Mary Alice Mapes was born on May 9,1956 and is an American journalist, former television news producer, and author.
13 Facts About Mary Mapes
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Mary Mapes was a principal producer for CBS News, primarily the CBS Evening News and primetime television program 60 Minutes Wednesday.
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Mary Mapes is known for the story of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal, which won a Peabody Award, and the story of Senator Strom Thurmond's unacknowledged biracial daughter, Essie Mae Washington.
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In 1989, Mary Mapes went to work for CBS News in Dallas, Texas.
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Mary Mapes was hired by CBS in 1999 as a producer assigned to Dan Rather and the program 60 Minutes Wednesday.
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At 60 Minutes Wednesday, Mary Mapes produced the story that announced the US military's investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, and the story that exposed Strom Thurmond's unacknowledged bi-racial daughter, Essie Mae Washington, winning a Peabody Award in 2005 for the former.
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Mary Mapes produced a segment for 60 Minutes Wednesday that aired criticism of President George W Bush's military service, supported by documents purportedly from the files of Bush's commanding officer, the late Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B Killian.
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Mary Mapes was criticized for failing to air them in the 60 Minutes report to balance the allegation that Bush had applied for service in the Guard to avoid serving in Vietnam.
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Mary Mapes was faulted for calling Joe Lockhart, a senior official in the John Kerry campaign, prior to the airing of the piece, and offering to put her source, Bill Burkett, in touch with him.
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However, Mary Mapes stated that Burkett had asked her to give his phone number to someone in the Kerry camp to discuss the Swift Boat campaign for which she had asked permission.
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Mary Mapes has said, in retrospect, she would not have done it.
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Mary Mapes said she did not think her actions were faultless, but she stood by the story.
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Mary Mapes said that the authenticity of the documents had been corroborated by an unnamed key source and that journalists often have to rely on photo-copied documents as the basis for verifying a story.