The American press can hardly be blamed for the Iran-contra scandal, since it deserves so little credit for unearthing it. It found the Iran story in a Beirut paper, while it had all but ignored Lieut. Colonel Oliver North's gallivanting around gathering arms and money for the contras. Yet after the big story broke, the press fell out of public favor, even if not as steeply as did Ronald Reagan. Dan Rather, for example, was rated high for believability by 40% of those questioned in June 1985 and by only 28% in a January Gallup poll.
Many have accused the press...
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