Public Eye partially blind

Exhibit A is Public Eye, which launched to great fanfare last year with a lofty promise to provide "transparency" to the news division. Since its September start, the blog, a product of CBS Digital Media that does not report to the news division and is overseen by former Hotline editor Vaughn Ververs, has indeed addressed and even questioned some CBS coverage in the traditional manner of a media ombudsman. It queried correspondent Scott Pelley on his global warming reports, for example, and whacked "48 Hours" over the use of a doctored image.

But the blog goes well beyond such low-caliber internal policing -- not to mention beyond the traditional role of viewers' representative. Ververs and his crew have used their pulpit to browbeat network competitors, most notably excoriating NBC for ethics violations in a loathsome "Dateline" series that purports to help catch suspected child molesters. In addition to making CBS News' infractions seem relatively minor in comparison, such attacks serve to deflect attention from any internal issues of real substance. That would include the arrival of Couric, undoubtedly the biggest story to hit the news division since Rather's departure last year.

How has Public Eye covered it? One early item urged the network not to hire Couric -- but that was written by an outside contributor. Another item mocked newspapers for relying on anonymous sources in stories about whether Couric would switch networks. A CBS producer was interviewed and praised Couric's "taste, talent, skills and personality." And Ververs himself offered a carefully worded "commentary" that cautiously opined: "I don't think anyone is afraid the new anchor will come in with an eye of destroying tradition."

Couric may not be out to pulverize the Temple of Murrow, but at least one insider sounds thoroughly skeptical of her arrival. "60 Minutes" resident loudmouth and curmudgeon Andy Rooney told Don Imus on April 5: "I don't know anybody at CBS News who is pleased that she's coming here." The remarks cried out for elaboration, but don't look for that on Public Eye. As far as the blog is concerned, Rooney never uttered those provocative words. Instead, starting April 12, Public Eye began gently spoofing the 87-year-old commentator with a feature titled "What Was Andy Thinking?," which lists his column topics in years past.