Rather and Mapes at HDNet?

September 5th, 2006 2:45 PM

RadarOnline.com is reporting that Mary Mapes, the driving force behind what became CBS News's Memogate scandal, has reunited with her old pal Dan Rather. (Hat tip: Jonah Goldberg in the Corner.)

From the Radar item:

Good news, phony document fans! The team that gave you Memogate is back in action.

Former CBS News producer Mary Mapes has rejoined her old running partner Dan Rather at Mark Cuban's HDNet channel. Rather, 74, is starting all over at hi-def cable network with a weekly one-hour show that will translate the day's events into awkwardly-worded homespun similes. It debuts in October...

Mapes, who says she's "thrilled to be on board," told Radar she will primarily be working on documentaries for Rather, as well as the occasional news feature. "Mark Cuban has told Dan, 'I don't give a damn about ratings,'" she says. "'Let's just break news and have some fun breaking balls.'"

Related: MRC's Rich Noyes joked a month ago: "If Mary Mapes is looking for a way to fill her days, HDNet’s upcoming 'Dan Rather Reports' seems to have plenty of job openings left to fill."

Update 9/6 2:22 from Matthew Sheffield. I have reason to doubt the veracity of this story. More later.

Update 10:42 from Matthew Sheffield. Aaron Barnhart had similar doubts about the Mapes story and got an official response from HDNet denying its veracity.

Update 14:46 from Matthew Sheffield. Radar is standing by its report (h/t: Allah) that it discussed all this with Mapes, even though she initially told the New York Observer she'd never heard of the site. She's since said she has heard of it. The plot thickens (like mud).