Petrelis Files

Oops. CBS Didn't Tape Interview w/Condi Rice

Two snaps up to Vaughn V. of CBS News' Public Eye desk for answering my questions so quickly and posting a reply on his blog, and a big thumbs down to the folks at CBS who didn't record their meeting with Secretary Rice on camera.

Seems a TV news outfit worth its salt would of course videotape any on the record meeting its editorial board holds with Rice, especially because she might say something newsworthy and the reporters would want to get it on the air.

But that didn't happen. CBS for unknown, and probably odd, reasons failed to get the meeting on tape. A real head-scratcher, if you ask me.

At least the public affairs office at the State Department had the sense to record the meeting, transcribe it and make it available on the web.

Kudos to CBS for linking to the transcript.

The larger matter here is CBS News' commitment to increasing transparency, especially related to its editorial board.

I believe it behooves CBS to post on its web site _all_ of the meetings its editorial board has held with Bush administration officials since January 2000.

If the meetings between CBS's editorial board and Bush officials were on the record, like the one this past week with Rice, then the network owes the public not just the transcripts of the meetings, but also any videotapes of the meetings, if someone at CBS had the brains to tape them.

Last but not least, the Public Eye, which served this week as both a soap box and a letters to the editor page, should use the last names of people who submit letters.

After all, I had to reveal my last name to sign up for the Public Eye's site functions, and there's nothing wrong with having a Greek last name.

That aside, the Public Eye is an enormous move forward for the MSM in terms of interacting better with news consumers, answering our questions and removing some of the darkness surrounding MSM decisions.
-


September 16, 2005
CBS News
Public Eye
By Vaughn Ververs

E-Mailbag: Looking For Condi

We received this letter asking some questions about the editorial meeting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had earlier this week at CBS News. Michael P. from San Francisco writes:

I'm a media consumer who thinks there isn't nearly enough transparency and I'm always on the prowl for more ways to increase media transparency, especially when it involves Bush administration officials.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sat down with the CBS Editorial Board and CBS News [CBSNews.com] wrote up a story about her meeting with your colleagues.

However, the story failed to link to or mention that a full transcript of the meeting is posted on the web. No, not on the CBS News site, but on the State Department site.

You'll find the transcript here, courtesy of the U.S. government.

My questions for the Public Eye are these: Why is CBS News so coy about informing its audience that the transcript exists? Why not create a page on your site with the full transcript? Barring that, how about linking to the State Department page where the transcript have been posted all week?

After talking with CBS reporter Charles Wolfson, who filed the story for CBSNews.com and Michael Sims, Director of News and Operations for CBSNews.com, here’s the answer we have for you Michael.

As far as we can find out, CBS News did not tape the meeting, certainly not on camera. The meeting was recorded by the State Department, which then later transcribed and posted the transcript. The story, which was filed long before a transcript was available, now includes a link to the State Department page where you can read it.

As a general rule, Sims notes that the full text of President Bush’s Thursday night address to the nation was posted, adding: “When available, we always default to publishing this kind of material.”