[TheForge] Letter to Les Moonves, CEO, CBS Inc.

[Andy Vida]

OK, i guess I got myself all in the spirit this morning, so I wrote to
the CEO of CBS.  I'm very curious to see what may trasnspire.  I doubt
anything will, but I am more than willing to be proven wrong.

-Andy

Here it is:

9704 NE 16th St.
Vancouver, WA 98664

Les Moonves, CEO
CBS Inc.
51-T W. 52nd St.
New York, NY 10019
Sunday, May 16, 2004
RE: Report on Steven Licata by Cheryl Fiandaca

Dear Mr. Moonves,

It is my displeasure to bring to your attention a report made by your
Ms. Fiandaca about a business owned and operated by one Mr. Steven
Licata of Garfield NJ.  In her report, Ms. Fiandaca paints what appears
to be a highly misleading characterization of Mr. Licata and his
business.  The report is fraught with innuendo, implying that Mr. Licata
is engaging in illegitimate business and somehow endangering the
community in which he resides.   This report greatly impugns his
personal character without providing so much as an iota of substance to
support her implications.  I have made my displeasure known to CBS News
by email, a copy of which is enclosed for your information.  I will
further make it known to you that Ms. Fiandaca's report has come to the
attention of hundreds, if not over one thousand, blacksmiths and knife
makers nation wide, and beyond.  I am in contact with many of them and I
can tell you that they have received this report with utter shock,
dismay, and anger.  CBS has managed to earn the derision and ire of many
people with this publication and Ms. Fiandaca has managed to gravely
injure the image of CBS.  From the timbre of the responses I have seen
thus far, CBS may experience some lingering negative effects of this
unjust, inept, and apparently mal-intended report.  Time will tell.

I find it hard to understand why a broadcasting company such as yours
would be so irresponsible as to publish a report on a matter without
fulfilling its obligation to due diligence in sufficiently researching
the subject matter beforehand.  Such ineptitude and negligence is to be
expected of a small child, but not from a presumably well-trained
professional journalist.   The only other possible conclusion one can
reasonably come to is that CBS knowingly allowed one of its agents to
embark on a vicious tirade of character assassination against a man who
is an artist and a craftsman running a perfectly legitimate business
similar to those of hundreds of others across the United States.  A
rational and reasonable person may only guess at the motives for such
inexcusable behavior and can only wonder whether it was intentional. 
Further damning your spokesperson is the fact that Mr. Licata also makes
very fine musical instruments, yet nothing of this was mentioned. 
Asking why this might be so, a few answers that immediately make
themselves painfully obvious are bias against Mr. Licata's business, a
depraved and callous disregard for his rights and welfare, and some
agenda to purposefully bring him to personal harm.  Yes Mr. Moonves,
these are the questions that come into the minds of reasoning people
when they see such inexplicably shabby treatment of individuals by
billion dollar corporate entities such as CBS.

That CBS would publish a whining polemic against a man who minds his own
business and harms nobody is bordering on the unforgivable and seriously
calls into question the character and abilities of its staff from the
CEO down to its janitors.  The nature of the innuendo therein is so
egregiously flawed and seemingly vicious as to defy the belief that it
could have happened by accident.  The fact that CBS has effectively
acted as an instrument of the state by "exposing" him to local
authorities brings deep suspicion to your doorstep.  CBS has now
demonstrated itself to be a "squealer," broadcasting the indelible image
of a large corporate entity that is not to be trusted in any way, or for
any reason.  I regret to inform you that CBS is no longer a credible
entity.

Further damaging your image and driving credibility into the negative
integer range is the fact that at least a dozen letters to CBS/Fiandaca
were responded to with the precise same canned letter which I have also
attached for your information.  Had the letter been nothing more than an
acknowledgement of receipt, I would see no problem with it; but that it
contained what I can only term as fawning and disingenuously hyperbolic
language, telling the recipient that their input is "incalculably
valuable", only serves to make CBS look all the more foolish, insincere,
and as they are not to be trusted.

As if this was not enough, I will now address the issue of hypocrisy at
CBS, which fairly well lays waste all but the barest thread of a hope
for any redemption in the minds of intelligent adults.  As your esteemed
Ms. Fiandaca was busily going about the task of trying to set to ruin
the business of an upstanding member of a New Jersey community with her
baseless innuendo with which she paints a man as a somehow dangerous
supplier of "deadly" weapons to an unspecified, yet similarly smeared
clientele, CBS panders to the public fascination with violence by airing
productions such as "Helter Skelter" and "Swordfish", to name but two of
a seemingly endless torrent of mindlessly violent television
productions.  I would be very interested in knowing the justification
for glorifying violence by airing it as commonly and wantonly as CBS
does while from the other side of the corporate mouth you whine about it
whilst damaging honest people in the process.  How does CBS explain such
behavior such that we, the public to whom you are bound by law to serve,
will say back to you "yes that is perfectly reasonable and right"?  I
defy CBS to present such an explanation for review by your viewers.

Since the report I have been in contact with Mr. Licata, of whom I knew
nothing beforehand.  He seems an articulate and intelligent man, judging
from my exchanges with him, and shows no sign of being the shady
character that your agent, Ms. Fiandaca, offered up in innuendo to the
public.  Based on my discussions with Mr. Licata, he appears to have
been significantly damaged by the report, and to be candid it is my hope
that he retains counsel to investigate the possibility of taking legal
action against CBS, but that is neither my business nor relevant to the
purpose of this letter.

What is relevant is my challenge to you personally, Mr. Moonves, as I
have challenged CBS in the more general case (see the enclosed letter)
to have a different journalist (preferably a real one this time)
reinvestigate Mr. Licata's business, give it a proper and honest
context, and do a follow up report.  Upon finding nothing of substance
against Mr. Licata's business as may directly relate to the report as
published, I would then expect a very public front-page style apology on
air and in print to Mr. Licata and a formal letter asking his
forgiveness.  It may all sound a hokey bother to a large broadcast
corporation such as CBS that may in fact deem itself immune to public
opinion, but I assure you that you are being watched carefully by a not
insignificant number of intelligent, capable, angry, and motivated
people.

The only way CBS will be able to regain even a modicum of trust and
credibility in the eyes of a large number of people will be to come
clean on the issue of the report on Mr. Licata and make a four star
retraction of every hideously contrived word Ms Fiandaca so
irresponsibly spewed forth into the public domain.  The next act of good
faith that would go a longer way towards showing sincerity and integrity
will be to fire Ms. Fiandaca forthwith and with cause, as well as her
supervisors who allowed her shameful drivel to be published.

Short of these, there is certainly nothing CBS will be able to do that
will convince me and many others that it is anything better than a hack
organization and a den of vicious and petty liars whose access to
broadcast facilities should be terminated forthwith.  I am giving you
fair notice that not only will I be copying as many of your advertisers
as possible on this issue, I believe that hundreds and perhaps even
thousands of others may be doing the same.  I will also alert you to the
fact that in some internet forums there has been talk of starting a
campaign against CBS and its advertisers in response to Ms. Fiandaca's
report.  I thought it only fair to alert you to this possibility.

I don't know what sort of man you are, Mr. Moonves, so I will give you
the benefit of the doubt by reserving all judgment on your character
until such time as the CBS response becomes apparent to the public.  I
very much look forward to you proving yourself a man of integrity,
honesty, fairness, and prompt action as I await CBS's substantive
response.


Sincerely,



Andrew Vida
President
Proof Technologies LLC
mailto:osan at netlabs.net
Enclosure (2)
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