The CBS television network is one of the most storied media outlets here in the U.S. It officially launched in September of 1927 as a radio network – a major news source at the time – before transitioning in 1941 into the new medium of TV. The assassination of President John Kennedy in 1963 led CBS to expand their weekly evening news broadcasts from 15 to 30 minutes, which remains a staple of mainstream news outlets.
In 1960 a young journalist named Dan Rather joined CBS, and in 1981, he took over the helm of the network’s nightly evening news broadcast from another legend, Walter Cronkite. Rather had already established himself as a premier journalist. From his live coverage of Hurricane Carla in 1961 to the chaotic 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the horrors of 9/11, Rather had few equals. But, in the fall of 2004, he encountered his final nemesis – and perhaps one of the most unlikely: a conservative Republican political figure with a fragile ego, incumbent U.S. President George W. Bush. After five lackluster years as Texas governor, Bush ran for president in 2000 – and won in a controversial decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court. He became only the second U.S. president to follow his father into that esteemed role. One issue that arose early in Bush’s presidential campaign was his decision to join the Texas National Guard upon graduating from Harvard in 1968. He reenlisted four years later and then – allegedly – transferred to Alabama to work on the presidential campaign of George C. Wallace, a renowned segregationist. Whether or not Bush completed his second stint in the National Guard has never been resolved. He served at a time when the Vietnam War was raging and positions in any state’s national guard were highly valued for draft-age men.
The same conundrum befell Bill Clinton when he announced his candidacy for the presidency in 1991. Conservatives were quick to denounce Clinton as a “draft dodger”, but held off criticism of Bush years later. But when Dan Rather began his quest to determine the exact nature of Bush’s so-called military service, right-wing hound dogs quickly pounced. How dare Rather question the integrity of their contemporary savior! After Bush won the 2004 election (in contrast to 2000, when it was strictly an electoral college victory), the pseudo-Texan’s anger manifested quietly and nondescriptly in Rather’s termination from CBS.
The move pleased conservatives, but outraged liberals. It mirrored a similar move by CBS against Rather’s colleagues, Connie Chung, a decade earlier. Chung began her journalism career with CBS as a Washington, D.C., correspondent in the 1970s. In 1993, she became only the second woman and the first Asian-American to headline a major network news broadcast, when she became Rather’s co-anchor on the CBS Evening News. Two years later, however, her stint with the network crashed after interview with the parents of another conservative Republican with a fragile ego.
In November 1994, Republicans gained control of both Houses of the U.S. Congress for the first time since 1954. And they didn’t just win – they won a super-majority in each chamber. There were at least 3 factors: Clinton’s attempt at a national healthcare program, a ten-year ban on assault-style weapons and queers in the military. All three were anathemic to American conservatives, and the new Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, stood at the helm of their angst. A Pennsylvania native and Ronald Reagan acolyte, Gingrich first arrived in the U.S. Congress in 1979. When Bill Clinton became president, Gingrich led the loud, yet unofficial call, to slaughter the former Arkansas governor’s reputation.
In the spring of 1995, Connie Chung traveled to Georgia to interview Gingrich’s parents. His mother, Kathleen, sitting in her kitchen, chain-smoking and speaking barely above a stage whisper, noted her son’s disdain for the Clintons – not just the President, but also First Lady Hillary. When pressed by Chung, Kathleen Gingrich said Newt had called Hillary Clinton a “bitch”. Chung chuckled and seemingly expressed surprise.
The interview rocketed across the news spectrum like a lightning bolt. Newt Gingrich openly announced his rage (and refused to acknowledge whether or not he’d described Hillary Clinton as a “bitch”). Nonetheless, he accused Chung of taking advantage of people who weren’t “media savvy”. In response, Chung asked how “media savvy” does someone need to be when they’ve welcomed a national news figure into their home and have three cameras and several studio lights set up around them. CBS severed Chung’s contract.
Now, some two decades later, CBS has bowed to the ego of yet another conservative Republican: President Donald Trump. They recently announced the cancelation of the long-running “The Late Show”, which will officially end in May 2026. Comedian Stephen Colbert has hosted the show since 2015 and has been one of Trump’s most prominent critics. This announcement comes as a surprise, but in reality, shouldn’t be. Previous host David Letterman frequently mocked President George W. Bush – and never shied away from his barbs. Every political figure in the U.S. has been the subject of disdain and caricature. Anyone who enters American politics with a thin skin normally fries in the broth of farcical verbiage. But it sort of comes with the territory.
Yet I can’t help but notice that attacks on journalism and popular culture have come from the conservative wing. The right-wing fringe that once openly-mocked diversity and inclusion now seems to bristle at the sound of tawdry jokes and comical jibes. And liberals are the wimps?
Spare me the anxiety!
Personally I was the subject of extensive bullying throughout my school years and even into young adulthood. But I survived the maelstrom and I’m still here. In a nation that values free speech and a free press, it’s frustrating to know that journalists and comedians are ostracized for criticizing or questioning anyone – least of all political figures. In fact it pisses me off and makes me wonder what’s next. The U.S. currently has a president who insulted a large number of people and deliberately fomented a physical assault on our government. Threatening physical violence and slandering someone’s reputation are actually illegal. But, in the current, political climate, personal fragility is obviously subjective.
Chief Writing Wolf 