dan rather

Host Dan Rather presents hard-edged field reports, in-depth interviews and investigative pieces that emphasize accuracy, fairness and guts in their reporting. The program will cover topics including, but not limited to, politics, the environment, the global economy, and international affairs and conflicts.

The format of Dan Rather Reports is dictated by the needs of individual stories. Each show will typically consist of multiple stories, but some shows will be devoted to a single, hour-long report.

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NEW YORK � Some news media dubbed it "Rathergate." But veteran news anchor Dan Rather says that term for the discredited story that cost him his CBS Evening News job is anything but fair.

In a $70 million (U.S.) lawsuit against CBS and his former bosses, Rather claims they made him a "scapegoat" to placate the Bush administration after questions arose about the story, which concerned President Bush's military service during the Vietnam War.

The lawsuit, filed yesterday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, claims the network intentionally botched the aftermath of the story about Bush's time in the Texas Air National Guard, and had Rather take the fall to "pacify" the White House.

CBS spokesman Dana McClintock called Rather's complaints "old news" and said the lawsuit was "without merit." Former CBS parent company Viacom Inc. had no comment.

The 75-year-old Rather, whose final months at CBS were clouded by controversy over the story, said the defendants' actions damaged his reputation and cost him significant financial loss. He was removed from his CBS Evening News post in March 2005.

Besides CBS Corp. and Viacom, the lawsuit names CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone, and Andrew Heyward, former president of CBS News. The suit seeks $20 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.

Rather narrated a September 2004 report that said Bush disobeyed orders and shirked some of his duties during his National Guard service and a commander felt pressured to sugarcoat Bush's record.

In his lawsuit, Rather maintains the story was true but says if any aspect of the broadcast wasn't accurate, he was not responsible for the errors. By forcing Rather to apologize publicly, "CBS intentionally caused the public and the media to attribute CBS' alleged bungling of the episode to Mr. Rather," the lawsuit claimed.

The story relied on four documents, supposedly written by Bush's commander in the Texas Air National Guard, the late Lt. Col. Jerry Killian. Critics questioned the documents' authenticity and suggested they were forged.

An investigating panel for the story, selected by the network, "never concluded that the Killian documents were forgeries, or that the substance of the documents was inaccurate, and it did not question the underlying critical fact that President Bush had received preferential treatment" related to the National Guard, the suit says.

CBS fired the story's producer and asked for the resignations of three executives because it could not authenticate documents used in the story. Rather was forced out of the anchor chair he had occupied for 24 years.

Rather claimed in the suit that his departure ultimately was caused by Redstone, the Viacom chairman, who "considered it to be in his corporate interest to curry favor with the Bush administration by diminishing Mr. Rather's stature and reputation." At the time, the lawsuit says, Rather was making $6 million a year.

Richard Thornburgh, the former U.S. attorney general who made up the two-man investigative panel with Louis D. Boccardi, the retired chief executive of The Associated Press, said he was unaware of Rather's lawsuit. Reached at his home in Washington, he said only: "Our report speaks for itself.''

Boccardi was not immediately available for comment.

Issued in January 2005, the 224-page report portrayed Rather as "pushed to the limit" with other stories at the time of the "60 Minutes Wednesday" report. He relied on a trusted producer, and didn't check the story for accuracy or, apparently, even see it before he introduced it on the program, the panel said.

CBS rushed the story on the air and then blindly defended it when holes became apparent, said the panel, which was unable to say conclusively whether memos allegedly disparaging Bush's service were real or fake.

The fired CBS News producer, Mary Mapes, later wrote that the panel's examination of the story "read more like a prosecutorial brief than an independent investigation." Her book surrounding the controversy was published in 2005.

Rather, who couldn't immediately be reached for comment Wednesday, started working at CBS News in 1962, then replaced Walter Cronkite in 1981 as CBS Evening News anchorman until signing off March 9, 2005.

He always considered himself a reporter first, and news anchors' practice of traveling to the scenes of big stories is largely his legacy. His interview with Saddam Hussein in 2003 was the last the Iraqi leader gave before he was toppled.

With his intense on-air demeanour, Rather also had his detractors, and his broadcast was a distant third in the evening news ratings at the time he stepped down. CBS News' ratings rebounded under short-term successor Bob Schieffer, but they've plummeted under Katie Couric, who took over the broadcast in September 2006.

He since moved on to a weekly news show on cable's HDNet channel, Dan Rather Reports, but the effort has garnered little attention. When the show launched, it was available only in four million homes, a small fraction of his potential audience while at CBS.

Jeff Goldblum plays an actor playing himself in Pittsburgh, an offbeat movie project centering on his real-life starring role in a two-week run of The Music Man in his hometown. The film combines improvisational acting and true events. "For the last six or seven years I've been cooking this up and wanted to do some kind of movie with this sort of experimental approach," said Goldblum. Reuters
? Dan Rather sued CBS yesterday for US$70-million, saying the network violated his contract by not giving him enough air time. The 75-year-old Texan stepped down as anchor of the CBS Evening News after 24 years in March, 2005, after a scandal over his reporting on President George W. Bush's military record. He continued reporting for 60 Minutes, but left in 2006 because he said they offered him no assignments. Reuters
? Some of South Africa's most famous recording artists, including singer Johnny Clegg, have accused the country's public broadcaster of demanding bribes if they want to be heard on air. "It's a very crazy situation ... that we local musicians have to pay to get airplay on radio stations," said Clegg, who is nicknamed the White Zulu. SABC is the biggest broadcaster in South Africa. A spokesman said an investigation is underway. Agence France-Presse
? Tom Hanks' production company has joined forces with HBO to turn Vincent Bugliosi's Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy into a 10-part miniseries. In his best-seller, Bugliosi, who prosecuted Charles Manson and co-wrote Helter Skelter, disclaims many conspiracy theories and contends that Lee Harvey Oswald was the sole party behind the 1963 Kennedy assassination. Reuters
By taking a cheap shot at Boeing, Dan Rather may be headed for a comeback less graceful than Britney Spears' performance at the MTV Music Awards.

On the most recent edition of his new show, he reported on Tuesday that the new 787 Dreamliner aircraft may be unsafe. Since then, dozens of news agencies have jumped on the bandwagon. Most of them are reporting that the carbon fiber frame may not be as safe as aluminum. Few have bothered to question Rather's claims that the composite materials are brittle, more likely to shatter on impact, and prone to emit poisonous chemicals when ignited.

I haven't yet watched the segment, but I have read the full transcript [doc]. As a researcher trained materials engineering, I consider the written summaries that appeared in the news today to be very misleading.

While there is a lot of weight behind the argument that composite materials are not as well-studied as aircraft aluminum, the reasoning behind the flurry of recent articles may be faulty. First off, if a plane crashes, the composite frame will definitely not be the only source of toxic fumes. Second, high performance composites have been used in fighter aircraft and for years. Sports cars, race cars, and train cars made from composite materials have endured fantastic crashes. Claims that the impact toughness of carbon fiber is inadequate may be premature.

The title of Rather's story, Plastic Planes, indicates a lack of grounding in science. High-performance carbon composites are far stronger than plastics. My main concern is how well they will hold up to water -- a point that is only briefly touched on during the show. Because they are vulnerable to slow and steady degradation by moisture, the new materials may not last as long as aluminum. The report by Rather was correct to explain that testing them for wear and tear will be more difficult. That was, perhaps, his most valid point.


To get a second opinion, I contacted Cirrus Design, a company that has been making small aircraft from composite materials for years. Here is what they had to say:

Though Cirrus' are made with different composite materials than the Dreamliner, there is no reason to believe that composites cannot be made every bit as strong as aluminum. Some would argue there is more energy absorption in composites than in aluminum structures. Also, this Dreamliner must go through FAA Certification before it is allowed on the market, like general aviation aircraft. There is no way the FAA would allow Boeing , nor would Boeing put an unsafe, loaded with people aircraft in the sky. Safety is paramount in decision making with all aircraft manufacturers.

Daniel Irvin Rather, Jr. (born October 31, 1931) is the former longtime anchor for the CBS Evening News and is now under contract and scheduled to serve as managing editor and anchor of a new television news magazine, Dan Rather Reports, on the new cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9, 1981 to March 9, 2005. He also contributed to CBS' 60 Minutes. Rather's career at CBS News ended in a 2004 credibility crisis when the contents of allegedly forged documents were broadcast in the heat of the 2004 US Presidential elections, which led to Rather's 2005 ouster from the anchor role, demotion to correspondent and later firing in 2006. On September 19, 2007, Dan Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against the network, its parent company Viacom Inc., and three of his former bosses. Rather said he was denied airtime on "60 Minutes," among other complaints outlined in the lawsuit, CBS Radio reported.
Early life
Rather was born in Wharton, Texas, the son of Daniel Irvin Rather Sr. and his wife, the former Byrl Veda Page. After moving to Houston, Texas, Rather attended Love Elementary School, Hamilton Middle School, and Reagan High School. In 1953, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State University where he was editor of the school newspaper, The Houstonian. Also at Sam Houston, he was a member of the Caballeros, which was the founding organization of the currently active Epsilon Psi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Though, never going through an official I-Week program he was an influential voice to the process. After obtaining his bachelor's, he briefly attended South Texas College of Law, which later awarded him an honorary JD in 1990.


[edit] Start of his career
Rather began his career in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Later, he was a reporter for United Press International (1950�1952), several Texas radio stations, and the Houston Chronicle (1954�1955). In 1959, he entered television as a reporter for KTRK-TV in Houston. Rather was promoted to the director of news for KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston.

In 1960, Dan Rather auditioned for the voice of cartoon character Dudley Do-Right but was turned down by animator/director Jay Ward.

In early September 1961, Rather reported live from the Galveston Seawall as Hurricane Carla threatened the Texas coastline. This action, which has been imitated by countless other reporters, impressed the network executives at CBS, and they hired him as a CBS News correspondent in 1962. In his autobiography, Rather notes that back then TV stations didn't have their own radar systems, and of course nobody then had the modern computerized radar that combines the radar image with an outline map. So he took a camera crew to a National Weather Service radar station located on the top floor of the Post Office Building on 25th Street in Galveston, where a technician drew a rough outline of the Gulf of Mexico on a sheet of plastic, and held that over the black and white radar display to give Rather's audience an idea of the storm's size and position of the storm's eye.


[edit] At CBS News
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The newsman has been the subject of controversy sporadically throughout his career. As he wrote in an autobiography, Rather was the first network television journalist to report that U.S. President John F. Kennedy died in the November 22, 1963 shooting in Dallas. He was also one of the first to see the Zapruder film taken by an eyewitness to the passing Dallas motorcade and reported that JFK's head went "violently forward" when he was hit. It in fact went violently backwards, after jerking forward briefly.

Later, he reported that some schoolchildren in Dallas had applauded when they were notified of the president's death. Administrators said, in fact, the thrust of the announcement was that school was to be dismissed early (making the students' delight more understandable). This story infuriated local journalists at then-CBS affiliate KRLD-TV (now KDFW-TV), who temporarily threw the CBS News staff out of their workspace.

Rather's reporting during the national mourning period following the Kennedy assassination and subsequent events brought him to the attention of CBS News management, which rewarded him in 1964 with the network's White House correspondent position. After serving as a foreign correspondent for CBS News, he drew the assignment as primary anchor for the CBS Sunday Night News, while serving as White House correspondent during the Richard Nixon presidency. His coverage of the Watergate investigation and impeachment proceedings are renowned.[neutrality disputed]

After President Nixon's resignation, Rather took the assignment of chief correspondent for CBS News Special Reports. He later became a correspondent of the long-running Sunday night news show 60 Minutes, just as the program was moved from a Sunday afternoon time-slot to primetime. Success there brought Rather in line to succeed Walter Cronkite as main anchor and Managing Editor of The CBS Evening News.



" Good evening. President Reagan, still training his spotlight on the economy, today signed a package of budget cuts that he will send to Congress tomorrow. Lesley Stahl has the story. "
― Rather's first lines in his debut as anchor of The CBS Evening News

Rather assumed the position upon Cronkite's retirement, making his first broadcast on March 9, 1981. From the beginning of his tenure, it was clear that Rather had a significantly different style of reporting the news. In contrast to the avuncular Cronkite, who ended his newscast with "That's the way it is", Rather searched to find a broadcast ending more suitable to his tastes. For one week during the mid-1980s, Rather tried ending his broadcasts with the word "courage" and was roundly ridiculed for it. He eventually found a wrap-up phrase more modest than Cronkite's and more relaxed than his own previous attempt; for nearly two decades, Rather ended the show with "That's part of our world tonight."

While Rather had inherited Cronkite's ratings lead and held it for a few years, his ratings declined as his network competition changed.[specify] Simultaneously, CBS went through an institutional shift and was purchased by Laurence Tisch.

When Rather took the helm at the CBS News anchor desk, the United States had only three established commercial television networks: CBS, NBC and ABC. CNN had begun operations less than a year before. When he retired, the three commercial networks were in competition with many more news outlets, including FOX, CNN, MSNBC, PBS and Internet news sources. Competition financially weakened the "Big Three" networks. In 1984, Tisch oversaw layoffs of thousands of CBS News employees, including numerous correspondents such as David Andelman, Fred Graham, Morton Dean and Ike Pappas. Fewer videotape crews were dispatched to cover stories and numerous bureaus were closed. The events depicted in the movie Broadcast News are thought to closely parallel those of CBS' downsizing; Rather is thought by many to be the model for the part played by Jack Nicholson, the anchor whose own astronomical salary is deemed sacrosanct as the little people are let go.[neutrality disputed] However, it is the warm-hearted, light-weight anchor played by William Hurt who shares an important biographical feature with the CBS newsman: Rather also began his news career in sports.

For a short time from 1993 to 1995, Rather co-anchored the evening news with Connie Chung. Chung had previously been a Washington correspondent for CBS News and anchored short news updates on the west coast. She was a popular news anchor in Los Angeles for a number of years before becoming weekend anchor of the NBC Nightly News. On joining the CBS Evening News, however, she worked to report "pop news" stories that didn't fit the style of the broadcast. In one incident she was on an airplane interviewing Tonya Harding, who was accused of being behind the plot to injure fellow Olympic ice skater Nancy Kerrigan. After the Oklahoma City bombing, Chung somewhat indifferently asked firefighters working rescue duty, "Can the Oklahoma City Fire Department handle this?" Chung was offered a demotion to weekend anchor or morning news anchor and chose to leave the network, and Rather went back to doing the newscast alone.

At the end of Rather's career, the CBS Evening News had fallen to a distant third place in network viewership. Although still garnering some 7 million viewers each evening, the broadcast was behind the NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight, and the networks were all losing influence to cable and the Internet news. Rather's departure from the anchor chair was troubling for CBS, as his journalistic credentials were questioned during the 2004 Presidential campaign between George W. Bush and John Kerry, when 60 Minutes II ran a report by Rather about Bush's military record; numerous critics questioned the authenticity of the documents upon which the report was based. Rather retired, possibly under pressure, as the anchor of the CBS Evening News at 7:00 eastern time, 9 March 2005.

On September 19, 2007, Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS, alleging breach of contract in giving him insufficient airtime after he stepped down from his role as CBS Evening News anchor.


[edit] Other current notes
In 2006, Dan Rather donated $2 million to his alma mater, Sam Houston State University, the largest single monetary gift in the school's 127-year history.[specify] The University renamed its mass communications building after Rather in 1994. The building houses The Houstonian and KSHU, which refers to the radio and television stations which are both run by students.

In May, 2007, Rather received a honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Siena College in Loudonville, New York for his lifetime contributions to journalism.

Rather is also a columnist whose work is distributed by King Features Syndicate.

His daughter, Robin, is an environmentalist and community activist in Austin, Texas.

On May 28, 2007 Rather compared historical events to events in the Star Wars films in the History Channel special, "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed".

On September 19, 2007 Rather filed a $70 million dollar law suit against CBS News for which Rather alleges that the network made him a "scapegoat" for a discredited story about President Bush's National Guard service. Rather says that the complaint stems from "CBS' intentional mishandling" of the aftermath of the story. [1]


[edit] Journalistic history and influence

[edit] Nixon
During the presidency of Richard Nixon, critics accused Rather of biased coverage. At a Houston news conference in March 1974, Nixon fielded a question from Rather, still CBS's White House correspondent, who said, "Thank you, Mr. President. Dan Rather, of CBS News. Mr. President..." The room filled with jeers and applause, prompting Nixon to joke, "Are you running for something?" Rather replied "No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?"[2]

CBS apparently considered firing Rather; its news president met with administration official John Ehrlichman to discuss the situation.[specify] According to NBC's Tom Brokaw, the network considered hiring him, Brokaw, as its White House correspondent to replace Rather. But these plans were scrapped after word was leaked to the press. The controversy did little to dent Rather's overall tough coverage of the Watergate scandal, which helped to raise his profile.


[edit] Afghanistan, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush
During the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Rather was on camera wearing a traditional Mujahadeen headdress and garments while reporting from near the front lines. These reports helped Rather gain prominence with the Evening News audience (and the nickname "Gunga Dan"; Rather's reports were also spoofed by the comic strip Doonesbury). Rather's energy and spirit helped him out-compete Roger Mudd for the anchor spot on the Evening News. Mudd was a more senior correspondent and a frequent substitute anchor for Walter Cronkite on the Evening News, and he also anchored the Sunday evening broadcast. But it was Rather who traveled through Afghanistan when the news led there. A few years into his service as anchorman, Rather began wearing sweaters beneath his suit jacket to soften and warm his on-air perceptions by viewers[citation needed].

Later during the 1980s, Rather gained further renown for his forceful and skeptical reporting on the Iran-Contra Affair, which eventually led to an on-air confrontation with then Vice President George H. W. Bush: Bush referred to Rather's "dead air incident" saying, "I want to talk about why I want to be President, why those 41 percent of the people are supporting me. And I don't think it's fair to judge my whole career by a rehash on Iran. How would you like it if I judged your career by those seven minutes when you walked off the set in New York?" Rather did not respond.[specify]

This incident was believed to have been a notable event[citation needed] in Bush's campaign to win the presidency in the 1988 election. It also marked the beginning of Rather's ratings decline, a slump from which he never recovered. Bush never forgave him, and refused to grant Rather an interview after that tangle. His son, George W. Bush, followed suit and never granted Rather an interview during his presidency.

Shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Rather secured an interview with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, which, among other things, captured the flavor of Saddam's bravado concerning the U.S. [citation needed]

" There is no powerful and quick strike that a people could deliver, whatever their overall power. The United States depends on the Air Force. The Air Force has never decided a war in the history of wars. "
― Saddam Hussein in interview with Dan Rather, August 29, 1990[3]

On February 24, 2003, Rather conducted another interview with Hussein before the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. In the interview, Hussein invited Rather to be the moderator of a live television debate between himself and George W. Bush. The debate never took place.


[edit] The Wall Within
On June 2, 1988, Rather hosted a CBS News special, The Wall Within. In it, he interviewed six former servicemen, each of whom said he had witnessed horrible acts in Vietnam. Two of the men said that they had killed civilians, and two others said that they had seen friends die. Each talked about the effects the war had upon their lives ― including depression, unemployment, drug use and homelessness.

In their book Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of its Heroes and its History, authors B. G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley said they had obtained the service records of all six men, documenting where each was stationed during the Vietnam War. According to the records, the authors said, only one of the men was actually in Vietnam; he claimed to have been a 16-year-old Navy SEAL but, said Burkett and Whitley, the records listed him as an equipment repairer.


[edit] Killian documents
Main article: Killian documents
On September 8, 2004, Rather reported on 60 Minutes Wednesday that a series of documents concerning President George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard service record had been discovered in the personal files of Lt. Bush's former commanding officer, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, in which Bush was found unfit for flight status after failing to obey an order to submit to a physical examination. The authenticity of these documents was quickly called into question by both conservative and liberal bloggers; by September 10, stories in media outlets including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Chicago Sun-Times examined the documents' authenticity. Rather and CBS vigorously defended the story, insisting that the documents had been authenticated by experts. However, CBS was contradicted by some of the experts it originally cited, and later reported that their source for the documents, former Texas Army National Guard officer Bill Burkett, had misled the network about how he had obtained them. Rather held a one-on-one interview with Killian's personal secretary who vouched for the contents of the documents although she did not authenticate the documents in question themselves, which suggested that the documents were recreations of originals made from poor reproductions or from memory.[4] On September 20, CBS retracted the story. Rather stated, "if I knew then what I know now, I would not have gone ahead with the story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question."[5] The controversy has been referred to by some as "Memogate" and "Rathergate." Following an independent investigation commissioned by CBS, CBS fired story producer Mary Mapes and asked three other producers connected with the story to resign. Rather's retirement was directly hastened by this incident, and many believe that he would otherwise have stepped down in March 2006, 25 years after beginning as anchor.[citation needed] The Burkett documents are popularly believed to be forgeries created by making hazy photocopies of computer-generated documents crafted using Microsoft Word's default font settings.


[edit] Retirement from the Evening News
" We've shared a lot in the 24 years we've been meeting here each evening, and before I say 'Good night' this night, I need to say thank you. Thank you to the thousands of wonderful professionals at CBS News, past and present, with whom it's been my honor to work over these years. And a deeply felt thanks to all of you, who have let us into your homes night after night; it has been a privilege, and one never taken lightly.
Not long after I first came to the anchor chair, I briefly signed off using the word, 'Courage.' I want to return to it now, in a different way: to a nation still nursing a broken heart for what happened here in 2001, and especially to those who found themselves closest to the events of September 11; to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, in dangerous places; to those who have endured the tsunami, and to all who have suffered natural disasters, and must now find the will to rebuild; to the oppressed and to those whose lot it is to struggle in financial hardship or in failing health; to my fellow journalists in places where reporting the truth means risking all; and to each of you, Courage.

For The CBS Evening News. Dan Rather reporting. Good night.
"
― Dan Rather's speech at the end of his farewell newscast

Rather retired as the anchorman and Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News in 2005; his last broadcast was Wednesday, March 9, 2005. He worked as the anchorman for 24 full years, the longest tenure of anyone in American television history and for a short time continued to work as a correspondent for 60 Minutes. Bob Schieffer, a fellow Texan and host of Face the Nation, took over Rather's position on an interim basis, and Katie Couric has replaced Schieffer in 2006.

Since retiring, he has been on a speaking tour across the United States. On January 24, 2006, Rather spoke to a Seattle audience. Before the speaking engagement, he told a newspaper reporter, "In many ways on many days, [reporters] have sort of adopted the attitude of 'go along, get along.'"

"What many of us need is a spine transplant", Rather added. "Whether it's City Hall, the State House, or the White House, part of our job is to speak truth to power."[6]


[edit] Retirement from CBS News
In June 2006, reports surfaced that CBS News would most likely not renew Dan Rather's contract.[7] According to a Washington Post article, sources from CBS said that executives at the network decided "there is no future role for Rather".

On June 20, 2006, CBS News president Sean McManus announced that Rather would be leaving the network after 44 years.[8][9] Rather issued a separate statement which accompanied the news of the departure:[10]

" I leave CBS News with tremendous memories. But I leave now most of all with the desire to once again do regular, meaningful reporting. My departure before the term of my contract represents CBS's final acknowledgement, after a protracted struggle, that they had not lived up to their obligation to allow me to do substantive work there. As for their offers of a future with only an office but no assignments, it just isn't in me to sit around doing nothing. So I will do the work I love elsewhere, and I look forward to sharing details about that soon. "

Rather has since resumed his career with HDNet, a high-definition cable television station as a producer and hosts a weekly one-hour show called Dan Rather Reports as of October 24, 2006. Rather also has contributed as a guest on The Chris Matthews Show.

He has also formed an independent company called News and Guts Media and is reportedly working on a book.[11]


[edit] Lawsuit
On September 19, 2007, Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS, its parent company Viacom, CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone and Andrew Heyward, former president of CBS News. Rather accused the network and its ownership and management of making him a "scapegoat" in the Killian story. A CBS spokesman claimed that the lawsuit was "old news" and "without merit". Viacom did not immediately respond.[12]


[edit] Awards
Rather is one of the most awarded figures within the journalism community.[citation needed] He has received numerous Emmy Awards, several Peabody Awards, and various honorary degrees from universities.


[edit] Criticisms of Rather
As one of the last broadcast news journalists from the era of the "Big Three" network news primacy, Rather was highly regarded within his profession by many long-serving journalists. Rather has, however, been subject to criticism from conservatives, who accuse him of having a liberal bias, and others, including longtime colleague Bernard Goldberg. Still others have expressed dislike for Rather's on-air delivery or argued that Rather was too "ham-handed", "pseudo-folksy" or "old-fashioned."


[edit] Claims of liberal bias
Rather has been accused of having a liberal bias for a great part of his career.[13][14] Media Research Center, a conservative organization which claims to expose liberal bias in the media, has a file devoted to what they say are examples of Rather's bias.[15] The phrase "rather biased" (an obvious pun on Rather's name) has become a catchphrase used frequently by those who believe he is.[16] Critics claim Rather has a double standard on how and which news stories to report, the Killian documents being the most famous example of this.[17][18] During the weeks following the Killian documents, Rather received widespread criticism from other journalists and historians[citation needed] for his approach on reporting and confirmation of the documents' authenticity, as well as his continued insistence of standing by them. They also claim many of his interviews of public officials reflect a liberal bias, either being overly harsh (when interviewing a conservative) or "soft-ball" (when interviewing a liberal).[19] Rather's on-screen comments and election night reporting have specifically come under attack as well, dating back to Richard Nixon's presidency. In a June 2002 interview with Larry King, his long-time co-worker (and self-described liberal) Andy Rooney stated that Rather is "transparently liberal".[20]In an interview with commentator Bill Maher, Rather accused Fox News Channel of receiving "talking points" from the Republican controlled White House. Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly, who had defended Rather during the Memogate incident, criticized Rather heavily for not offerring any evidence to support the claim:

"As you may remember, I defended Rather in the Bush National Guard debacle. I said Rather did not intentionally put on a bogus story. He just didn't check it out, he was too anxious for the story to be true. Now many of you criticized me for that defense, but I'm a fact-based guy. And there's no evidence Dan Rather fabricated anything. It was sloppy reporting that did him in. But now the fabrication word is in play again. If Dan Rather has evidence of White House dictums coming to FOX News employees, he needs to display that evidence. We are awaiting his appearance. We'll let you know when it is.[21]"


[edit] Chandra Levy-Elizabeth Smart reporting
On July 12, 2001, Brent Bozell of the conservative Media Research Center issued a press release stating that the failure of CBS News to run a single story regarding the disappearance of former Congressional intern Chandra Levy was evidence of "media bias".[22] This press release was featured prominently by several conservative news organizations. Rather then appeared on the Don Imus radio show to defend himself against the allegations of the press release, arguing that a single missing person incident did not merit mention on a national newscast. CBS News eventually ran a single story about the Levy disappearance the following week.

In 2002, the American press began focusing on kidnappings (especially of children like Elizabeth Smart). This time, Rather followed suit in reporting the story. His defenders interpreted the move as an indication that Rather's authority within CBS News had declined, and that he was unable to insist on a more traditionalist approach.[citation needed] His critics interpreted this as his partisanship for refusing to report the Levy story.[citation needed]


[edit] Criticism from Walter Cronkite
During a March 7, 2005 appearance on CNN, former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite said about Rather: "It surprised quite a few people at CBS and elsewhere that, without being able to pull up the ratings beyond third in a three-man field, that they tolerated his being there for so long." A possible rationale, however, was that the lead-in from the local news stations in a few markets contributed to the lower ratings for Rather's program. Cronkite also stated that Bob Schieffer's succession was long overdue. For his part, Rather said he would not respond to Cronkite's "mudslinging." Back in 1981, Cronkite had vehemently denied he had been forced out by Rather's rising star, but his comments on CNN led many to believe that that had been the case.


[edit] Notable incidents

[edit] 1968 Democratic convention
During live coverage of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Rather attempted to interview a delegate who appeared as though he was being forcibly removed by men without identification badges.

As Rather approached the delegate to question the apparent strong-arm tactics of the Chicago political machine, he was punched in the stomach by one of the men, knocking him to the ground. "He lifted me right off the floor and put me away. I was down, the breath knocked out of me, as the whole group blew on by me...In the CBS control room, they had switched the camera onto me just as I was slugged."


[edit] "Kenneth, what is the frequency?"
In October 1986, as Rather was walking along Park Avenue in Manhattan to his apartment, he was attacked and punched from behind by a man who demanded to know, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?", while a second assailant also chased and beat him. As the assailant pummeled and kicked Rather, he kept repeating the question over and over again. In describing the incident, Rather said, "I got mugged. Who understands these things? I didn't and I don't now. I didn't make a lot of it at the time and I don't now. I wish I knew who did it and why, but I have no idea."

The incident and Rather's account led some to doubt the veracity of Rather's story, although the doorman and building supervisor who rescued Rather fully confirmed his version of events. The story entered popular lore and remained unsolved for some time. The incident inspired a song called "Kenneth, What's the Frequency?" by the band Game Theory in 1987, and in 1994 the band R.E.M. released the more widely-known song "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" on the album Monster. It became the subject of many jokes over the years and slang for a confused or clueless person. Rather was a good sport about it, and actually sang with the band when they performed the song on The Late Show with David Letterman.

In 1997, a TV critic writing in the New York Daily News claimed to have solved the mystery, and published a photo of the alleged assailant, William Tager. Rather confirmed the story: "There's no doubt in my mind that this is the person." Tager is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for killing NBC stagehand Campbell Montgomery outside The Today Show studio in 1994.

In the December 2001 issue of Harper's Magazine, writer Paul Limbert Allman concluded that Professor Donald Barthelme (who died in 1989) had somehow orchestrated the attack through other unnamed persons, citing unusual passages in Barthelme's writing, including the phrase "What is the frequency?", a recurring character named Kenneth, and a short story about a pompous editor named Lather.[23] The article was adapted into two plays, both entitled "Kenneth, What is the Frequency?" The first was by Ian Allen and Monique LaForce and debuted in Washington, D.C., in 2003.[24] The second, written by Allman himself, premiered in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2004[25].


[edit] "Courage"
For one week in September 1986, Rather signed off his broadcasts to CBS with the single word "Courage".[26] Apparently it was just a signature line and had nothing to do with the news at the time (which included the Joseph Cicippio abduction and a threat by Arab extremists to "become familiar with your skyscrapers and extend the terror campaign to the United States"), although TV critic Peter Boyer suggested it may have been in response to recent staff cutbacks at CBS News. Other newscasters ridiculed and parodied him, and he dropped it. Afterwards, Rather said "And that's part of our world." On his last CBS Evening News broadcast, he once again signed off with "Courage", this time linking it to the September 11, 2001 attacks as well as courage shown by fellow journalists.


[edit] Dead air
On September 11, 1987, Rather marched off the set in anger just before a remote Evening News broadcast from Miami, where Pope John Paul II began a U.S. tour, when a U.S. Open tennis match threatened to cut into his broadcast. The Steffi Graf-Lori McNeil tennis match then ended sooner than expected at 6:32 p.m., but Rather was nowhere to be found. Over 100 affiliates were left scrambling with an embarrassing six minutes of dead air. By the time Rather was persuaded to return to the desk, most of the audience had already tuned out. Walter Cronkite was among those who criticized Rather, telling a reporter, "I would have fired him. There's no excuse for it." Rather issued a written statement later that week that stopped short of apologizing. In interviews years later, Rather suggested he didn't want to be forced to abbreviate their elaborate coverage of a papal visit and thought his absence would force the sports department to fill up the rest of the hour, though this is not what happened.


[edit] AIDS activists
On January 22, 1991, and unknown to Rather until just after the evening newscast began to air, three AIDS activists stormed the live studio, repeatedly shouting, "fight AIDS, not Arabs...fight AIDS, not Arabs...", just as the opening credits rolled. One of the activists was actually seen on the air. In embarrassment, Rather ordered producers to "break for a commercial", after which he apologized for the activists' actions (they were later detained by CBS security).[27]


[edit] "Ratherisms"
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Dan RatherRather is known for his many off-the-cuff colorful analogies and descriptions while filling the air during live broadcasts. Very similar to those used by baseball announcer Red Barber, and cycling commentator Phil Liggett, these "Ratherisms" are also called "Texanisms" or "Danisms" by some. A few of the more colorful ones from the 2000 Election include:[28]

"This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-O."
"This thing is as tight as the rusted lugnuts on a '55 Ford."
"This race is tight like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach."
"He swept through the South like a tornado through a trailer park."
"Don't bet the trailer money on it yet."
"It's a ding-dong battle back and forth."
"Look at that. Can't get a cigarette paper between 'em."
"His chances are slim to none right now, and if he doesn't carry Florida, Slim will have left town."
"If a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a hand gun."
"Close only counts with hand grenades and horseshoes."
He spoofed his statements on Comedy Central's 2006 Daily Show / Colbert Report Midterm Midtacular on November 7, 2006:

"Ran away with it like a hobo with a sweet potato pie."
"If you ain't got the yolk, you can't emulsify the hollandaise"
"If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" (A quote from Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall.")




[edit] Pop culture figure
Though his popularity and ratings declined over the years, Rather's apparent affinity for the bizarre has made him into an ironic pop-culture icon. He has been lampooned numerous times by the television shows Saturday Night Live and Family Guy and many films. Samples of Rather's newscasts were used to create "Rocked By Rape", a single by the Evolution Control Committee which was subsequently banned by CBS; the song combined some of Rather's more dramatic headlines ("Gunned down / shooting death / blood drops / murderer") with a heavily edited recording of AC/DC's Back in Black. He also had a cameo appearance in the JibJab political cartoon, Good to Be in D.C..

In 2004, he was featured in the documentary film "Barbecue: A Texas Love Story" by Austin-based director Chris Elley. Two years later, Rather and Elley educated a group of New Yorkers in Madison Square Park about the true meaning of BBQ and its significance to the identity of the Lone Star State. Rather began the discussion with a direct statement: "Let's get this straight folks. If it ain't beef and it ain't in Texas, then it ain't barbecue."

Newspapers and magazines are fond of compiling Rather's expressions, and many people enjoyed tuning in to Rather's broadcasts in the hopes he'd say something amusing.


[edit] Illegal drugs
In a July 1980 interview with Ladies' Home Journal, Rather said that "in 1955 or '56, I had someone at the Houston police station shoot me with heroin so I could do a story about it. The experience was a special kind of hell. I came out understanding full well how one could be addicted to 'smack,' and quickly."

According to journalist Cliff Jahr, Rather said, "As a reporter - and I don't want to say that that's the only context - I've tried everything. I can say to you with confidence, I know a fair amount about LSD. I've never been a social user of any of these things, but my curiosity has carried me into a lot of interesting areas."[29]


[edit] Ratings
In their last year of broadcasting, Tom Brokaw and his NBC Nightly News were ranked #1, Peter Jennings and World News Tonight were second, Dan Rather and the CBS Evening News were third. Rather was #1 in the early and mid-1980s; Jennings was #1 in the late '80s; and Brokaw took over as America's most-watched evening news anchor in the '90s and kept the spot until his retirement in 2004. Brian Williams has since kept NBC Nightly News, (nearly tied with ABCs World News with Charles Gibson) as the second most-watched broadcast or cable news program in the United States, second only to Spanish network Univision's 'Noticiero Univision'.[citation needed]


[edit] Quotes
"I cannot remember a time when I didn't want to be a reporter."
"You can't be a good reporter and not regularly be involved in some kind of controversy."
In reference to the CBS News, while referring to Katie Couric, Rather stated that "the mistake was to try to bring the 'Today' show ethos to the 'Evening News,' and to dumb it down, tart it up in hopes of attracting a younger audience."[30]

[edit] References
^ Maull, Samuel, Dan Rather Files Lawsuit Against CBS, "Associated Press"; 19 September 2007
^ Question-and-Answer Session at the Annual Convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, Houston, Texas March 19th, 1974
^ PERSIAN GULF REGION at au.af.mil
^ Killing the Messenger: Who Gave Rather the Memos and Why, Democracy Now!, September 21, 2004
^ Dan Rather Statement On Memos, CBS, September 20, 2004
^ Sam Skolnik, Demand solid news, Rather urges, Seattlepi.com, January 25, 2006
^ Source Says Dan Rather Nearing CBS Exit, CBS, June 15, 2006
^ David Bauder, Dan Rather Signs Off, CBS, June 20, 2006
^ Rather Leaves CBS in Bitter End to 44 Years, The New York Times, June 20, 2006
^ Harsh words as Rather leaves CBS, CNN, June 21, 2006
^ Dana, Rebecca. "Fall In, Scamps!", New York Observer, 2006-09-11. Retrieved on 2006-11-07.
^ Dan Rather files $70M suit against CBS Sep 19, 2007
^ Dan Rather: a pioneer and a lightning rod at Christian Science Monitor.
^ Dropping the anchorman at The Economist.
^ The Dan Rather File at Media Research Center
^ Charles Krauthammer, Rather Biased, Washington Post, January 14, 2005
^ Rather's Double Standard at FairPress.org
^ Be Wary of Rich Cabinet Members? at Ratherbiased.org
^ Hard and Soft Interviews at Ratherbiased.org
^ Interview With Andy Rooney, CNN, June 5, 2002
^ O'Reilly, Bill. Dan Rather Owes FOX News an Apology. FOX News.
^ Bryan Keefer, Spinning Chandra: Making the Condit Affair Partisan, Spinsanity.com, July 23, 2001
^ "Dan Rather is the sphinx of our time, and his riddle is 'Kenneth, what is the frequency?'", Paul Limbert Allman, Harper's Magazine 2001
^ "Kenneth, What Is The Frequency" at cherryredproductions.com
^ Gritten, David, Edinburgh reports: stew of strange ideas at The Daily Telegraph
^ Courage at RatherBiased.com
^ CBS Evening News and AIDS Activists at YouTube.com, January 22, 1991
^ Dan Rather at FamousTexans.com
^ Richard Connelly, Party On, Dan, Houston Press, December 2, 2004
^ CBS Chief: Rather's Remarks About Couric 'Sexist' June 12, 2007

[edit] Further reading
News About The News, ISBN 0-375-71415-4. Contemporary history of American journalism. Candid interviews with Rather and many others.
Rather, Dan. The Palace Guard, with Gary Gates
Rather, Dan. The Camera Never Blinks, with Mickey Hershkowitz 1978. Ballantine Books.
Rather, Dan. I Remember, with Peter Wyden.
Rather, Dan with Herskowitz, Mickey. The Camera Never Blinks Twice. 1995. William Morrow.
Rather, Dan. Deadlines and Datelines, Perennial, (Harper Collins), 1999, ISBN 0-688-17905-2 (pbk.)
2nd Saddam interview