A) took the word of the admitted liar Davies,
B) didn't check his story against FBI reports, and
C) "forgot" to mention that they were publishing his book and would profit handsomely if it did well.
As the saying goes:
"Once may be happenstance, and twice may be coincidence, but three times is enemy action."
Lara Logan, the "reporter", said that they'd worked on this report for a year, so they can't claim they got it wrong because there was no time. As it happens, the guy who was in charge is a long-time Fox News guy, who participated in some of the scummiest propagandizing in the modern era; it's readily apparent that 60 Minutes is gradually turning into a junior version of Fox.
It took half a week for Logan's story to fall apart. Even then, the first reaction of 60 Minutes was to read on-air letters of support from viewers - not the letters of criticism, but only the letters that agreed with CBS's story.
But within a few more days, even CBS had to admit they were defending a lie. They refused to retract the story, but saw a way to get more ratings out of it. "60 Minutes" teased an upcoming apology through its show, so that viewers would be giving 60 Minutes ratings all the way to the end. Then, at the very end, Logan said it was a mistake and they were sorry; she was said she was mislead by a source ... as if that excuses not checking a source that had admitted lying to his employer and not mentioning on camera that CBS was peddling his book.
This was not a mistake. The kindest interpretation is that there was a deliberate refusal to vet a source professionally but, in view of the book, it was more likely a conscious decision to do everything possible to make a buck.
Friends: we must face facts. This is not the"60 Minutes" we used to know and love. It's a zombie, rotting and controlled by an evil alien force.
Let it die.
Although - on the plus side - it is great fodder for humor!
