Over the weekend, CBS 60 Minutes ran a story about the high profile NSA spying programs revealed by Edward Snowden. It was, to put it plainly, embarrassing.
Twitter was ablaze with politicos, wonks, and experts criticizing the CBS report as crude propaganda, a stenographic public relations infomercial for the NSA that asked softball questions and failed to showcase opposing views. The CBS correspondent, John Miller, has previously worked at high level positions in the NYPD and the LAPD. At the beginning of the 60 Minutes program, Miller offered his “full disclosure: I once worked in the office of the Director of National Intelligence.”
Now, the NY Post is reporting that Miller has been looking to get out of the “journalism” business (as if he was ever in it) and go back to law enforcement. Indeed, he has been negotiating a new counterterrorism job while pretending to “report” on the NSA.
In the past two years, Miller has been a prominent presence discussing national security and crime on “CBS This Morning” and on the “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley.”
“John has been doing great on television,” commented a close friend, “but at heart, he’s a ‘buff.’
“He wants the badge, the gun and the adrenaline — to be in the center of the action.”
Miller is expected to land a top intelligence or counterterrorism role with Bratton.
This is journalistic malpractice of the highest order. And not a good time for CBS. But I’d note that the damage has already been done. Millions of Americans without the ability to consume news critically have already had their minds poisoned by Miller’s propaganda report.