Former CBS Anchor Dan Rather posted on X a lengthy suggestion on how to improve the news media's credibility in the run up to the 2024 election and his advice was curiously one-sided.
"If I may, there's something I need to get off my chest," his post began. 'As democracy remains under siege, it has been frustrating to watch how the press covers politics these days."
Rather was famously dismissed from CBS in 2005 after he crafted a story around George W. Bush's military record based on documents that were never authenticated.
The former Peabody and Emmy winner seemed to dismiss the idea of presenting both side as a noble approach to journalism.
"Enough with Both-sides-ism," he continued. "When one side lies intentionally and repeatedly, they are no longer entitled to the benefit of the doubt. They should be held to account, right away. Do not simply repeat the narratives they spew.
"If Trump says the sky is green, the story isn't that the sky is now green; the story is that the sky is still blue and Trump got it wrong," Rather, 92, suggested as way to preemptively fact check.
Rather offered up a political Rorschach test to gauge a lawmaker's credibility.
"Ask about the fundamental principles of democracy," he concluded. "Push them to go on the record that Biden won the 2020 election. Ask if they support the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"Good journalism is always worth it. Our democracy depends on it."
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