Mary Quite Contrary
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
Yesterday we reported that Mary Mapes, a former producer for Dan Rather at CBS News, would be joining him at his new job at HDNet. Soon after the story appeared, Mapes told the New York Observer that she had never talked to RadarOnline.com, and described our report as "made up" and "hilarious."
In fact, as Mapes confirmed when we phoned her at her Dallas home on Tuesday, she told a RadarOnline.com reporter last month that she was in serious discussions with Rather to join him at HDNet. Mapes now claims she didn't realize their conversation was on the record, and never said the deal was finalized. Since then, their talks have apparently come to naught and Mapes has moved on to other projects. RadarOnline.com should have called Mapes to update the story, we regret the error, and we wish her well.