On tonight’s Topic A with Tina Brown, CBS’s Dan Rather stands by his former colleague, fired producer Mary Mapes:
| BROWN: Now when you got the Peabody Award, you’re up now on stage with Mary Mapes, the producer who produced both the Abu Ghraib segment and, of course, the National Guard segment which, in a sense, you know, obviously wounded your career so tremendously. Did you — how was it for you to be up there with Mary Mapes? Receiving that award? RATHER: Well, without addressing the core premise of the question — Mary deserved to be there. The Abu Ghraib story was an important story. Mary was key in developing the story. All of us worked hard on it. But Mary was key. And she deserved to be on the stage. The Peabody is awarded for team effort. And she should have been there. I don’t think we would have felt right if she had not been there. That’s number one. Number two, I’m responsible for what I do. Not other people. I’m responsible. I’m accountable. There’s no situation where I can go around pointing to other people and blaming other people. I’m not gonna do that. Mary’s a very good pro. She’s the kind of professional that the audience should want in television. And having said that, that’s the way I felt. |
| BROWN: I mean, you’re such a loyal colleague, Dan. I mean, everyone’s said that about you. That you’ve got incredible loyalty. Do you think that in any way your loyalty to Mary Mapes is, ever…blinded you in a sense to something — into not backing off that story at the time? RATHER: No. No. I appreciate what you say about loyalty and I want to be loyal. You know, I’m proud to work at CBS News. I always have been and I am now. I can’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t be — I’m happy to stand with the people I work with and stand up for them and stand with them through the sunshine and the storms, through the good times and the bad. In the end, they’re — you know, any story which my name is on I have a responsibility for it and an accountability for it… And I am loyal to Mary and I will continue to be loyal to Mary as I am with every person I work with. That part is behind me, we have taken our hits, we’ve taken our shots, justified or unjustified, fair or unfair… and moved forward, and Mary’s moved forward… |
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