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As CBS News Apologizes Again — This Time on ’60 Minutes’ — Politico Addresses the Question CBS Doesn’t Talk About On-Air: How Come the Network Made This Mistake

Nov 11, 2013  •  Post A Comment

Last night, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013, CBS News correspondent Lara Logan apologized at the end of "60 Minutes" for the report on Benghazi that included some erroneous information. You can see a video of that apology below. 

And as we previously reported, Logan also appeared last week on "CBS This Morning" to apologize for the report.

However, in neither televised apology did CBS News address how it could have made the mistake of not fully vetting the account it was given by the principal source of the "60 Minutes" report, security contractor Dylan Davies.

A report on Politico by Dylan Byers that was published late Friday afternoon, Nov. 8, 2013, addresses this issue:

"That ’60 Minutes’ could have conducted a year’s worth of reporting [on the Benghazi story] without adequately vetting Davies or obtaining the FBI’s report [on what Davies told the FBI] was the subject of much hand-wringing over at CBS News on Friday, according to sources that spoke with Politico. For some, it was also proof of a greater truth: that ’60 Minutes” greatest asset — its longstanding reputation as one of the most reliable brands in television journalism — can also be its greatest liability. "

Citing sources familiar with the reporting by "60 Minutes," the Politico story adds: "’60 Minutes’ exists in a silo at CBS News, often by choice, these sources said. Throughout their reporting, Lara Logan and the ’60 Minutes’ team did not seek assistance from their colleagues in CBS News’ investigative unit, many of whom are well-sourced with the FBI and would likely have been able to assist in the vetting process. …

“’Between John Miller, Chris Isham and Len Tepper you have three journalists who have about as good as sources as you could have at the FBI,’ one source said, referring to members of the CBS News investigative team. ‘Why weren’t they asked, "What does that FBI report say?" ’ "

The Politico article adds, "Kevin Tedesco, the spokesperson for ’60 Minutes,’ declined Politico’s request for an interview regarding the error and both Tedesco and Sonya McNair, the senior vice president for communications at CBS News, declined to say when the network learned about the FBI account. Instead, Tedesco forwarded a press release from Friday morning announcing Logan’s apology, which took place on ‘CBS This Morning.’"

To read additional details of Politico’s report we urge you to click on the link to its original article, above.

Here’s the video of the  "60 Minutes" correction:

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