It’s easy to forget now, but for at least half of the 20th century, CBS had one of the premier news organizations in the country. People still talk about Edward R. Murrow standing up to Joseph McCarthy, but if anything, the network did even more important and courageous work during Vietnam and Watergate—often better than The Washington Post or The New York Times. Now we’ve seen all three of those organizations caving to authoritarian pressure.
I don’t want to view the past through rose-colored glasses, but I’ve read quite a bit about the reporting of those events and about what was going on behind the scenes, and I honestly believe that the people who ran these organizations back then would have shown more courage and character if they were around today.
For CBS, we all knew it was over after the 60 Minutes settlement, but the firing of Colbert removes even the pretense of anything more than cowardice and corruption.
Closing with a favorite clip from Colbert's early days.
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