Helms Says Buy CBS, Boss Rather
Sen. Jesse Helms is preparing a letter campaign to 1 million conservatives urging them to buy stock in CBS to take control of the television network and “become Dan Rather’s boss.”
In a five-page letter made public today by the News and Observer of Raleigh, the North Carolina Republican accuses CBS of biased news reporting and calls for a “national crusade” to gain influence over the network.
Helms writes that if each of the million conservatives “shifts enough of his or her savings or investments to buy just 20 shares of CBS stock, we would have enough votes to end CBS’ bias forever.”
The letter says CBS is targeted because it is “the most anti-Reagan network . . . (and) it’s vital for us to put an end to media bias.”
The letter is dated Jan. 21 and evidently has not been mailed yet, but copies were being printed in Raleigh last week, said the newspaper, which obtained a copy from an anonymous source.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
