Rather decides to sue; Mapes defends the indefensible...

...and, of course, she and Dan Rather's use of faked documents to support their story doesn't negate the story, it just shows the dangers of the blogosphere:

"The fracas scared the bejeezus out of the CBS corporate types who were completely unaccustomed to the rough and tumble interaction of the blog world." --Mary Mapes

"Frankly, the foaming-at-the-mouth response scared me, too. These people WERE scary. Who wants to see her picture online accompanied by digital catcalls demanding that she be "taken out"?"--Mary Mapes (no supporting link)

her argument rests on the assumption that there is an objective ideal in the media today. that's not true now, and it never was. the concept of a need to protect constitutionally a "free press" would be rendered redundant if "the press" were an independent, objective actor. the press is inherently political, ESPECIALLY in this age where visual, SCREEN-BASED images are the dominant mode of information gathering and sharing.

what's really ridiculous about her argument, at least to me, is that she blames (in her description) the implication of a physical threat from "the blogosphere" for the decision by CBS execs to ditch her and Dan...i guess it had nothing to do with the fact that the bloggers (led by Charles @ LGF) had done the legwork she neglected to do, and that the credibility of the entire news department was on the line, and they had to make a move to save it (CBS's credibility).

maybe it is a true story. imagine that...a politician or a young rich guy avoiding military service...not exactly "man bites dog" stuff......