’re well beyond sternly-worded letters and return fire lawfare.
Sharyl Attkisson
My understanding is that Herridge is fighting a lawsuit filed by the Feds on the ‘confidentiality of sources’ issue. It’s an old case going back about 10 years ago, and she’s still fighting it. Apparently the FBI is trying to muscle her into revealing a source. It might be that CBS is hedging their bets and trying to ensure they can protect their own flank if the focus of the suit shifts.
Since the court case is still ongoing I’m a little surprised it doesn’t get a mention in this story. It would have to be a complication in her termination; I’m not sure if the case pre-dates her employment at CBS.
“CBS is one of the world’s premier news organizations,”
LOL… good one.
“That could fundamentally alter how reporters operate”
Yes, ‘alterations’ will be necessary now that it has been made clear to the MSM that a mandatory transition from Pravda to the Ministry of Truth has begun.
“The union may have no choice but to go to court to force CBS to protect journalistic values”
Setting aside the fact that throughout the MSM “journalistic values” has become a contradiction in terms, no doubt CBS will find another ‘Judge’ Engoron… to ensure that the rule of law prevails.
Kate, I wouldn’t be surprised. Maybe it wasn’t planned that way but more seized upon when the layoffs started.
Some time ago John McWhorter was contracted to produce a periodic column for the NYT. John M isn’t as conservative as Glenn Loury or any prominent black Republican but he is pretty open-minded and very outspoken with regard to ‘anti-racism’ and woke ideology. He even wrote a fairly popular book negatively comparing wokeness to a bad religious faith. One of the first things that happened after he got that contract was the suspension of his frequent writing on SubStack. He phrased it as if this was done of his own accord but I highly suspect he had considerable ‘encouragement’ from the NYT leadership to confine his non-linguistic writing to his NYT opinion columns. So now instead of a large and growing audience on SubStack where he could freely publish pretty much anything he is now limited to the NYT readership on a much less frequent schedule and dealing with the proverbial ‘layers of fact checkers and editors’ for what actually gets printed. I would suspect that CBS (or the Democrat PTB) saw that a similar process could be worked on Herridge if she moved to CBS from Fox.
Aggie, stems from her time at FOX. Interesting, what.
I was surprised, and a bit disappointed, when Catherine Herridge joined CBS, because I thought that she was joining the dark side.
If there is an upside to this kerfuffle it is the knowledge that she did not. Apparently she remained true to principle, and CBS thought they were punishing her for that.
I expect that she will come out of this with greater credibility, with a big megaphone–and paycheck.
Another ray of light is that CBS may have overstepped their bounds in the world of (fake?) news when they confiscated her resources. Maybe a few within the industry will turn to the light.
Speaking of finding the facts. We (I) would love to have a fairly accurate report of how many illegals have come across the border. It doesn’t have to be accurate it just has to be printed by a “respected source”, i.e. New York Times, The Atlantic, the LA Times. I need to find a couple of resources that my democratic friends will have to respect regarding absolute numbers. We all know that it is impossible to get absolute numbers, but I need numbers from those resources that the dems consider to be of highest repute. Anything you can find to help me confront this group with something close to facts would be much appreciated!
Catherine’s black swan premonition is not completely separate from her firing. Things are severely not right in the world. The illegitimate Biden regime is an overarching example with branches and roots throughout society.
We shall see where this goes.
None of those are respected they are just different verzions of pravda
The union may have no choice but to go to court to force CBS to protect journalistic values, including a demand for an injunction to force the company to secure these files and bar review until a court has had a chance to consider these questions of confidential and proprietary claims to the files.
_______
Oh boy! A corrupt union protecting corrupt journalists against a corrupt corporation by going to a corrupt court.
That sure makes me feel good.
And BTW, Murrow wasn’t unbiased either. The whole “free and fair journalism” myth is just that, a myth.
those publications are not interested in solving the problem, they want to make it bigger, like they do all through out Europe,
And BTW, Murrow wasn’t unbiased either. The whole “free and fair journalism” myth is just that, a myth.
==
He was not unbiased, but he was a reporter. The Kilgallans – James and Dorothy – were also reporters. Reporters want to report.
==
That aside, he media prior to about 1960 was more variegated in its biases. Biased reporters retained professional values which inhibited the degree to which they’d act as shills. Even 25 years ago, the Media Research Center could delineate the difference between print reporters and network broadcasting in how the Clinton scandals were covered. The broadcasters did just what the Clinton PR people wanted; the print reporters did not.
Presumably, the network could tell if Herridge was Seth Riching her stuff off site.
But…?
One wonders why she wasn’t storing all her contact info, material and research in her personal cloud. Oh, well, live and learn. trust no one.
You would think that a union would leap to protect her. Fat chance. If she was a victim of D party pressure, the union will do nothing.
Solidarity, you know.
Maybe she did, Garret Crawford. She hasn’t said, so far as I know.
According to this, CBS has now returned the notes to Herridge, and they say they didn’t look at them.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13117901/CBS-notes-journalist-fired-investigating-Hunter-Biden.html
Hard to believe that Ms Herridge did not have the sense to keep an offline copy of her notes, having seen what happened to Tucker.
WTI Crude,
Well, let’s say Herridge did keep offline copies. The elephant here is that potentially, CBS goons and probably Biden admin people have copies that tell them who was ratting them out.
Who are the informants? Do they (Biden’s people) now know? What future informant will ever trust a CBS reporter going forward?
Oh, CBS didn’t inspect or copy the documents? So they say. Words are cheap and increasingly meaningless.
I don’t think Showalter here is any sage, but it is an interesting coverage of the obvious hypotheses.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/02/why_did_cbs_want_to_keep_catherine_herridges_reporting_files.html
I think this is one of the most important stories going around of the last couple weeks. I don’t know if huxley would agree, but in the past he has suggested that similar stories look like Dem desperation to him. I think so.