NEW YORK (AP) – CBS is refusing to run advertising for “Truth,” the film starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford that revisits a painful episode in the network’s past.
CBS is denouncing the movie as a disservice to the public and journalists. The film, opening Friday, concerns the discrediting of a 2004 CBS News story on former President George W. Bush’s military service record.
Redford plays Dan Rather in “Truth,” with Blanchett as producer Mary Mapes. Together, they were behind a “60 Minutes II” story that questioned Bush’s military record. But CBS apologized for the story after documents used were called into question and could not be verified. Mapes and three news executives were fired.
Sony Pictures Classics had sought a multi-million dollar ad buy to promote the film on various CBS shows.