update (livebloggin): Sean Hannity is saying he has an email from an internal source at CBS which says the announcement has been delayed yet again. It is a resource that wants to remain anonymous, so take it for what its worth, but the source is saying that there is much dissension in the office. Rumors are flying fast and furious and cover all possibilities from the extreme - Rather to resign - to the same old - CBS will dig in and try to ride it out. Hannity is saying now that the email indicates that they are waiting for their own newscast before coming out with the statement and that they are going to stick by their story and go on offense, demanding that Bush answer questions raised by the phony documents. Is CBS literally part of the Kerry campaign (it seems obvious that they are figuratively)? I ask because they both seem to be run by fools.

udate: It is now being reported that the announcement will be coming at 3:30. er, make that 5:00. Man, this batch of lies, I mean story, had better be real good.

update: This can't be it, can it? The only thing new here is information by and about Killian's former secretary. CBS questions her credibility as a document expert while at the same time using her statements about Killian's frame of mind to add credibility to their story, apparently believing Killian's secretary has more insight into Killian's frame of mind that his widow and son do.

update: Looks like more spinning than that surrounding the eye wall of Ivan is headed our way. Unbelievable.

update: Backcountry Conservative says Fox is reporting that CBS will be issuing a statement around noon eastern time today. Will they be spinning wildly, or will we be finding out who the fall guy is going to be?

update: via Jim Geraghty who writes the KerrySpot at the National Review:

In another assessment of morale at CBS, I have also heard from one CBS employee, who works outside the newsroom, who has lamented that the memo controversy has left him/her "horribly disappointed, because I truly want to believe we're better than that." (These sources have asked to not be identified, because they would like to keep their jobs.)

I also spent Monday touching base with various reporters and editors at mainstream newspapers and magazines in Washington, and not one would defend CBS's action in this case. One editor at a publication that covers Capitol Hill said, "Anytime a major media outlet leaps to a conclusion on what appears to be highly questionable evidence, we all pay a price in terms of lessened credibility. Bad journalism is like bad anything - lawyers, doctors or apples. One bad one can taint the whole group."

Also, see Donald Sensing's excellent summation of the defense of bloggers credibility vs. that of the lamestream media, and this link rich explanation from Michele of A Small Vicotry of why all this matters, or as I put it, why this is the death of credibility for the MSM.

And don't miss this - more forged evidence discovered!

Wow, sharpmarbles scoops Dan Blather's retirment announcement!

original entry:

Ok, maybe that is overstating it a bit. But I agree wholeheartedly with Rusty Shackleford of mypetjawa. I certainly don't think he needs to be eating any crow; he showed admirable restraint as the story of the forged documents was breaking. He doesn't need to defend himself for that. What really struck me as I read the post was this:

Kuhn, in his famous book, describe the process of scientific revolution as a process by which old paradigms are thrown out and new ones are brought in. I believe we have just witnessed a major paradigm shift. It is the deathknell of the old media, and the ringing in of something completely different. I always looked at my blog as a way of putting out ideas, but that I should have a lot of evidence before putting out anything radically new. The blogosphere was alive today with what seemed like conspiritorial statements, but were really a conversation. The conversation started with a question, leading to more questions, and then we pulled in experts who seemed to concur with many initial suspicions. I still maintain that many of the early bloggers on this jumped the gun in declaring a slam dunk victory, but it seems that most were simply interested in the conversation. Forget the swiftie thing, it took us weeks to get the mainstream press in on the story. This...this took a matter of hours. We are the press now.

Think about that - bloggers took down Trent Lott, made the Swifties famous, are influencing elections, etc. But this, this is something different, something much bigger. First, it is a credit to the blogosphere that there are guys like Rusty that won't settle for innuendo and suspicion. It is an indictment of the lamestream media that they don't have the same standards. It is to the credit of the blogosphere that they discovered the truth through the process Rusty describes - and all in a matter of hours. It is to the shame of the media that they couldn't or wouldn't. To be fair, the diffused nature of the blogosphere puts a lot of resources in play, but the denizens are uncoordinated in any real sense, except one - they informally yet effectively fact check the hell out of each other during the "conversation" Rusty talks about. What to make of an alleged professional media that maybe not only bypassed vetting, but possibly engaged in manufacturing "news" in an attempt to influence the outcome of an election? If it turns out that way, maybe the title isn't overstating the effect of all this.

update, already: Drudge is reporting that CBS has launched an internal investigation. Charles Johnson notes that this comes a mere12 hours after the blogosphere, starting originally with Powerline, jumped on this.

update: first instance of serious coverage by a mainstream media outlet that I have found is up at ABC's web site. The article appears to lean heavily, even exclusively, on facts discovered in the blogosphere. Money quote:

Many Democrats are worried that if they are found to be forgeries, it will be a setback for Sen. John Kerry's campaign to defeat Bush in November.

Gee, ya think?

update: Powerline indulges in some well earned gloating:

Tomorrow morning, dinosaur media across the country will be headlining the 60 Minutes "scoop" as a blow to the Bush campaign. Before their newspapers are even printed, not only is the story obsolete, but CBS is in full retreat. As Stephen Hayes reported earlier today, Power Line "led the charge" against the 60 Minutes hoax today. But the credit really goes to the incredible power of the internet. We knew nothing; all of our information came from our readers. Many thousands of smart, well-informed people who only a few years ago would have had no recourse but perhaps to write a letter to their local newspaper, now can communicate and share their expertise in real time, through sites like this one. The power of the medium is incredible, as we've seen over the last fourteen hours.