CBS POLICY: ANYTHING GOES, IF YOU DISCLOSE, CHAPTER 2.

I have to admit I missed this one. I saw Rita Braver's interview with Lynne Cheney on CBS's Sunday Morning last Sunday. And I heard her slip her disclosure in--that her husband, Braver's, is a lawyer who did the deal for Ms. Cheney's new book, which of course got a plug on the piece. Happily, many actual working pros in journalism called CBS out on this one. CBS did its usual tap dance about the act of disclosing the connection blowing away the odor of commercial back-patting on this one...same thing they said when I grumped about Ben Stein's piece on the same show in praise of saving for retirement, a subject close to his wallet as national spokesperson for an annuity promotion lobby. It is important to remember when watching that CBS News, once the paragon of rectitude and no-interest-conflicted broadcast journalism, has placed itself in the mainstream of PR-driven Fark News programming. About now, we could use at least one news organization we could trust. I'm afraid I can't think of one.