A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE SALISBURY FORUM
6/11/06
Most of my readers probably haven’t any idea where Salisbury,Ct. is and there really isn’t any reason to know. But a few people around the country are aware of it and they are also aware of an organization called the Salisbury Forum. The forum arranges for selected national speakers to give talks in the Salisbury area. The most recent talk was by former CBS news anchor Dan Rather.
This talk by Dan Rather was well publicized and I had even promoted it on my radio show several weeks ago, but I was duped. The originally publicized title of Dan Rather’s talk was “The Media and the Message: Who’s in Control?” I thought that it would be worth my listener’s attention and they might like to attend. I spoke to the president of the Forum about the possibility of interviewing Dan Rather on the show and he said that he was sincerely sorry but Dan Rather couldn’t do interviews because of his contract with CBS. He stated, which I announced on the radio show that; Dan Rather couldn’t even sign his own books or give newspaper interviews because his contract with CBS.
I stated to him that I found that very odd, and remarked that CBS must own his soul. The president of the forum however, did not mention that the topic of Dan Rather’s speech had changed from “The Media and The Message: Who’s in Control” to a very different topic of “The News- What Shouldn’t Change”. It’s obvious that someone told Dan Rather to censor his talk to the Forum or that he censored himself.
I wasn’t aware of the topic change until I arrived at the forum and received a revised program guide to the forum event. Most of the several hundred guests came because of the advanced advertizing and publications, some from my announcement on the radio show and my invitation to several friends. Prior to the program , based on the original topic we expected, we anticipated that we might hear truth from Dan Rather, instead of the watered down , steaming, mainstream, gobble rot he was noted for in his 24 year career as CBS News Anchor and managing editor. Under his stewardship the CBS Evening News plummeted to last place in the national television ratings, behind Fox news, Geraldo Rivera and Seinfeld reruns.
To several of my friends, Rather’s blithering comments were “rather” expected, since they had no great expectations from him. But I personally was insulted, not only by the sudden change in topic, but the glassing over of it by the Forum, and my realization that; even a one hour talk by Dan Rather, to a small, insignificant gathering of a few hundred people, was censored, regardless of who censored it and why. What he might have said was deemed too dangerous for certain government agencies, CBS, their corporate sponsors , his own career and reputation or fear by the Forum directors that; his comments might shock or disturb some of the extremely elderly or influential guest in attendance.
This reminded me of all the history that has been edited out and revised for public forums and history books and kept secret by a few historians, military and government officials and sinister corporations and journalists. As the managing editor of CBS news and its anchorman of 24 years, I gasp at the thought, of how much truth and critical information has been omitted or trivialized by Dan Rather. After hearing him talk about total nonsense and his personal life’s history for 50 minutes I was certain that; practically everything he’s ever said or done in his capacity as the CBS news anchor and managing editor, was a lie, an omission or a cover up. I can understand full well why he was fired from CBS. It may have been for his stance on the Bush National Guard Story, but I believe it was because of his total lack of credibility. If he can be swayed to censor his own talk about who controls the media, given to a small audience at a prep school auditorium; then it is easy to imagine how easily he would buckle under, to the director of CBS News, a sponsor, the CIA, FBI or to anyone else who asked him to. He is simply a spokesman for hire, an empty suit, a high powered lobbyist ready to sell himself or his country to the highest bidder. Sadly Dan Rather is typical of all the pretenders from generations old and new; who have been celebritized by new communication mediums and continue to be knowingly emulated and praised by the American public, as an artificial icon of American journalism.
As for the Salisbury Forum If I were a member or director I would be ashamed that the organization would stoop to the level it did in its presentation and promotion of Dan Rather. That the Forum would either suggest the topic change or accept the pre advertized topic to be suddenly changed by a noted guest speaker, suggests that; even the smallest and insignificant public forums in America can and do exercise strict censorship over its speakers. This is a crime, a bad joke and a very sad commentary on who really controls the media in America. Those who control the flow of information, to tell the truth or to lie to America, are any group or individual, who controls access to a public forum. In all sincerity I was sickened, to see a 20th century news media icon, afraid to speak the truth about his own profession. I witnessed an arrogant little man, standing before a small audience, who saw him as a talking head in an empty suit. This wasn’t my opinion only. I spoke with many people after the forum, some who spoke to Dan Rather personally, who expressed similar and even less flattering comments than I have written here.
L.A. STEEL
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