MAPES: Bill, in all kinds of journalistic issues in the past, reporters have gone with things they believed but they could not prove with DNA testing. They have done that. I mean...
O'REILLY: DNA testing?
MAPES: Well, that's what the equivalent, the ink testing or something like that, which really would prove that the documents had been typed in 1972 or whatever. But by your standard, that wouldn't have been enough either.
O'REILLY: Listen, I've been doing investigative reporting for almost 30 years. I've never lost a lawsuit. But I've never put anything on the air I couldn't prove.
There's an entire Chris Buckley novel in that exchange.
4 comments:
I saw the exchange between Mapes and O'Rielly and was amazed at how stupid her argument was. In her mind belief is good enough to be called fact. I guess this is why Mapes and her former windbag boss, Dan Blather, wonder why the Public doesn't trust the mainstream media.
What fascinated me about Mapes (after I read the book excerpt that Drudge posted) was her claim that she had "never heard of" any of the bloggers, such as Powerline, Little Green Footballs, and Free Republic(!), who were challenging her journalism.
How can someone who is a top producer/reporter for a major national news broadcast be so totally ignorant of current trends in politics?
It was as if a sports journalist for a major metro daily had said he had never heard of fantasy football.
I mean, I don't log onto Daily Kos, Atrios, Talking Points Memo, etc. on a regular basis but I do know of them and where they're coming from. Mapes apparently lead a totally sheltered life.
"he ink testing or something like that, which really would prove that the documents had been typed in 1972 or whatever."
Um, she forgot that they only had photocopies.
Nah, O'Reilly only settles his lawsuits for millions.
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