By Kathy Scholpp and Devon Ortmeyer
“Everybody’s entitled to their own opinions, but they’re not entitled to their own facts, ” Rather said in an interview at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel,. “And the fact is we reported a true story, and we lost our jobs because of that. They got that part of it right” – Dan Rather.
In the film Truth; a story of corruption and corporate misbehavior, the dark side of American journalism is shown in all of its many faces. The film, which dramatizes the events that lead to the resignation of journalist Dan Rather and the firing of his producer Mary Mapes, shows how people who fight to have the truth be known often have to sacrifice their careers and reputations. Mary Mapes uncovers a story that suggests that then President George W. Bush received preferential treatment while in the military.
Why did this movie get only three stars? As a former member of the MA Air National Guard, I was on the edge of my seat as Mary Mapes dug out the truth about my former Commander in Chief.
Lt. G.W. Bush was the fortunate son who got preferential treatment which kept him out of Vietnam. Working together, Dan Rather and the journalists at CBS fought the powers that be to reveal that strings were pulled. Those sent to die and those to excuse were not theirs to choose; from a moral and ethical standpoint it was unconscionable.
When journalists stop asking the questions, that’s when the American people lose. Dan Rather’s career ended when he asked the right questions about the wrong person, but not before becoming the anchorman with more newscasts than any other reporter. He got into journalism due to curiosity, but he stayed on top for so long due to courage, and that’s how he encouraged us all – with the news reports he considered a public trust, and his signature sign-off word, “Courage.”
Robert Redford was superb in the role of “The Old Man ”, and Kate Blanchett gave an astonishingly well done portrayal of Mapes, a reporter with true grit who teamed with Rather for years.
