CBS Fires Anti-War General

A few posts below you will find a video posted by Blue Girl. The video is from the anti-Iraq war group VoteVets.org. The same video is in space to the right set aside for VoteVets. Well, for some the price of freedom of speech is high. Yesterday, the man in the video, General John Batiste, was fired from his CBS News Consultant's gig. According to CBS he violated a prime directive of CBS news, he became an advocate for a position on an issue of importance. Apparently, as that directive has a caveat. As Atrios points out, lots of people show up all over the place advocating for the war. Greg Sargent goes one step further. The Brookings Institution's Michael O'Hanlon appears on CBS as a "CBS News Consultant," and he has often advocated for the war.

Look, I can understand CBS wanting to maintain a stable of objective experts. What I can't understand is applying the rule only to advocates for one side while winking at consultants advocating for the other. If CBS had any journalistic integrity at all it would either rehire Batiste, or fire all the O'Hanlons still on its payroll. Of course, we are talking about CBS, the network that hired Katie Couric as it's anchor. Don't hold your breath.

MSNBC would be well advised to pick up Batiste. He speaks with real authority.


UPDATE: Greg Sargent has just identified a second pro war advocate with a CBS News Consultant gig--some talking head called Fouad Ajami. So much for the idea that CBS is the exlemplar of the "liberal" media.