Mary Mapes

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Former ‘60 Minutes’ Producer to Discuss Journalism Ethics at WSU

In 2004, Mapes broke two stories that changed her life. Her reporting on prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Afghanistan won a Peabody Award, the highest honor in broadcast journalism. Her reporting later that year on President George W. Bush’s spotty National Guard record during the Vietnam War got her fired and led to the retirement of CBS anchor Dan Rather.

Mapes’ story, based on her book “Truth and Duty: The Press, the President and the Privilege of Power,” is dramatized in the 2015 movie “Truth,” starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford. It illustrates the battle over facts in a charged political climate and the damage the Internet can do. Mapes will speak about ethics in journalism.

“Mary Mapes brings a unique perspective to the topic of journalism ethics, which begin with the Society of Professional Journalists’ tenet, ‘Seek truth and report it,’” said Jean Norman, Signpost adviser. “We think her story will spark a robust conversation.”

Since her broadcast career ended, Mapes has continued to write for publications such as D Magazine and The Nation and works as a consultant.

Mapes’ presentation is sponsored by Weber State student newspaper, The Signpost, in conjunction with the Salt Lake Tribune, the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities, Weber State’s Women & Gender Studies Program, Ethics in Journalism Fund, the Honors Program, the Department of Communication, the George and Beth Lowe Innovative Teaching Grant, Utah Headliners chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, NowPlayingUtah.com, the Ogden Chamber of Commerce and Weber State Credit Union.