Four CBS News employees have lost their jobs for a story about President Bush’s time in the Texas Air National Guard.

Often referred to as “Memogate,” “60 Minutes Wednesday” aired a report during the presidential campaign that questioned whether the president had fulfilled his duty requirements and included documents that appeared to prove he had not.

The documents, widely considered fakes, could not be authenticated, and many CBS critics said the report was a clear example of political bias at work in the mainstream media.

CBS responded, belatedly, to its critics by creating an independent panel to investigate how the deeply flawed report found its way onto the air.

The report, which was released by CBS on Monday, didn’t pull any punches in providing a sharp critique of the mistakes that allowed the fraudulent document to be included in the newscast.

“The combination of a new 60 Minutes Wednesday’ management team, great deference given to a highly respected producer and the network’s news anchor, competitive pressures, and a zealous belief in the truth of the segment seem to have led many to disregard some fundamental journalistic principles,” according to the report posted on CBS News’ Web site.

Senior Vice President Betsy West, Executive Producer Josh Howard and Senior Broadcast Producer Mary Murphy were all asked to resign. Producer Mary Mapes was fired. Dan Rather, who was the on-air face of the story, already has announced that he is stepping down as anchor, although he will continue to work for the network.

The investigators – former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and former Associated Press President Louis Boccardi – identified a laundry list of mistakes made by the reporting team on the National Guard story and included a list of reforms that could stop a replay.

They also said that they found no evidence that the story was influenced by a political agenda, but they did find that actions taken by Mapes created the impression of partisanship.

CBS blundered badly when it rushed to air the Bush documents in September. News personnel then compounded the mistake by immediately going on the defensive by attacking their critics.

The network has responded to the crisis with an investigation and held the people who made the mistakes responsible for their actions. People were fired. That’s real accountability.