Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
In a November 1983 four part series for Gannett-owned Washington DC television station WDMV (now WUSA) Channel 9 called "Vietnam Memorial: A Broken Promise?".
- ...he "raised serious questions regarding the financial propriety" of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, a private organization that raised $9 million to build the wall. Sherwood reported that only $2.6 million had been spent and wanted to know where the rest of the money was.
Bob Doubek, project director for the Fund, said that "It was a hit piece. All of Sherwood's stuff was conjecture, smoke and mirrors." To prevent a lawsuit, the station aired a retraction and donated $50,000 to the Fund. Sherwood was arrested and charged with illegally taping one of the subjects of the report, John P. Wheeler III, chairman of the Fund and special council to the chairman of the SEC. The charges against Sherwood were later dropped. An audit of the Fund by the General Accounting Office, made public in May 1984, concluded that Sherwood's charges regarding the Fund were baseless.
In December, the station refused to air another report by Sherwood criticizing the Fund. Sherwood quit and got a job for the Washington Times at a lower salary. A New York Times headline on this controversy read "Reporter's Project Ruins His Career". (July 17, 1984)
Read more about this topic: Carlton Sherwood
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