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Wikipedia

Dan Rather

Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (/ˈræðər/; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurricane Carla in September 1961. Rather spontaneously created the first radar weather report by overlaying a transparent map over a radar image of Hurricane Carla. In his first national broadcast, he helped initiate the successful evacuation of 350,000 people. He reported on some of the most significant events of the modern age, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, 9/11, the Iraq War, and the war on terror.

Dan Rather
Rather in October 2017
Born
Daniel Irvin Rather Jr.

(1931-10-31) October 31, 1931 (age 92)
EducationSam Houston State University (BA)
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • news presenter
  • reporter and correspondent
Years active1950–present
Spouse
Jean Goebel
(m. 1957)
Children2

Rather also famously reported from Dallas in November 1963 at the time that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Based on such impactful reporting, he was promoted at CBS News, where he served as White House correspondent beginning in 1964. He served as foreign correspondent in London and Vietnam over the next two years before returning to the White House correspondent position. He covered the presidency of Richard Nixon, including Nixon's trip to China, the Watergate scandal, and the president's resignation.

In 1981, Rather was promoted to news anchor for the CBS Evening News, a role he occupied for 24 years. Along with Peter Jennings at ABC News and Tom Brokaw at NBC News, he was one of the "Big Three" nightly news anchors in the U.S. from the 1980s through the early 2000s. He frequently contributed to CBS's weekly news magazine, 60 Minutes.

Rather left the anchor desk in 2005 following the Killian documents controversy, in which he presented unauthenticated documents in a news report on President George W. Bush's Vietnam War–era service in the National Guard. He continued to work with CBS until 2006, when he was abruptly fired.[1]

In September 2007, Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS and its former parent company Viacom. Rather accused the network and its ownership and management of making him a "scapegoat" in the Killian story.[2][3] An intermediate New York state appeals court dismissed the lawsuit in September 2009, and the New York Court of Appeals refused to reinstate it in January 2010.[4][5]

On the cable channel AXS TV (then called HDNet), Rather hosted Dan Rather Reports, a 60 Minutes–style investigative news program, from 2006 to 2013.[6] He also hosts several other projects for AXS TV, including Dan Rather Presents, which provides in-depth reporting on broad topics such as mental health care or adoption, and The Big Interview with Dan Rather, in which he conducts long-form interviews with musicians and other entertainers. In January 2018, he began hosting an online newscast called The News with Dan Rather on The Young Turks YouTube channel. Since 2021, he has been writing the newsletter "Steady" on the Substack platform.

Early life edit

 
Rather's boyhood home being restored at the Wharton County Museum

Rather was born on October 31, 1931, in Wharton County, Texas, the son of Daniel Irvin Rather Sr., a ditch digger and pipe layer,[7] and the former Byrl Veda Page. The Rathers moved to Houston when he was a child, where Dan attended Lovett Elementary School and Hamilton Middle School. He graduated in 1950 from John H. Reagan High School in Houston.

In 1953, Rather earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville, Texas,[8] where he was editor of the school newspaper, The Houstonian. He was also a member of the Caballeros, the founding organization of the Epsilon Psi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity.[9] While in college, Rather worked for KSAM-FM radio in Huntsville, calling junior high, high school, and Sam Houston State football games.[10] After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Rather briefly attended South Texas College of Law in Houston.

In January 1954, Rather enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was sent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. He was soon discharged, however, because he was found to have had rheumatic fever as a child, a fact he had omitted during the enlistment process.[11]

Early career edit

Rather began his journalism career in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Later, he was a reporter for United Press (1950–1952), several Texas radio stations, and the Houston Chronicle (1954–1955). Around 1955, Rather wrote a piece on heroin. Under the auspices of the Houston Police, he tried a dose of the drug, which he characterized as "a special kind of hell."[12]

He worked for four seasons as the play-by-play announcer for the University of Houston football team.[13] During the 1959 minor league baseball season, Rather was the play-by-play radio announcer for the Texas League Houston Buffs.

In 1959, Rather began his television career as a reporter for KTRK-TV, the ABC affiliate in Houston. He was subsequently promoted to the director of news for KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston.

In September 1961, Rather covered Hurricane Carla for KHOU-TV, broadcasting from the then National Weather Center in Galveston[14] and showing the first radar image of a hurricane on TV. He conceived of overlaying a transparent map over the radar screen, in order to show the size of Hurricane Carla to the audience. Convinced of the threat, more than 350,000 people evacuated from the area, the largest known evacuation to that time. Their actions are believed to have saved thousands of lives compared to the previous hurricane, which had killed 6,000 to 12,000 people.[14] Rather's live coverage of Carla was broadcast by New York and national stations. Ray Miller, news director of KPRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Houston, also mentored Rather in the early years.

On February 28, 1962, Rather left Houston for New York City for a six-month trial initiation at CBS. Rather did not fit in easily on the East Coast. His first reports for CBS included coverage of the crash of American Airlines Flight 1 in Jamaica Bay, and a report on the suffocation of children at a hospital in Binghamton, New York. Shortly after, Rather was made chief of CBS's Southwest bureau in Dallas. In August 1963, he was appointed chief of the Southern bureau in New Orleans, responsible for coverage of news events in the South, Southwest, Mexico and Central America.[15]

CBS News edit

 
Rather speaking about his experiences in his 61 years of journalism before a group of NATO commanders at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan in July 2011.

JFK assassination to Watergate edit

In his autobiography, Rather noted that he was in Dallas in November 1963 to return film from an interview in Uvalde at the ranch of former Vice President John Nance Garner, who celebrated his 95th birthday on November 22.[16] He happened to be "on the other side of the railroad tracks, beyond the triple underpass, thirty yards from a grassy knoll that would later figure in so many conspiracy theories."[17] His job was to fetch a film drop from a camera truck at that location, and take it to the station for editing. He did not witness the shooting of Kennedy, and knew nothing of the events until he reached KRLD, having run through Dealey Plaza. He later wrote:

The moment I cleared the railroad tracks I saw a scene I will never forget. Some people were lying on the grass, some screaming, some running, some pointing. Policemen swarmed everywhere and distinctly above the din, I heard one shout, 'DON'T ANYBODY PANIC.' And of course, there was nothing but panic wherever you looked.[18]

In his autobiography, Rather said he was one of the first to view the Zapruder film showing the assassination, and the first to describe it on television.[19] Rather reported the fatal headshot as forcing Kennedy's head forward, but it was thrown backward.[20]

Later, he reported that some Dallas schoolchildren had applauded when they were notified of the president's death.[21] Administrators said they had announced that school was to be dismissed early, and did not mention the assassination. However, teacher Joanna Morgan confirmed that students had cheered at the news that Kennedy was shot.[22] This story infuriated local journalists at then-CBS affiliate KRLD-TV (now Fox-owned-and-operated KDFW-TV).[23]

Rather's reporting during the national mourning period following the Kennedy assassination and subsequent events impressed CBS News management. In 1964, they selected him for the network's White House correspondent position.[24] When White House correspondent, he contributed to the subsequent events following the Kennedy assassination. In 1965, he contributed to the reporting of return to Washington from Dallas by Charles von Fremd during a conversation that NBC Director Max Schindler, who directed the coverage of the arrival for the networks, did with President Lyndon B. Johnson, at the White House for the TV networks.[25][26]

In 1965, Rather served as a foreign correspondent for CBS in London, and in 1966 in Vietnam. He served again as White House correspondent during the presidency of Richard Nixon. In 1970, he was also assigned as anchor for the CBS Sunday Night News[27] (1970–73; 1974–75), and later for the CBS Saturday Evening News (1973–76).[28] Rather was among those journalists who accompanied Nixon to China.[29] He later covered the Watergate investigation, as well as the impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon in Congress.

CBS Evening News anchor edit

 
Rather (right) with president Ronald Reagan in 1982

After President Nixon's resignation in 1974, Rather became chief correspondent for the documentary series CBS Reports. In December 1975, he became a correspondent of the long-running Sunday night news show 60 Minutesat the time the program was moved from a Sunday afternoon time-slot to primetime. Success there helped Rather pull ahead of longtime correspondent Roger Mudd, who was in line to succeed Walter Cronkite as anchor and Managing Editor of The CBS Evening News.[30]

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 succeeded to the news anchor position after Cronkite's retirement, making his first broadcast on March 9, 1981. 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 in September 1986, with CBS the target of potentially hostile new ownership, Rather tried ending his broadcasts with the word "courage,"[31] and was roundly ridiculed for it. For nearly two decades, Rather ended the show with: "That's part of our world tonight."[32]

Rather also held other positions during his time as anchor. In January 1988, he became host of the newly created 48 Hours, and in January 1999, Rather joined the new 60 Minutes II as a correspondent.[32]

Ratings for the Evening News with Rather at the helm fluctuated wildly, at a time when more alternatives to TV news were developing. After a dip to second place, Rather regained the top spot in 1985 until 1989, when he ceded the ratings peak to rival Peter Jennings at ABC's World News Tonight. By 1992, however, the Evening News had fallen to third place of the three major networks. It rose in rankings in 2005, when Bob Schieffer became the interim anchor between Rather and Katie Couric. It briefly moved ahead of ABC World News Tonight in the wake of the death of Peter Jennings, but remained behind NBC Nightly News. Rather was a frequent collaborator with CBS News producer Susan Zirinsky, a leading member of the news division's staff.[33]

In 1987, new CBS owner Laurence Tisch oversaw layoffs of hundreds of CBS News employees, in a major shake-up of the network.[34] Among those to go were 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. Critics cited the cutbacks as a major factor in CBS News' fall into third place in the ratings.[35]

 
Rather during an interview with Extra at the 2002 Peabody Awards
 
Rather at the 2005 Peabody Awards

For a short time from 1993 to 1995, Rather co-anchored the evening news with Connie Chung. Chung had been a Washington, DC correspondent for CBS News, and anchored short news updates on the West Coast. On joining the CBS Evening News, she reported "pop news" stories. In one widely cited case, she aggressively pursued Tonya Harding, who was accused of a plot to injure fellow Olympic ice skater Nancy Kerrigan.[36] After Chung left the network, Rather went back to doing the newscast alone.[37] By the 2005–06 season, the end of Rather's time as anchor, CBS Evening News lagged behind NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight in the ratings. But it still drew approximately 5.5 million viewers a night.[38] Criticism of Rather reached a fever pitch after 60 Minutes II ran his 2004 report about President Bush's military record. Numerous critics questioned the authenticity of the documents upon which the report was based. Rather subsequently admitted on the air that the documents' authenticity could not be proven.[39] In the aftermath, CBS fired several members of CBS News staff but temporarily retained Rather, until his contract was up for renewal the following year, whereupon he was completely ousted.[40]

Journalistic history and influence edit

Nixon edit

During Richard Nixon's presidency, critics accused Rather of biased coverage against him. 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." The room filled with jeers and applause, prompting Nixon to joke, "Are you running for something?" Rather replied, "No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?"[41] He questioned whether Nixon was cooperating with the grand jury investigation and House Judiciary Committee in relation to the Watergate scandal.[41]

NBC's Tom Brokaw has said the network considered hiring him to replace Rather as its White House correspondent, but dropped it after word was leaked to the press. Rather was believed to have provided tough coverage of the Watergate scandal, raising his profile.[42]

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster edit

In January 1986, NASA faced repeated delays in the preparations to launch the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger in close sequence. Rather described the January 10 delay of Columbia as:

star-crossed space shuttle Columbia stood ready for launch again today, and once more, the launch was scrubbed. Heavy rain was the cause this time. The launch has been postponed so often since its original date, December 18, that it's now known as mission impossible.

This was considered an example of the "biting sarcasm" the media used related to NASA's scheduling.[43] Columbia launched on January 12.[44]

On January 27, Rather's reporting of the expected Challenger launch began as follows:

Yet another costly, red-faces-all-around space-shuttle-launch delay. This time, a bad bolt on a hatch and a bad-weather bolt from the blue are being blamed. What's more, a rescheduled launch for tomorrow doesn't look good either. Bruce Hall has the latest on today's high-tech low comedy.

— Dan Rather, January 27, 1986[45]

On January 28, Challenger's explosion and destruction occurred 73 seconds after launch.[46]

Afghanistan, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush edit

 
Rather speaking with Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV and Sergeant Maj. Beam about the Afghan National Security Forces training mission and other issues at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 26, 2011

During the Soviet–Afghan War, Rather was filmed reporting near the front lines while wearing a traditional mujahideen headdress and garments. Rather attracted an Evening News audience (and was nicknamed "Gunga Dan"). The American comic strip Doonesbury spoofed his actions.

Rather's reports were later revealed to have been influential to Congressman Charlie Wilson (D-Texas), who led an effort to help the struggling mujahideen. The CIA developed its largest covert operation to supply aid and advanced arms to the mujahideen. The Soviets eventually quit Afghanistan.[47]

Rather gained the anchor spot on the Evening News. He was competing with Roger Mudd, a more senior correspondent and a frequent substitute anchor for Walter Cronkite on Evening News. Mudd had also anchored the Sunday evening broadcast, but Rather traveled through Afghanistan when news led there. A few years into his service as anchor, Rather began wearing sweaters beneath his suit jacket to soften his on-air appearance for viewers.[48]

During the 1980s, Rather gained further renown for his forceful and skeptical reporting on the Iran–Contra affair. He eventually confronted Vice President George H. W. Bush in an on-air interview during the latter's presidential campaign. 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 ignored Bush's comment.[49]

Shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Rather secured an interview with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

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 an interview with Dan Rather on August 29, 1990[50]

On February 24, 2003, Rather conducted another interview with Hussein before the United States' 2003 invasion of Iraq. In the interview, Hussein invited Rather to be the moderator of a live television debate between him and George W. Bush. The debate never took place.[51]

The Wall Within edit

On June 2, 1988, Rather hosted a CBS News special, The Wall Within. In it, he interviewed six veterans, 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.[52]

In 2004, National Review ran an article by Anne Morse entitled "The First Rathergate." She said that almost nothing claimed by participants in The Wall Within was true. Citing the self-published book Stolen Valor (1998) by veteran B. G. Burkett, and investigative journalist Glenna Whitley, Morse said that military records revealed that the six former servicemen had lied about their experiences. Only one served in combat, and two had never been in Vietnam.[53]

Killian documents edit

On September 8, 2004, Rather reported on 60 Minutes Wednesday that a series of memos critical of 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.[54] Once copies of the documents were made available on the Internet, their authenticity was quickly called into question. Much of this was based on the fact that the documents were proportionally printed and displayed using other modern typographic conventions usually unavailable on military typewriters of the 1970s. The font used on the documents has characteristics that exactly or almost exactly match standard font features of Microsoft Word. This led to claims that the memos were forgeries.[55] The accusations then spread over the following days into mainstream media outlets, including The Washington Post,[56] The New York Times,[57] and The Chicago Sun-Times.[58]

Rather and CBS initially defended the story, insisting that the documents had been authenticated by experts.[59] CBS was contradicted by some of the experts it originally cited,[60] and later reported that its source for the documents—former Texas Army National Guard officer Lt. Col. Bill Burkett—had misled the network about how he had obtained them.[61]

On September 20, 2004, 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."[62] The controversy has been referred to by some as "Memogate" and "Rathergate."[63]

Following an investigation commissioned by CBS,[64][65][66] CBS fired story producer Mary Mapes, and asked three other producers connected with the story to resign. Many believe Rather's retirement was hastened by this incident.[67] On September 20, 2007, Rather was interviewed on Larry King Live commenting, "Nobody has proved that they were fraudulent, much less a forgery. ... The truth of this story stands up to this day."[68]

Departure from the CBS Evening News edit

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.[69]

— 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.[70] He had 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,[71] with Katie Couric replacing Schieffer in 2006.[72] Since retiring, Rather has spoken out about what he perceives as a lack of courage by American journalists. 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.'"[73]

"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."[73]

Fired from CBS News edit

In June 2006, reports surfaced that CBS News would most likely not renew Dan Rather's contract.[70] According to a Washington Post article, sources from CBS said that executives at the network decided "there is no future role for Rather."[74]

On June 20, 2006, CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus announced that Rather would leave the network after 44 years.[75] Rather issued a separate statement which accompanied the news of the departure:[76]

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.

Lawsuit over ouster from CBS Network edit

On September 19, 2007, Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS, its former parent company Viacom; CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves; Sumner Redstone, chairman of both Viacom and CBS; 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."[2] On September 21, 2009, Rather's lawyers claimed that Bush's military service would be proven to be a sham, and Rather would be vindicated.[3] On September 29, 2009, a New York state appeals court dismissed Rather's lawsuit against CBS.[4][5] On January 12, 2010, New York's top court refused to reinstate Rather's $70 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against CBS Corp. In his book titled Rather Outspoken, Rather claims that the lawsuit "took a big whack out of my time, my psyche and my bank balance, but even so, it was worth it."[77] On May 18, 2012, Rather appeared on Real Time With Bill Maher, and claimed he had been fired for reporting a story about George W. Bush's year of absence from the reserve unit he served with, and that the news corporations had been "very uncomfortable" with running the story.[1]

Post-CBS career edit

Following his departure from CBS, Dan Rather joined Mark Cuban's cable network AXS TV (then called HDNet) to host and produce the weekly one-hour news show Dan Rather Reports from 2006 until 2013.[78][79]

Since 2013, Rather has hosted and produced the hour-long series The Big Interview with Dan Rather on AXS TV, where he sits down for in-depth interviews with influential figures in music and entertainment, such as: Gregory Allman, Robert Plant, John Fogerty, Quentin Tarantino, Simon Cowell, Aaron Sorkin, and Sammy Hagar.[80][81][82][83][84] He has also produced several documentary specials for the network under the banner Dan Rather Presents, including specials about "America's Mental Health Crisis," the United States Secret Service, and "The Shameful Side of International Adoption."[85][86][87]

Rather also appears frequently on a number of news shows, including MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show[88] and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell[89] and on CNN.[90] He has also written for The Huffington Post[91] and Mashable.[92]

On May 28, 2007, Rather compared historical events to events in the Star Wars films in the History Channel special titled Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed.[93]

In 2012, Rather published an autobiography titled Rather Outspoken: My Life in the News.[94]

In 2015, Rather launched an independent production company called News and Guts Media, through which he produces The Big Interview among other projects.[79]

In 2015, Rather also began actively posting on Facebook.[95] He credits young staffers at News and Guts Media with pushing him to try social media. While his posts were considerably longer than typical social media posts, they resonated with the audience, which soon grew to more than two million followers. Even late night TV noticed Rather's unusual but effective Facebook presence.[96] Subject matter has covered a range of topics, including: current political events, journalism, and childhood memories.[97]

On September 23, 2016, SiriusXM Radio announced a new hour-long weekly program, Dan Rather's America, airing Tuesday mornings at 10 am Eastern on Radio Andy channel 102, debuting on September 27.[98][99]

In the fall of 2017, the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas completed a digital humanities project dedicated to the long career of the journalist that was titled Dan Rather: American Journalist. The culmination of three years of research conducted at the Briscoe Center, the site uses materials from a dozen archives and libraries, and draws from over 25 of the Briscoe Center for American History's news media and photojournalism collections. The website features over 2,000 digitized documents, 300 excerpts from twelve oral history interviews, and 1000 video clips, enabling visitors to dive deep into the history of the last 60 years through the lens of Dan Rather's career.[100]

On January 21, 2018, it was announced that Rather would be launching a weekly 30-minute newscast on The Young Turks. Titled The News with Dan Rather, it airs on Mondays at 5:30 pm Eastern Time.[101]

Personal life edit

 
Rather at South by Southwest 2007; discussing media, the internet, and asking the "hard questions."

Rather married Jean Goebel in 1957. They have a son and daughter, and maintain homes in New York City and Austin, Texas.[102] Their daughter Robin is an environmentalist and community activist in Austin.[103] Their son Dan is an assistant district attorney in the District Attorney's office in Manhattan, New York.[104]

Sam Houston State University renamed its mass communications building after Rather in 1994.[105] The building houses The Houstonian and KSHU, the student-run radio and television stations. In May 2007, Rather received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Siena College in Loudonville, New York, for his lifetime contributions to journalism.[106]

A columnist whose work is distributed by King Features Syndicate, Rather continues to speak out against alleged influence in journalism by corporations and governments. At a 2008 conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sponsored by the group Free Press, Rather criticized both local and national news organizations, stating—according to reports—that there is no longer incentive to do "good and valuable news."[107]

Books edit

  • The Palace Guard, with Gary Paul Gates, 1974. ISBN 9780060135140.
  • The Camera Never Blinks: Adventures of a TV Journalist, with Mickey Herskowitz, 1977. ISBN 978-0688031848.
  • I Remember, with Peter Wyden, 1991. ISBN 978-0316734400.
  • The Camera Never Blinks Twice: The Further Adventures of a Television Journalist, with Mickey Herskowitz, 1994. ISBN 978-0688097486.
  • Rather, Dan (May 19, 1999). Deadlines and Datelines: Essays at the Turn of the Century. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780688165666., 1999. ISBN 978-0788193491.
  • The American Dream: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation, 2001. ISBN 978-0688178925.
  • Rather Outspoken : My Life in the News., with Digby Diehl, 2013. ISBN 978-1455502400.
  • What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism, with Elliot Kirschner, 2017. ISBN 978-1616207823.
  • What Unites Us: The Graphic Novel, with Elliot Kirschner, illustrated by Tim Foley, 2021. ISBN 9781250239945.

Awards edit

 
Dan Rather at the 64th Annual Peabody Awards

He has received numerous Emmy Awards, several Peabody Awards, and various honorary degrees from universities.[108]

Award Year Program Title
Peabody 1975 CBS News
Peabody 1976 60 Minutes
Peabody 1994 CBS Reports: D-Day
Peabody 1995 CBS Reports: In the Killing Fields of America
Paul White Award
Radio Television Digital News Association
1997[109] Lifetime Achievement
Peabody 2000 48 Hours: Heroes Under Fire
Peabody 2001 60 Minutes II: Memories of a Massacre
Peabody 2004 60 Minutes II: Abuse at Abu Ghraib
Emmy Trustees Award 2014 Lifetime Achievement
Peabody 2022 Career Achievement

In addition to these awards, Rather was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2004.[110] In 2001, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[111]

In 2023, Rather was inducted into the SXSW Hall of Fame.[112]

Criticism edit

As one of the last broadcast news journalists from the era of the "Big Three" network news primacy, Rather was generally regarded highly within his profession by long-serving journalists; however, he has been accused of having a liberal bias.[113][114]

Claims of bias edit

Rather's on-screen comments and election-night reporting have come under attack 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."[115]

During the weeks following the Killian documents stories, Rather received widespread criticism from other journalists and historians.[116] 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 Killian documents incident, criticized Rather for not offering any evidence to support the claim.[117]

In 2002, Bernard Goldberg published a book with the title Bias, alleging a liberal bias in print and broadcast news organizations. In the book, Goldberg used Dan Rather as a primary example of a news anchorman with a liberal bias. He also criticized the anchor for his criticisms of President George W. Bush's and Vice President Dan Quayle's service in the National Guard, rather than the Active Duty military during the Vietnam War, and questioned Rather's own service.[118]

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting has accused Rather of having "an unwillingness to challenge official power and policy" in his reporting.[119] Investigative reporter Mark Hertsgaard characterized Rather as a "stern anti-Communist" during the Reagan administration, for allegedly having "reported the pronouncements of public officials with considerable respect."[120]

In April 2001, according to a front-page story in The Washington Post, Rather spoke at a Democratic party fundraiser in Austin, where he was the featured speaker. One of the official hosts for the fundraiser was Rather's daughter, Robin Rather; Rather said that he did not realize that his daughter was a host of the fundraiser. Rather also said that he did not realize that the event was a partisan fundraiser, although he did realize that after he arrived at the event.[121]

From Walter Cronkite edit

During an appearance on CNN's American Morning in 2005, 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." Cronkite also said that he would like to have seen Bob Schieffer in Rather's position sooner.[122]

From Dallas CBS news director Eddie Barker edit

In the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination while Rather was a Dallas reporter, he interviewed a minister, who said some local schoolchildren had cheered upon learning of the President's shooting. The Associated Press later confirmed the story. A teacher at the school backed up the Rather story, confirming that some students at the school had cheered at the principal's news about Kennedy.[123] Eddie Barker, local Dallas-area news director for CBS, said that Rather had in fact been aware that the children were merely happy about being sent home early, and they had not been given a reason for early school closure (Barker's children attended the school, as he informed Rather). He stated that Rather had deliberately misrepresented the facts by indicating that the children were happy about the shooting. Barker attempted to fire Rather, but was overruled by the national CBS News management.[21]

Incidents and controversies edit

1968 Democratic convention edit

During live coverage of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Rather attempted to interview a delegate from Georgia who appeared as though he was being forcibly removed by men without identification badges.[124][125]

As Rather approached the delegate to question the apparent strong-arm tactics of the Chicago political machine under Mayor Daley, 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."[126] Walter Cronkite, after being told by Rather what happened, added on-air, "I think we got a bunch of thugs here Dan!"[citation needed]

Chicago cab ride edit

On November 10, 1980, Rather landed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and got into a cab. He asked the cab driver to take him to the home of writer Studs Terkel, whom he was interviewing for 60 Minutes. A police spokesman said that the cab driver refused to go to the address and instead "wildly drove through the city streets," with Rather shouting out the window asking for help. The driver was charged with disorderly conduct. Rather called the incident "a rather minor thing." By the time the case was about to come to trial, he was about to add anchoring the CBS Evening News to his 60 Minutes role at CBS News. Rather declined to press charges, citing a "mounting schedule of reporting assignments."[127][128]

Galloway lawsuit edit

In 1980, Rather and CBS were taken to court when Carl Galloway, a California doctor, claimed that a report on 60 Minutes wrongfully implicated him in an insurance fraud scheme. CBS stated Galloway had signed the bogus report and was suing Rather because he was upset at being caught. The jury sided with CBS and Rather, and they won the case.[129] During the trial, Galloway's side used outtakes from the TV report showing that one interview was rehearsed.[129]

"Courage" edit

For one week in September 1986, Rather signed off his broadcasts to CBS with the word "courage." He said that it was just a signature line, and had nothing to do with the news at the time. Other newscasters ridiculed and parodied Rather, and he dropped it.[130]

"Kenneth, what is the frequency?" edit

On October 4, 1986, while walking along Park Avenue to his New York apartment, Rather was attacked and punched from behind by a man who demanded to know "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" while a second assailant chased and beat him. As the assailant pummeled and kicked Rather, he kept repeating the question. 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."[131] Until the crime was resolved years later, Rather's description of the bizarre crime led some to doubt the veracity of his account,[132] although the doorman and building supervisor who came to Rather's aid fully confirmed his version of events.[131]

The assault remained unsolved for some time, and the phrase "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" became a popular culture reference over the years, such as in a scene in the graphic novel Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes. The opening track of the 1987 album Lolita Nation by California power pop group Game Theory is titled "Kenneth, What's the Frequency?" In 1994, the band R.E.M. released the song "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" on their album Monster. Rather later sang with R.E.M. during a sound check prior to a gig at New York's Madison Square Garden, which was shown the following night on the Late Show with David Letterman.[133]

In 1997, a TV critic writing in the New York Daily News solved the mystery, publishing a photo of the alleged assailant, William Tager, who received a 12.5-to-25-year prison sentence for killing NBC stagehand Campbell Montgomery outside The Today Show studio in 1994.[132] Rather confirmed the story: "There's no doubt in my mind that this is the person."[132] New York District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau said "William Tager's identity as the man who attacked Mr. Rather was established in the course of an investigation by my office."[134] Tager claimed he thought television networks were beaming signals into his brain.[135] When he murdered the stagehand, Tager was trying to force his way into an NBC studio with a weapon, in order to find out the frequency the networks were using to attack him, so that he could block it. Tager was paroled in October 2010.[136]

Dead air edit

On September 11, 1987, Rather walked off the set in anger just before a remote Evening News broadcast from Miami, where Pope John Paul II had begun a rare U.S. tour, when a U.S. Open tennis match broadcast extended into the timeslot scheduled for the newscast. Rather was upset and informed CBS Sports that it should fill the half hour if the newscast did not begin on time. In his 2013 book, he denied being angry or upset but only misinformed about the timing of the match. The Steffi GrafLori McNeil tennis coverage ended sooner than expected at 6:32 p.m., but Rather had disappeared. (CBS Sports had finally agreed to break away immediately after the match without commentary.) More than 100 affiliates were forced to broadcast six minutes of dead air. Some stations aired syndicated programming, such as reruns of game shows or sitcoms, and others aired graphics explaining that technical difficulties had occurred.[137] Phil Jones, the chairman of the CBS affiliation board and general manager of Kansas City's KCTV, demanded an apology from Rather. Miami CBS affiliate WTVJ dropped the episode entirely and aired a syndicated rerun of a game show. The next day, Rather apologized for abandoning the anchor desk. The following year, when Rather asked Vice President Bush about his role in the Iran–Contra affair during a live interview, Bush responded, "Dan, how would you like it if I judged your entire career by those seven minutes when you walked off the set in New York?"[138] Bush's media consultant Roger Ailes had a "mole" at CBS who alerted him that Rather's goal was to "take Bush out of the race" with a tough interview about Iran-Contra. Ailes alerted Bush during the cab ride to the studio and suggested the retort. Bush received a boost in his polling in Iowa and New Hampshire after the interview aired.[139]

"Ratherisms" edit

Rather is known for his many colorful analogies and descriptions during live broadcasts. Similar to those used by baseball announcer Red Barber, cycling commentator Phil Liggett, and Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker, these "Ratherisms" are also called "Texanisms" or "Danisms" by some. A few of the more colorful ones, several of which were used throughout the 2008 HBO made-for-TV movie Recount about the 2000 Election, include:

  • "This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-O."[140]
  • "This thing is as tight as the rusted lugnuts on a '55 Ford."[140]
  • His characterization of the Republican Party's assessment of President Obama:[141] "[He] couldn't sell watermelons if you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic."[142]

In popular culture edit

 
Rather at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2016

Rather has been referenced in the television shows Saturday Night Live and Family Guy and many films. An animated caricature of him made a cameo appearance in the JibJab political cartoon, Good to Be in D.C. In 1971, he had a cameo in an episode of the number one hit comedy series All in the Family. Entitled The Man in the Street, series star Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker character excitedly awaits the viewing of a videotaped interview he gave earlier that day for the CBS Evening News. At the last minute, to his dismay, the segment is preempted by the telecast of a Richard Nixon presidential address from the Oval Office. Rather appears, as himself, delivering post-speech analysis from actual news footage. Jean Stapleton, as Archie's scatterbrained wife Edith Bunker, says of Rather how he's there to "... tell us what Mr. Nixon just said."[143]

In 2004, he was featured in the documentary film Barbecue: A Texas Love Story by Austin-based director Chris Elley.[144] 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.

In the 2006–07 graphic novel Shooting War, which is set in the year 2011, an 80-year-old Dan Rather is shown to be one of the last journalists still reporting from Iraq. He had a cameo in the premiere of the Fall 2007 drama Dirty Sexy Money on ABC television. He guest-starred as himself in The Simpsons episode, "E Pluribus Wiggum."

Rather appeared on The Daily Show in May 2009, wearing an Afro wig and mutton-chop sideburns to narrate a segment about the late former President Nixon eating a burrito, as a parody of MSNBC's extensive coverage of President Obama and Vice President Biden's hamburger lunch.[145] He appears in the 2008 award-winning documentary Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story.[146]

A skit on the 38th season of Sesame Street featured Anderson Cooper interviewing two grouches, "Walter Cranky" and "Dan Rather Not," who, when asked to answer questions, demurred with the phrase "I'd rather not."[147]

Robert Redford portrayed Rather in the 2015 film Truth. Rather appeared in the documentary series Facing in the episode "Facing Saddam", providing his views on Saddam Hussein.[148]

The 1998 mashup song "Rocked by Rape" by the Evolution Control Committee parodied TV news by selecting hundreds of phrases uttered by Rather on the air, focusing on bad, evil, terrible things. CBS sent them a "cease-and-desist" letter in 2000, claiming copyright violation, but after fair use responses from the Committee and others, desisted. The recording was played at a Rather roast and on C-SPAN.[149][150]

Ratings edit

Under Rather's predecessor, Walter Cronkite, the CBS Evening News was a strong #1 in the ratings,[151] which Rather maintained through much of the 1980s.[152] However, Tom Brokaw and his NBC Nightly News, and Peter Jennings of ABC News' World News Tonight, increasing in popularity, eventually cut deep into the Rather broadcast's numbers.[153]

See also edit

References edit

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Further reading edit

  • Dan Rather & Elliot Kirschner (2017). What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. ISBN 9781616207823
  • Rather, Dan; Diehl, Digby (2012). Rather Outspoken: My Life in the News. Grand Central Pub. ISBN 978-1-4555-0241-7. OCLC 756584260.
  • Leonard Downie; Robert G. Kaiser (2003). The News About the News: American Journalism in Peril. Vintage. ISBN 978-0-375-71415-3.
  • Hertsgaard, Mark (1988). On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency. Farrar Straus & Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-25197-0.
  • Rather, Dan. The Palace Guard, with Gary Gates
  • Dan Rather; Mickey Hershkowitz (February 19, 1984). The Camera Never Blinks: Adventures of a TV Journalist. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-31833-6. OCLC 444864709.
  • Rather, Dan. I Remember, with Peter Wyden.
  • Rather, Dan; Herskowitz, Mickey (1995). The Camera Never Blinks Twice. William Morrow.
  • Rather, Dan (June 2, 1999). Deadlines and Datelines. William Morrow & Co. ISBN 978-0-688-16566-6.
  • Boyer, Peter J. (April 15, 1989). Who Killed CBS?: The Undoing of America's Number One News Network. St Martins Press. ISBN 978-0-312-91531-5.[permanent dead link]
  • 2nd Saddam interview

External links edit

Media offices
Preceded by CBS Evening News anchor
March 9, 1981 – March 9, 2005
co-anchor with Connie Chung (1993–1995)
Succeeded by

rather, daniel, irvin, rather, born, october, 1931, american, journalist, commentator, former, national, evening, news, anchor, began, career, texas, becoming, national, name, after, reporting, saved, thousands, lives, during, hurricane, carla, september, 1961. Daniel Irvin Rather Jr ˈ r ae d er born October 31 1931 is an American journalist commentator and former national evening news anchor He began his career in Texas becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurricane Carla in September 1961 Rather spontaneously created the first radar weather report by overlaying a transparent map over a radar image of Hurricane Carla In his first national broadcast he helped initiate the successful evacuation of 350 000 people He reported on some of the most significant events of the modern age such as the fall of the Berlin Wall the Gulf War 9 11 the Iraq War and the war on terror Dan RatherRather in October 2017BornDaniel Irvin Rather Jr 1931 10 31 October 31 1931 age 92 Wharton Texas U S EducationSam Houston State University BA OccupationsJournalistnews presenterreporter and correspondentYears active1950 presentSpouseJean Goebel m 1957 wbr Children2Rather also famously reported from Dallas in November 1963 at the time that President John F Kennedy was assassinated Based on such impactful reporting he was promoted at CBS News where he served as White House correspondent beginning in 1964 He served as foreign correspondent in London and Vietnam over the next two years before returning to the White House correspondent position He covered the presidency of Richard Nixon including Nixon s trip to China the Watergate scandal and the president s resignation In 1981 Rather was promoted to news anchor for the CBS Evening News a role he occupied for 24 years Along with Peter Jennings at ABC News and Tom Brokaw at NBC News he was one of the Big Three nightly news anchors in the U S from the 1980s through the early 2000s He frequently contributed to CBS s weekly news magazine 60 Minutes Rather left the anchor desk in 2005 following the Killian documents controversy in which he presented unauthenticated documents in a news report on President George W Bush s Vietnam War era service in the National Guard He continued to work with CBS until 2006 when he was abruptly fired 1 In September 2007 Rather filed a 70 million lawsuit against CBS and its former parent company Viacom Rather accused the network and its ownership and management of making him a scapegoat in the Killian story 2 3 An intermediate New York state appeals court dismissed the lawsuit in September 2009 and the New York Court of Appeals refused to reinstate it in January 2010 4 5 On the cable channel AXS TV then called HDNet Rather hosted Dan Rather Reports a 60 Minutes style investigative news program from 2006 to 2013 6 He also hosts several other projects for AXS TV including Dan Rather Presents which provides in depth reporting on broad topics such as mental health care or adoption and The Big Interview with Dan Rather in which he conducts long form interviews with musicians and other entertainers In January 2018 he began hosting an online newscast called The News with Dan Rather on The Young Turks YouTube channel Since 2021 he has been writing the newsletter Steady on the Substack platform Contents 1 Early life 2 Early career 3 CBS News 3 1 JFK assassination to Watergate 3 2 CBS Evening News anchor 4 Journalistic history and influence 4 1 Nixon 4 2 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster 4 3 Afghanistan Reagan and George H W Bush 4 4 The Wall Within 4 5 Killian documents 4 6 Departure from the CBS Evening News 4 7 Fired from CBS News 4 7 1 Lawsuit over ouster from CBS Network 5 Post CBS career 6 Personal life 7 Books 8 Awards 9 Criticism 9 1 Claims of bias 9 2 From Walter Cronkite 9 3 From Dallas CBS news director Eddie Barker 10 Incidents and controversies 10 1 1968 Democratic convention 10 2 Chicago cab ride 10 3 Galloway lawsuit 10 4 Courage 10 5 Kenneth what is the frequency 10 6 Dead air 11 Ratherisms 12 In popular culture 13 Ratings 14 See also 15 References 16 Further reading 17 External linksEarly life edit nbsp Rather s boyhood home being restored at the Wharton County MuseumRather was born on October 31 1931 in Wharton County Texas the son of Daniel Irvin Rather Sr a ditch digger and pipe layer 7 and the former Byrl Veda Page The Rathers moved to Houston when he was a child where Dan attended Lovett Elementary School and Hamilton Middle School He graduated in 1950 from John H Reagan High School in Houston In 1953 Rather earned a bachelor s degree in journalism from Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville Texas 8 where he was editor of the school newspaper The Houstonian He was also a member of the Caballeros the founding organization of the Epsilon Psi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity 9 While in college Rather worked for KSAM FM radio in Huntsville calling junior high high school and Sam Houston State football games 10 After obtaining his undergraduate degree Rather briefly attended South Texas College of Law in Houston In January 1954 Rather enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was sent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego He was soon discharged however because he was found to have had rheumatic fever as a child a fact he had omitted during the enlistment process 11 Early career editRather began his journalism career in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville Texas Later he was a reporter for United Press 1950 1952 several Texas radio stations and the Houston Chronicle 1954 1955 Around 1955 Rather wrote a piece on heroin Under the auspices of the Houston Police he tried a dose of the drug which he characterized as a special kind of hell 12 He worked for four seasons as the play by play announcer for the University of Houston football team 13 During the 1959 minor league baseball season Rather was the play by play radio announcer for the Texas League Houston Buffs In 1959 Rather began his television career as a reporter for KTRK TV the ABC affiliate in Houston He was subsequently promoted to the director of news for KHOU TV the CBS affiliate in Houston In September 1961 Rather covered Hurricane Carla for KHOU TV broadcasting from the then National Weather Center in Galveston 14 and showing the first radar image of a hurricane on TV He conceived of overlaying a transparent map over the radar screen in order to show the size of Hurricane Carla to the audience Convinced of the threat more than 350 000 people evacuated from the area the largest known evacuation to that time Their actions are believed to have saved thousands of lives compared to the previous hurricane which had killed 6 000 to 12 000 people 14 Rather s live coverage of Carla was broadcast by New York and national stations Ray Miller news director of KPRC TV the NBC affiliate in Houston also mentored Rather in the early years On February 28 1962 Rather left Houston for New York City for a six month trial initiation at CBS Rather did not fit in easily on the East Coast His first reports for CBS included coverage of the crash of American Airlines Flight 1 in Jamaica Bay and a report on the suffocation of children at a hospital in Binghamton New York Shortly after Rather was made chief of CBS s Southwest bureau in Dallas In August 1963 he was appointed chief of the Southern bureau in New Orleans responsible for coverage of news events in the South Southwest Mexico and Central America 15 CBS News edit nbsp Rather speaking about his experiences in his 61 years of journalism before a group of NATO commanders at Camp Eggers in Kabul Afghanistan in July 2011 JFK assassination to Watergate edit In his autobiography Rather noted that he was in Dallas in November 1963 to return film from an interview in Uvalde at the ranch of former Vice President John Nance Garner who celebrated his 95th birthday on November 22 16 He happened to be on the other side of the railroad tracks beyond the triple underpass thirty yards from a grassy knoll that would later figure in so many conspiracy theories 17 His job was to fetch a film drop from a camera truck at that location and take it to the station for editing He did not witness the shooting of Kennedy and knew nothing of the events until he reached KRLD having run through Dealey Plaza He later wrote The moment I cleared the railroad tracks I saw a scene I will never forget Some people were lying on the grass some screaming some running some pointing Policemen swarmed everywhere and distinctly above the din I heard one shout DON T ANYBODY PANIC And of course there was nothing but panic wherever you looked 18 In his autobiography Rather said he was one of the first to view the Zapruder film showing the assassination and the first to describe it on television 19 Rather reported the fatal headshot as forcing Kennedy s head forward but it was thrown backward 20 Later he reported that some Dallas schoolchildren had applauded when they were notified of the president s death 21 Administrators said they had announced that school was to be dismissed early and did not mention the assassination However teacher Joanna Morgan confirmed that students had cheered at the news that Kennedy was shot 22 This story infuriated local journalists at then CBS affiliate KRLD TV now Fox owned and operated KDFW TV 23 Rather s reporting during the national mourning period following the Kennedy assassination and subsequent events impressed CBS News management In 1964 they selected him for the network s White House correspondent position 24 When White House correspondent he contributed to the subsequent events following the Kennedy assassination In 1965 he contributed to the reporting of return to Washington from Dallas by Charles von Fremd during a conversation that NBC Director Max Schindler who directed the coverage of the arrival for the networks did with President Lyndon B Johnson at the White House for the TV networks 25 26 In 1965 Rather served as a foreign correspondent for CBS in London and in 1966 in Vietnam He served again as White House correspondent during the presidency of Richard Nixon In 1970 he was also assigned as anchor for the CBS Sunday Night News 27 1970 73 1974 75 and later for the CBS Saturday Evening News 1973 76 28 Rather was among those journalists who accompanied Nixon to China 29 He later covered the Watergate investigation as well as the impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon in Congress CBS Evening News anchor edit nbsp Rather right with president Ronald Reagan in 1982After President Nixon s resignation in 1974 Rather became chief correspondent for the documentary series CBS Reports In December 1975 he became a correspondent of the long running Sunday night news show 60 Minutes at the time the program was moved from a Sunday afternoon time slot to primetime Success there helped Rather pull ahead of longtime correspondent Roger Mudd who was in line to succeed Walter Cronkite as anchor and Managing Editor of The CBS Evening News 30 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 succeeded to the news anchor position after Cronkite s retirement making his first broadcast on March 9 1981 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 in September 1986 with CBS the target of potentially hostile new ownership Rather tried ending his broadcasts with the word courage 31 and was roundly ridiculed for it For nearly two decades Rather ended the show with That s part of our world tonight 32 Rather also held other positions during his time as anchor In January 1988 he became host of the newly created 48 Hours and in January 1999 Rather joined the new 60 Minutes II as a correspondent 32 Ratings for the Evening News with Rather at the helm fluctuated wildly at a time when more alternatives to TV news were developing After a dip to second place Rather regained the top spot in 1985 until 1989 when he ceded the ratings peak to rival Peter Jennings at ABC s World News Tonight By 1992 however the Evening News had fallen to third place of the three major networks It rose in rankings in 2005 when Bob Schieffer became the interim anchor between Rather and Katie Couric It briefly moved ahead of ABC World News Tonight in the wake of the death of Peter Jennings but remained behind NBC Nightly News Rather was a frequent collaborator with CBS News producer Susan Zirinsky a leading member of the news division s staff 33 In 1987 new CBS owner Laurence Tisch oversaw layoffs of hundreds of CBS News employees in a major shake up of the network 34 Among those to go were 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 Critics cited the cutbacks as a major factor in CBS News fall into third place in the ratings 35 nbsp Rather during an interview with Extra at the 2002 Peabody Awards nbsp Rather at the 2005 Peabody AwardsFor a short time from 1993 to 1995 Rather co anchored the evening news with Connie Chung Chung had been a Washington DC correspondent for CBS News and anchored short news updates on the West Coast On joining the CBS Evening News she reported pop news stories In one widely cited case she aggressively pursued Tonya Harding who was accused of a plot to injure fellow Olympic ice skater Nancy Kerrigan 36 After Chung left the network Rather went back to doing the newscast alone 37 By the 2005 06 season the end of Rather s time as anchor CBS Evening News lagged behind NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight in the ratings But it still drew approximately 5 5 million viewers a night 38 Criticism of Rather reached a fever pitch after 60 Minutes II ran his 2004 report about President Bush s military record Numerous critics questioned the authenticity of the documents upon which the report was based Rather subsequently admitted on the air that the documents authenticity could not be proven 39 In the aftermath CBS fired several members of CBS News staff but temporarily retained Rather until his contract was up for renewal the following year whereupon he was completely ousted 40 Journalistic history and influence editNixon edit During Richard Nixon s presidency critics accused Rather of biased coverage against him 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 The room filled with jeers and applause prompting Nixon to joke Are you running for something Rather replied No sir Mr President Are you 41 He questioned whether Nixon was cooperating with the grand jury investigation and House Judiciary Committee in relation to the Watergate scandal 41 NBC s Tom Brokaw has said the network considered hiring him to replace Rather as its White House correspondent but dropped it after word was leaked to the press Rather was believed to have provided tough coverage of the Watergate scandal raising his profile 42 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster edit Main article Space Shuttle Challenger disaster In January 1986 NASA faced repeated delays in the preparations to launch the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger in close sequence Rather described the January 10 delay of Columbia as star crossed space shuttle Columbia stood ready for launch again today and once more the launch was scrubbed Heavy rain was the cause this time The launch has been postponed so often since its original date December 18 that it s now known as mission impossible This was considered an example of the biting sarcasm the media used related to NASA s scheduling 43 Columbia launched on January 12 44 On January 27 Rather s reporting of the expected Challenger launch began as follows Yet another costly red faces all around space shuttle launch delay This time a bad bolt on a hatch and a bad weather bolt from the blue are being blamed What s more a rescheduled launch for tomorrow doesn t look good either Bruce Hall has the latest on today s high tech low comedy Dan Rather January 27 1986 45 On January 28 Challenger s explosion and destruction occurred 73 seconds after launch 46 Afghanistan Reagan and George H W Bush edit nbsp Rather speaking with Lt Gen William B Caldwell IV and Sergeant Maj Beam about the Afghan National Security Forces training mission and other issues at Camp Eggers in Kabul Afghanistan on July 26 2011During the Soviet Afghan War Rather was filmed reporting near the front lines while wearing a traditional mujahideen headdress and garments Rather attracted an Evening News audience and was nicknamed Gunga Dan The American comic strip Doonesbury spoofed his actions Rather s reports were later revealed to have been influential to Congressman Charlie Wilson D Texas who led an effort to help the struggling mujahideen The CIA developed its largest covert operation to supply aid and advanced arms to the mujahideen The Soviets eventually quit Afghanistan 47 Rather gained the anchor spot on the Evening News He was competing with Roger Mudd a more senior correspondent and a frequent substitute anchor for Walter Cronkite on Evening News Mudd had also anchored the Sunday evening broadcast but Rather traveled through Afghanistan when news led there A few years into his service as anchor Rather began wearing sweaters beneath his suit jacket to soften his on air appearance for viewers 48 During the 1980s Rather gained further renown for his forceful and skeptical reporting on the Iran Contra affair He eventually confronted Vice President George H W Bush in an on air interview during the latter s presidential campaign 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 ignored Bush s comment 49 Shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait Rather secured an interview with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein 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 an interview with Dan Rather on August 29 1990 50 On February 24 2003 Rather conducted another interview with Hussein before the United States 2003 invasion of Iraq In the interview Hussein invited Rather to be the moderator of a live television debate between him and George W Bush The debate never took place 51 The Wall Within edit On June 2 1988 Rather hosted a CBS News special The Wall Within In it he interviewed six veterans 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 52 In 2004 National Review ran an article by Anne Morse entitled The First Rathergate She said that almost nothing claimed by participants in The Wall Within was true Citing the self published book Stolen Valor 1998 by veteran B G Burkett and investigative journalist Glenna Whitley Morse said that military records revealed that the six former servicemen had lied about their experiences Only one served in combat and two had never been in Vietnam 53 Killian documents edit Main article Killian documents controversy On September 8 2004 Rather reported on 60 Minutes Wednesday that a series of memos critical of 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 54 Once copies of the documents were made available on the Internet their authenticity was quickly called into question Much of this was based on the fact that the documents were proportionally printed and displayed using other modern typographic conventions usually unavailable on military typewriters of the 1970s The font used on the documents has characteristics that exactly or almost exactly match standard font features of Microsoft Word This led to claims that the memos were forgeries 55 The accusations then spread over the following days into mainstream media outlets including The Washington Post 56 The New York Times 57 and The Chicago Sun Times 58 Rather and CBS initially defended the story insisting that the documents had been authenticated by experts 59 CBS was contradicted by some of the experts it originally cited 60 and later reported that its source for the documents former Texas Army National Guard officer Lt Col Bill Burkett had misled the network about how he had obtained them 61 On September 20 2004 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 62 The controversy has been referred to by some as Memogate and Rathergate 63 Following an investigation commissioned by CBS 64 65 66 CBS fired story producer Mary Mapes and asked three other producers connected with the story to resign Many believe Rather s retirement was hastened by this incident 67 On September 20 2007 Rather was interviewed on Larry King Live commenting Nobody has proved that they were fraudulent much less a forgery The truth of this story stands up to this day 68 Departure from the CBS Evening News edit 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 69 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 70 He had 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 71 with Katie Couric replacing Schieffer in 2006 72 Since retiring Rather has spoken out about what he perceives as a lack of courage by American journalists 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 73 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 73 Fired from CBS News edit In June 2006 reports surfaced that CBS News would most likely not renew Dan Rather s contract 70 According to a Washington Post article sources from CBS said that executives at the network decided there is no future role for Rather 74 On June 20 2006 CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus announced that Rather would leave the network after 44 years 75 Rather issued a separate statement which accompanied the news of the departure 76 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 Lawsuit over ouster from CBS Network edit On September 19 2007 Rather filed a 70 million lawsuit against CBS its former parent company Viacom CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves Sumner Redstone chairman of both Viacom and CBS 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 2 On September 21 2009 Rather s lawyers claimed that Bush s military service would be proven to be a sham and Rather would be vindicated 3 On September 29 2009 a New York state appeals court dismissed Rather s lawsuit against CBS 4 5 On January 12 2010 New York s top court refused to reinstate Rather s 70 million breach of contract lawsuit against CBS Corp In his book titled Rather Outspoken Rather claims that the lawsuit took a big whack out of my time my psyche and my bank balance but even so it was worth it 77 On May 18 2012 Rather appeared on Real Time With Bill Maher and claimed he had been fired for reporting a story about George W Bush s year of absence from the reserve unit he served with and that the news corporations had been very uncomfortable with running the story 1 Post CBS career editFollowing his departure from CBS Dan Rather joined Mark Cuban s cable network AXS TV then called HDNet to host and produce the weekly one hour news show Dan Rather Reports from 2006 until 2013 78 79 Since 2013 Rather has hosted and produced the hour long series The Big Interview with Dan Rather on AXS TV where he sits down for in depth interviews with influential figures in music and entertainment such as Gregory Allman Robert Plant John Fogerty Quentin Tarantino Simon Cowell Aaron Sorkin and Sammy Hagar 80 81 82 83 84 He has also produced several documentary specials for the network under the banner Dan Rather Presents including specials about America s Mental Health Crisis the United States Secret Service and The Shameful Side of International Adoption 85 86 87 Rather also appears frequently on a number of news shows including MSNBC s The Rachel Maddow Show 88 and The Last Word with Lawrence O Donnell 89 and on CNN 90 He has also written for The Huffington Post 91 and Mashable 92 On May 28 2007 Rather compared historical events to events in the Star Wars films in the History Channel special titled Star Wars The Legacy Revealed 93 In 2012 Rather published an autobiography titled Rather Outspoken My Life in the News 94 In 2015 Rather launched an independent production company called News and Guts Media through which he produces The Big Interview among other projects 79 In 2015 Rather also began actively posting on Facebook 95 He credits young staffers at News and Guts Media with pushing him to try social media While his posts were considerably longer than typical social media posts they resonated with the audience which soon grew to more than two million followers Even late night TV noticed Rather s unusual but effective Facebook presence 96 Subject matter has covered a range of topics including current political events journalism and childhood memories 97 On September 23 2016 SiriusXM Radio announced a new hour long weekly program Dan Rather s America airing Tuesday mornings at 10 am Eastern on Radio Andy channel 102 debuting on September 27 98 99 In the fall of 2017 the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas completed a digital humanities project dedicated to the long career of the journalist that was titled Dan Rather American Journalist The culmination of three years of research conducted at the Briscoe Center the site uses materials from a dozen archives and libraries and draws from over 25 of the Briscoe Center for American History s news media and photojournalism collections The website features over 2 000 digitized documents 300 excerpts from twelve oral history interviews and 1000 video clips enabling visitors to dive deep into the history of the last 60 years through the lens of Dan Rather s career 100 On January 21 2018 it was announced that Rather would be launching a weekly 30 minute newscast on The Young Turks Titled The News with Dan Rather it airs on Mondays at 5 30 pm Eastern Time 101 Personal life edit nbsp Rather at South by Southwest 2007 discussing media the internet and asking the hard questions Rather married Jean Goebel in 1957 They have a son and daughter and maintain homes in New York City and Austin Texas 102 Their daughter Robin is an environmentalist and community activist in Austin 103 Their son Dan is an assistant district attorney in the District Attorney s office in Manhattan New York 104 Sam Houston State University renamed its mass communications building after Rather in 1994 105 The building houses The Houstonian and KSHU the student run radio and television stations In May 2007 Rather received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Siena College in Loudonville New York for his lifetime contributions to journalism 106 A columnist whose work is distributed by King Features Syndicate Rather continues to speak out against alleged influence in journalism by corporations and governments At a 2008 conference in Minneapolis Minnesota sponsored by the group Free Press Rather criticized both local and national news organizations stating according to reports that there is no longer incentive to do good and valuable news 107 Books editThe Palace Guard with Gary Paul Gates 1974 ISBN 9780060135140 The Camera Never Blinks Adventures of a TV Journalist with Mickey Herskowitz 1977 ISBN 978 0688031848 I Remember with Peter Wyden 1991 ISBN 978 0316734400 The Camera Never Blinks Twice The Further Adventures of a Television Journalist with Mickey Herskowitz 1994 ISBN 978 0688097486 Rather Dan May 19 1999 Deadlines and Datelines Essays at the Turn of the Century HarperCollins ISBN 9780688165666 1999 ISBN 978 0788193491 The American Dream Stories from the Heart of Our Nation 2001 ISBN 978 0688178925 Rather Outspoken My Life in the News with Digby Diehl 2013 ISBN 978 1455502400 What Unites Us Reflections on Patriotism with Elliot Kirschner 2017 ISBN 978 1616207823 What Unites Us The Graphic Novel with Elliot Kirschner illustrated by Tim Foley 2021 ISBN 9781250239945 Awards edit nbsp Dan Rather at the 64th Annual Peabody AwardsHe has received numerous Emmy Awards several Peabody Awards and various honorary degrees from universities 108 Award Year Program TitlePeabody 1975 CBS NewsPeabody 1976 60 MinutesPeabody 1994 CBS Reports D DayPeabody 1995 CBS Reports In the Killing Fields of AmericaPaul White AwardRadio Television Digital News Association 1997 109 Lifetime AchievementPeabody 2000 48 Hours Heroes Under FirePeabody 2001 60 Minutes II Memories of a MassacrePeabody 2004 60 Minutes II Abuse at Abu GhraibEmmy Trustees Award 2014 Lifetime AchievementPeabody 2022 Career AchievementIn addition to these awards Rather was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2004 110 In 2001 he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement 111 In 2023 Rather was inducted into the SXSW Hall of Fame 112 Criticism editAs one of the last broadcast news journalists from the era of the Big Three network news primacy Rather was generally regarded highly within his profession by long serving journalists however he has been accused of having a liberal bias 113 114 Claims of bias edit Rather s on screen comments and election night reporting have come under attack 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 115 During the weeks following the Killian documents stories Rather received widespread criticism from other journalists and historians 116 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 Killian documents incident criticized Rather for not offering any evidence to support the claim 117 In 2002 Bernard Goldberg published a book with the title Bias alleging a liberal bias in print and broadcast news organizations In the book Goldberg used Dan Rather as a primary example of a news anchorman with a liberal bias He also criticized the anchor for his criticisms of President George W Bush s and Vice President Dan Quayle s service in the National Guard rather than the Active Duty military during the Vietnam War and questioned Rather s own service 118 Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting has accused Rather of having an unwillingness to challenge official power and policy in his reporting 119 Investigative reporter Mark Hertsgaard characterized Rather as a stern anti Communist during the Reagan administration for allegedly having reported the pronouncements of public officials with considerable respect 120 In April 2001 according to a front page story in The Washington Post Rather spoke at a Democratic party fundraiser in Austin where he was the featured speaker One of the official hosts for the fundraiser was Rather s daughter Robin Rather Rather said that he did not realize that his daughter was a host of the fundraiser Rather also said that he did not realize that the event was a partisan fundraiser although he did realize that after he arrived at the event 121 From Walter Cronkite edit During an appearance on CNN s American Morning in 2005 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 Cronkite also said that he would like to have seen Bob Schieffer in Rather s position sooner 122 From Dallas CBS news director Eddie Barker edit In the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination while Rather was a Dallas reporter he interviewed a minister who said some local schoolchildren had cheered upon learning of the President s shooting The Associated Press later confirmed the story A teacher at the school backed up the Rather story confirming that some students at the school had cheered at the principal s news about Kennedy 123 Eddie Barker local Dallas area news director for CBS said that Rather had in fact been aware that the children were merely happy about being sent home early and they had not been given a reason for early school closure Barker s children attended the school as he informed Rather He stated that Rather had deliberately misrepresented the facts by indicating that the children were happy about the shooting Barker attempted to fire Rather but was overruled by the national CBS News management 21 Incidents and controversies edit1968 Democratic convention edit During live coverage of the 1968 Democratic National Convention Rather attempted to interview a delegate from Georgia who appeared as though he was being forcibly removed by men without identification badges 124 125 As Rather approached the delegate to question the apparent strong arm tactics of the Chicago political machine under Mayor Daley 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 126 Walter Cronkite after being told by Rather what happened added on air I think we got a bunch of thugs here Dan citation needed Chicago cab ride edit On November 10 1980 Rather landed at Chicago s O Hare International Airport and got into a cab He asked the cab driver to take him to the home of writer Studs Terkel whom he was interviewing for 60 Minutes A police spokesman said that the cab driver refused to go to the address and instead wildly drove through the city streets with Rather shouting out the window asking for help The driver was charged with disorderly conduct Rather called the incident a rather minor thing By the time the case was about to come to trial he was about to add anchoring the CBS Evening News to his 60 Minutes role at CBS News Rather declined to press charges citing a mounting schedule of reporting assignments 127 128 Galloway lawsuit edit In 1980 Rather and CBS were taken to court when Carl Galloway a California doctor claimed that a report on 60 Minutes wrongfully implicated him in an insurance fraud scheme CBS stated Galloway had signed the bogus report and was suing Rather because he was upset at being caught The jury sided with CBS and Rather and they won the case 129 During the trial Galloway s side used outtakes from the TV report showing that one interview was rehearsed 129 Courage edit For one week in September 1986 Rather signed off his broadcasts to CBS with the word courage He said that it was just a signature line and had nothing to do with the news at the time Other newscasters ridiculed and parodied Rather and he dropped it 130 Kenneth what is the frequency edit Kenneth what is the frequency redirects here For the song by R E M see What s the Frequency Kenneth On October 4 1986 while walking along Park Avenue to his New York apartment Rather was attacked and punched from behind by a man who demanded to know Kenneth what is the frequency while a second assailant chased and beat him As the assailant pummeled and kicked Rather he kept repeating the question 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 131 Until the crime was resolved years later Rather s description of the bizarre crime led some to doubt the veracity of his account 132 although the doorman and building supervisor who came to Rather s aid fully confirmed his version of events 131 The assault remained unsolved for some time and the phrase What s the frequency Kenneth became a popular culture reference over the years such as in a scene in the graphic novel Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes The opening track of the 1987 album Lolita Nation by California power pop group Game Theory is titled Kenneth What s the Frequency In 1994 the band R E M released the song What s the Frequency Kenneth on their album Monster Rather later sang with R E M during a sound check prior to a gig at New York s Madison Square Garden which was shown the following night on the Late Show with David Letterman 133 In 1997 a TV critic writing in the New York Daily News solved the mystery publishing a photo of the alleged assailant William Tager who received a 12 5 to 25 year prison sentence for killing NBC stagehand Campbell Montgomery outside The Today Show studio in 1994 132 Rather confirmed the story There s no doubt in my mind that this is the person 132 New York District Attorney Robert M Morgenthau said William Tager s identity as the man who attacked Mr Rather was established in the course of an investigation by my office 134 Tager claimed he thought television networks were beaming signals into his brain 135 When he murdered the stagehand Tager was trying to force his way into an NBC studio with a weapon in order to find out the frequency the networks were using to attack him so that he could block it Tager was paroled in October 2010 136 Dead air edit On September 11 1987 Rather walked off the set in anger just before a remote Evening News broadcast from Miami where Pope John Paul II had begun a rare U S tour when a U S Open tennis match broadcast extended into the timeslot scheduled for the newscast Rather was upset and informed CBS Sports that it should fill the half hour if the newscast did not begin on time In his 2013 book he denied being angry or upset but only misinformed about the timing of the match The Steffi Graf Lori McNeil tennis coverage ended sooner than expected at 6 32 p m but Rather had disappeared CBS Sports had finally agreed to break away immediately after the match without commentary More than 100 affiliates were forced to broadcast six minutes of dead air Some stations aired syndicated programming such as reruns of game shows or sitcoms and others aired graphics explaining that technical difficulties had occurred 137 Phil Jones the chairman of the CBS affiliation board and general manager of Kansas City s KCTV demanded an apology from Rather Miami CBS affiliate WTVJ dropped the episode entirely and aired a syndicated rerun of a game show The next day Rather apologized for abandoning the anchor desk The following year when Rather asked Vice President Bush about his role in the Iran Contra affair during a live interview Bush responded Dan how would you like it if I judged your entire career by those seven minutes when you walked off the set in New York 138 Bush s media consultant Roger Ailes had a mole at CBS who alerted him that Rather s goal was to take Bush out of the race with a tough interview about Iran Contra Ailes alerted Bush during the cab ride to the studio and suggested the retort Bush received a boost in his polling in Iowa and New Hampshire after the interview aired 139 Ratherisms edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Dan Rather Rather is known for his many colorful analogies and descriptions during live broadcasts Similar to those used by baseball announcer Red Barber cycling commentator Phil Liggett and Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker these Ratherisms are also called Texanisms or Danisms by some A few of the more colorful ones several of which were used throughout the 2008 HBO made for TV movie Recount about the 2000 Election include This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell O 140 This thing is as tight as the rusted lugnuts on a 55 Ford 140 His characterization of the Republican Party s assessment of President Obama 141 He couldn t sell watermelons if you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic 142 In popular culture edit nbsp Rather at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2016Rather has been referenced in the television shows Saturday Night Live and Family Guy and many films An animated caricature of him made a cameo appearance in the JibJab political cartoon Good to Be in D C In 1971 he had a cameo in an episode of the number one hit comedy series All in the Family Entitled The Man in the Street series star Carroll O Connor s Archie Bunker character excitedly awaits the viewing of a videotaped interview he gave earlier that day for the CBS Evening News At the last minute to his dismay the segment is preempted by the telecast of a Richard Nixon presidential address from the Oval Office Rather appears as himself delivering post speech analysis from actual news footage Jean Stapleton as Archie s scatterbrained wife Edith Bunker says of Rather how he s there to tell us what Mr Nixon just said 143 In 2004 he was featured in the documentary film Barbecue A Texas Love Story by Austin based director Chris Elley 144 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 In the 2006 07 graphic novel Shooting War which is set in the year 2011 an 80 year old Dan Rather is shown to be one of the last journalists still reporting from Iraq He had a cameo in the premiere of the Fall 2007 drama Dirty Sexy Money on ABC television He guest starred as himself in The Simpsons episode E Pluribus Wiggum Rather appeared on The Daily Show in May 2009 wearing an Afro wig and mutton chop sideburns to narrate a segment about the late former President Nixon eating a burrito as a parody of MSNBC s extensive coverage of President Obama and Vice President Biden s hamburger lunch 145 He appears in the 2008 award winning documentary Boogie Man The Lee Atwater Story 146 A skit on the 38th season of Sesame Street featured Anderson Cooper interviewing two grouches Walter Cranky and Dan Rather Not who when asked to answer questions demurred with the phrase I d rather not 147 Robert Redford portrayed Rather in the 2015 film Truth Rather appeared in the documentary series Facing in the episode Facing Saddam providing his views on Saddam Hussein 148 The 1998 mashup song Rocked by Rape by the Evolution Control Committee parodied TV news by selecting hundreds of phrases uttered by Rather on the air focusing on bad evil terrible things CBS sent them a cease and desist letter in 2000 claiming copyright violation but after fair use responses from the Committee and others desisted The recording was played at a Rather roast and on C SPAN 149 150 Ratings editUnder Rather s predecessor Walter Cronkite the CBS Evening News was a strong 1 in the ratings 151 which Rather maintained through much of the 1980s 152 However Tom Brokaw and his NBC Nightly News and Peter Jennings of ABC News World News Tonight increasing in popularity eventually cut deep into the Rather broadcast s numbers 153 See also editNew Yorkers in journalismReferences edit a b Dan Rather Corporate Media Is In Bed With Washington VIDEO huffpost com Verizon Media May 20 2012 Retrieved August 21 2019 a b Dan Rather files 70M suit against CBS September 19 2007 a b Martinez Jose September 29 2009 Appeals court tosses Dan Rather s 70M suit against CBS Daily News New York a b Appeals court dismisses Dan Rather s suit vs CBS a b Honan Edith Dan Rather loses 70 million lawsuit against CBS U S Retrieved June 29 2018 Guthrie Marisa October 7 2015 Dan Rather Reflects on His Dramatic CBS Exit That Inspired Truth I Have a Lot of Wounds The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved May 11 2021 Biography Dan Rather danratherjournalist org Archived from the original on September 6 2018 Retrieved September 5 2018 Palmer Brian September 21 2004 Dan Rather goes bananas Slate com Retrieved June 4 2012 Sigma Chi Epsilon Psi Chapter shsu edu Sam Houston State University Archived from the original on November 23 2020 Retrieved March 8 2008 Horn Barry Life goes full circle with turn in booth via newsbank com Dan Rather Biography Encyclopedia of World Biography September 2005 Retrieved October 29 2008 via notablebiographies com Rather Dan July 1980 Dan Rather interview Ladies Home Journal A Rather good color man CNN com Retrieved April 30 2010 a b Garber Megan October 29 2012 Dan Rather Showed the First Radar Image of a Hurricane on TV The Atlantic On the Go Houston Chronicle August 11 1963 p 15 Rather amp Herskowitz 1977 p 113 Rather amp Herskowitz 1977 p 114 Rather amp Herskowitz 1977 p 115 Oswald s Ghost American Experience Season 20 Episode 1 November 17 2008 The Plot to Kill JFK fair org FAIR March 1992 Retrieved August 11 2019 a b Philip Chalk Wrong from the Beginning Even in 1963 Dan Rather was a poor excuse for a newsman The Weekly Standard March 14 2005 Morning Record Dallas Students Cheer Shooting of Kennedy Dallas Morning Record Retrieved January 10 2013 Simnacher Joe July 24 2012 Eddie Barker Dallas radio television journalist who announced JFK death dies at 84 dallasnews com The Dallas Morning News Inc Retrieved August 16 2019 Political Coverage Dan Rather danratherjournalist org The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History The University of Texas at Austin Retrieved August 10 2019 NBC Director Recalls Historic Coverage of JFK s Death NBCWashington com November 21 2013 Retrieved November 16 2019 A few years later President Johnson told Schindler that he was watching TV before he stepped out of Air Force One When the camera panned back to the plane he saw it as his signal to come out and address the nation Schindler Max 2020 The View from the Control Room Outskirts Press Inc ISBN 978 1977233400 Salmineo says June 17 2006 Dan Rather Reportedly Out At CBS The Moderate Voice Retrieved June 4 2012 Dan Rather Biography amp Books Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved March 17 2019 Assignment China The Week that Changed the World CBS Will Replace Walter Cronkite With Dan Rather thecrimson com The Harvard Crimson Inc Retrieved August 11 2019 Rather s Curtain Closer Courage CBS News March 8 2005 a b 60 Minutes II Dan Rather danratherjournalist org The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History The University of Texas at Austin Retrieved August 11 2019 Auletta Ken March 7 2005 Sign Off The long and complicated career of Dan Rather The New Yorker Laurence Tisch 80 Billionaire Had Rocky Time at CBS Helm Los Angeles Times Associated Press November 16 2003 ISSN 0458 3035 Retrieved June 29 2018 Columbia Broadcasting System The Museum of Broadcast Communications Museum tv Archived from the original on May 27 2012 Retrieved June 4 2012 Picture This Kerrigan Harding Meet by Accident Washingtonpost com February 17 1994 Retrieved June 4 2012 McFarland Melanie June 22 2006 What Rather and Chung teach us How not to end a career Seattle Post Intelligencer Hearst Communications Retrieved August 11 2019 Network Evening News Ratings journalism org Pew Research Center Archived from the original on August 16 2019 Retrieved August 16 2019 Dan Rather Will Not Go Away Quietly The Atlantic Wire April 16 2012 Archived from the original on April 13 2013 Retrieved June 4 2012 Murphy Jarrett January 10 2005 CBS Ousts 4 For Bush Guard Story cbsnews com CBS Interactive Inc Retrieved August 11 2019 a b Richard Nixon Question and Answer Session at the Annual Convention of the National Association of Broadcasters Houston Texas American Presidency Project March 19 1974 Stanley Alessandra September 21 2004 Even Humbled by Error Dan Rather Has His Thorns The New York Times Retrieved September 1 2019 Mahler Julianne G 2009 Organizational Learning at NASA The Challenger and Columbia Accidents Washington DC Georgetown University Press pp 112 113 ISBN 978 1 58901 602 6 Jan 12 1986 Early Morning Space Shuttle Launch nasa gov NASA February 19 2015 Retrieved August 11 2019 Johnson Freese Joan Roger Handberg 1997 Space the Dormant Frontier Changing the Paradigm for the 21st Century Greenwood Publishing Group p 88 ISBN 9780275958879 Retrieved August 22 2013 Berkes Howard January 28 2006 Challenger Reporting a Disaster s Cold Hard Facts npr org National Public Radio Inc Retrieved August 11 2019 Hunter Stephen December 21 2007 Charlie Wilson Firing on All Cylinders The Washington Post p C01 Retrieved March 8 2008 Dowd Maureen January 11 2004 The Argyle General The New York Times Retrieved March 8 2008 Boyer Peter J January 26 1988 Rather s Questioning of Bush Sets Off Shouting on Live Broadcast The New York Times Retrieved November 6 2008 Persian Gulf Region Air University United States Air Force Saddam Hussein to debate George W Bush Anusha com February 21 2003 Retrieved June 4 2012 Whitley Glenna Burkett legacy earlham edu Texas Monthly Inc Retrieved August 11 2019 Morse Anne September 15 2004 The First Rathergate National Review New Questions On Bush Guard Duty CBS News September 8 2004 Retrieved October 11 2007 What Blogs Have Wrought Weeklystandard com September 27 2004 Retrieved June 4 2012 Rather Defends CBS Over Memos on Bush The Washington Post September 10 2004 Memos on Bush Are Fake but Accurate Typist Says The New York Times CBS falls for Kerry campaign s fake memo Chicago Sun Times September 12 2004 requires archive access Memmott Mark September 13 2004 Amid criticism CBS stands by its reports USA Today Retrieved June 4 2012 Expert Cited by CBS Says He Didn t Authenticate Papers The Washington Post September 14 2004 Rather On The Document Errors CBS News September 20 2004 Dan Rather Statement On Memos CBS September 20 2004 Jack Shafer Bloggers Freer Than Reporters Slate April 8 2005 CBS ousts 4 over Bush Guard story NBC News January 10 2005 Retrieved June 4 2012 Thornburgh report leaves some questions unanswered Niemanwatchdog org Retrieved June 4 2012 Appendix 4 Panel Observations Peter Tytell s Analysis of Typestyle Issues PDF CBS News Archived PDF from the original on January 12 2005 Dan Rather to Step Down at CBS Anchor s Decision Comes Amid Probe of Flawed Bush Report The Washington Post November 23 2004 Rather I was forced to step down Cnn com September 21 2007 Retrieved June 4 2012 Dan Rather Delivers Final Newscast CBS Anchor Signs Off After 24 Years Academy of Television Arts and Sciences March 10 2005 Archived from the original on November 15 2006 Retrieved June 4 2012 a b Dan Rather Leaves CBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer PBS June 20 2006 Archived from the original on June 1 2012 Retrieved June 4 2012 Folkenflik David March 9 2005 Rather Leaves Schieffer Arrives Heyward Talks npr org National Public Radio Inc Retrieved August 11 2019 Katie Couric says she s leaving Today today com NBC Universal April 5 2006 Retrieved August 11 2019 a b Skolnik Sam January 25 2006 Demand solid news Rather urges Seattle Post Intelligencer Hearst Retrieved August 21 2019 No future role at CBS for Rather Seattle Post Intelligencer June 16 2006 Retrieved August 17 2019 David Bauder June 20 2006 Dan Rather Signs Off CBS News Archived from the original on June 22 2006 Johnson Peter June 15 2006 Dan Rather will leave CBS after 44 years USA Today Retrieved June 4 2012 Byers Dylan April 25 2012 Dan Rather CBS lawsuit was worth it POLITICO Retrieved December 15 2020 Dana Rebecca September 11 2006 Fall In Scamps New York Observer Archived from the original on July 25 2009 Retrieved November 7 2006 a b Mashable man Dan Rather isn t the retiring type Associated Press July 31 2015 Archived from the original on April 28 2016 Retrieved April 4 2016 Dan Rather s skills on display in The Big Interview Lansing State Journal January 18 2016 Retrieved April 4 2016 Sammy Hagar hits the road with Dan Rather USA Today February 21 2016 Retrieved April 4 2016 Dan Rather has revealing conversation with Quentin Tarantino Mashable November 24 2015 Retrieved April 4 2016 Aaron Sorkin Talks West Wing Newsroom In Premiere Of AXS TV Interview Series Video Deadline September 12 2013 Retrieved April 4 2016 Simon Cowell on Dan Rather s The Big Interview Newsday Long Island August 7 2014 Retrieved April 4 2016 Dan Rather headed to Presents documentary series New York Post April 16 2014 Retrieved April 4 2016 Dan Rather on The Secret Service Mark Cuban and Not Having to Kiss Up to Anybody Ad Week October 21 2014 Retrieved April 4 2016 Review of Dan Rather s Documentary on International Adoption CreatingAFamily org December 3 2014 Retrieved April 4 2016 Dan Rather helps put 2016 chaos into perspective MSNBC March 14 2016 Retrieved April 4 2016 Dan Rather answers if the press failed MSNBC March 29 2016 Retrieved April 4 2016 On CNN Dan Rather Says That Trump s Inflammatory Language Should Be Considered Inciting Violence Media Matters March 16 2016 Archived from the original on April 16 2016 Retrieved April 4 2016 The Defining Challenge of the 21st Century The Huffington Post December 11 2015 Retrieved April 4 2016 Dan Rather Journalists are failing us on gun violence Mashable August 26 2012 Retrieved April 4 2016 Garron Barry May 24 2007 Star Wars The Legacy Revealed hollywoodreporter com Retrieved August 11 2019 Mashable man Dan Rather isn t the retiring type The Washington Post May 11 2012 Retrieved April 4 2016 Collins Ben October 24 2016 How Dan Rather Became the Only Good Newsman on Facebook Daily Beast Jimmy Fallon Interviews Dan Rather About Facebook and Donald Trump The Tonight Show NBC February 2 2017 Bergman Ben How 86 year old Dan Rather became Facebook s favorite news anchor cjr org Columbia Journalism Review Retrieved August 11 2019 Legendary News Anchor Dan Rather Launches New Show on SiriusXM investor siriusxm com Retrieved August 14 2018 Joyella Mark September 23 2016 Dan Rather Launches New Show on Sirius Radio www adweek com Retrieved August 14 2018 Center Launches Dan Rather American Journalist utexas edu The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History The University of Texas at Austin October 27 2017 Archived from the original on August 5 2021 Retrieved August 11 2019 Darcy Oliver Dan Rather launching weekly show with progressive outlet The Young Turks Network CNNMoney Retrieved January 22 2018 Dan Rather Retorting Texas Monthly March 2005 Dreyer Throne September 27 2013 Rag Radio 2013 09 27 Newsman Dan Rather amp Environmentalist Robin Rather in First Father Daughter Interview archive org Retrieved August 11 2019 Judith M White And Dan Rather Lawyer to Marry The New York Times April 17 1988 Retrieved August 11 2019 Dan Rather To Speak At SHSU On September 28 shsu edu Retrieved August 11 2019 Dan Rather Siena College siena edu Retrieved August 11 2019 Eggerton John June 8 2008 Former CBS anchor lashes out at corporate news at media reform conference in Minneapolis Broadcasting amp Cable MSU WELCOMES DAN RATHER AS ADVANCED DEGREE COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER msutoday msu edu Retrieved August 11 2019 Dan Rather Accepting the Paul White Award Archived from the original on August 6 2007 Retrieved August 6 2007 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Radio Television Digital News Association Conference amp Exhibition September 20 1997 Retrieved May 27 2014 Bob Barker Inducted into TV Hall of Fame FoxNews com Fox News Network LLC March 25 2015 Retrieved August 10 2019 Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement www achievement org American Academy of Achievement Yonick Kim Keep dreaming Dan Rather inducted into SXSW Hall of Fame kvue com Retrieved December 8 2023 Dan Rather a pioneer and a lightning rod at The Christian Science Monitor Dropping the anchorman at The Economist Interview With Andy Rooney CNN June 5 2002 In Rush to Air CBS Quashed Memo Worries The Washington Post September 19 2004 O Reilly Bill December 4 2006 Dan Rather Owes FOX News an Apology FOX News Goldberg Bernard 2002 Bias A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News Regnery Publishing ISBN 978 0 89526 190 8 Rather s Retirement and Liberal Bias Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting March 2 2005 Retrieved December 21 2008 Hertsgaard 1988 p 167 Kurtz Howard April 4 2001 Rather Spoke at Democratic Fundraiser The Washington Post p A1 Archived from the original on August 10 2018 Retrieved September 22 2011 From the March 8 2005 edition of American Morning on CNN transcript Quoted in Vasquez Diego March 7 2005 Bitter sweet so long for Dan Rather Media Life Magazine Archived from the original on April 29 2010 Retrieved January 16 2009 Dallas Students Cheer Shooting of Kennedy The Morning Record AP November 27 1963 The 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention The Guardian August 25 2008 Retrieved August 11 2019 CBS reporter Dan Rather assaulted at Democratic Convention 50 years ago this hour OnThisDay OTD August 27 1968 retronewser com August 28 2018 Retrieved August 11 2019 Dan Rather rottenlibrary net Retrieved August 11 2019 Albin Krebs and David Bird November 11 1980 The Ride of Dan Rather PDF The New York Times Archived PDF from the original on January 13 2021 Albin Krebs and Robert McG Thomas February 28 1981 Rather Withdraws Charges Against Cab Driver The New York Times a b Woo Elaine January 12 2009 William W Vaughn dies at 78 lawyer defended Dan Rather in 83 slander case LA Times Dan Rather Courage to the End Morning Edition NPR March 10 2005 Retrieved June 4 2012 a b McFadden Robert D October 6 1986 Park Ave Assault on Rather Leaves Mystery as to Motive The New York Times Retrieved April 21 2015 a b c Bruni Frank January 30 1997 Belatedly the Riddle of an Attack on Rather Is Solved The New York Times Retrieved April 21 2015 REM amp Dan Rather What s The Frequency Kenneth 1995 YouTube Archived from the original on December 11 2021 Retrieved August 11 2019 No Doubt in Rather Case The New York Times November 5 2004 Strange story behind R E M s song What s the Frequency Kenneth Full text of William Tager parole documents August 28 2011 Retrieved August 17 2019 Boyer Peter J September 13 1987 Rather Walked Off Set of CBS News The New York Times CNN Crossfire discusses Rather Bush Tiff on CBS YouTube November 7 2010 Archived from the original on December 11 2021 Retrieved June 4 2012 Goldman Peter 1989 Quest For The Presidency The 1988 Campaign Simon amp Schuster a b Goldberg Bernard 2001 Bias A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News Simon and Schuster ISBN 9781596981485 Dan Rather Makes Watermelon Quip in Depicting GOP Attacks on Obama Fox News March 8 2010 Dan Rather says Articulate Obama couldn t even sell watermelons washingtonexaminer com Washington Examiner March 8 2010 Retrieved August 11 2019 Rich John 2006 Warm Up the Snake A Hollywood Memoir University of Michigan Press p 137 ISBN 0472115782 BBQ Nixon Has a Burrito The Daily Show May 6 2009 Comedy Central Transcript BOOGIE MAN THE LEE ATWATER STORY pbs org Retrieved August 11 2019 parody descriptions php Archived September 13 2011 at the Wayback Machine sesameworkshop org Facing Facing Saddam imdb com Retrieved August 11 2019 CBS THREATENS EERIE amp ECC STOP SAMPLING OR WE SUE The Evolution Control Committee Retrieved October 24 2023 Another CBS Digital Furor Wired Magazine February 9 2000 Retrieved October 24 2023 Ariens Chris June 18 2009 Walter Cronkite Gravely Ill Mediabistro com Archived from the original on May 25 2012 Retrieved June 4 2012 TV Radio Notes CBS Evening News hits 10 year ratings low Old post gazette com July 5 2003 Archived from the original on December 16 2013 Retrieved June 4 2012 Hall Jane August 10 1987 Taking the Heat for Sagging Ratings CBS Anchor Dan Rather Is Toughing It Out in Last Place People Archived from the original on November 20 2012 Retrieved June 4 2012 Further reading editDan Rather amp Elliot Kirschner 2017 What Unites Us Reflections on Patriotism Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill ISBN 9781616207823 Rather Dan Diehl Digby 2012 Rather Outspoken My Life in the News Grand Central Pub ISBN 978 1 4555 0241 7 OCLC 756584260 Leonard Downie Robert G Kaiser 2003 The News About the News American Journalism in Peril Vintage ISBN 978 0 375 71415 3 Hertsgaard Mark 1988 On Bended Knee The Press and the Reagan Presidency Farrar Straus amp Giroux ISBN 978 0 374 25197 0 Rather Dan The Palace Guard with Gary Gates Dan Rather Mickey Hershkowitz February 19 1984 The Camera Never Blinks Adventures of a TV Journalist Ballantine Books ISBN 978 0 345 31833 6 OCLC 444864709 Rather Dan I Remember with Peter Wyden Rather Dan Herskowitz Mickey 1995 The Camera Never Blinks Twice William Morrow Rather Dan June 2 1999 Deadlines and Datelines William Morrow amp Co ISBN 978 0 688 16566 6 Boyer Peter J April 15 1989 Who Killed CBS The Undoing of America s Number One News Network St Martins Press ISBN 978 0 312 91531 5 permanent dead link 2nd Saddam interviewExternal links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Dan Rather nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dan Rather Dan Rather s Substack Steady AXS TV The Big Interview Dan Rather at IMDb Dan Rather at The Interviews An Oral History of Television Appearances on C SPAN Dan Rather American Journalist Briscoe Center for American History Archived April 13 2020 at the Wayback Machine Dan Rather interview in 1974 with KPRC TV in Houston about his exchange with Richard Nixo n from Texas Archive of the Moving Image Media officesPreceded byWalter Cronkite CBS Evening News anchorMarch 9 1981 March 9 2005 co anchor with Connie Chung 1993 1995 Succeeded byBob Schieffer Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dan Rather amp oldid 1201389942, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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