DAN RATHER

'Daniel Irvin Rather, Jr.' (born October 31, 1931 in Wharton, Texas) is the former longtime anchor for the ''CBS Evening News'' and is now under contract and scheduled to serve as managing editor and anchor of a new television news magazine, ''Dan Rather Reports'', on the new cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the ''CBS Evening News'' for 24 years, from March 9, 1981 to March 9, 2005. He also contributed to CBS' ''60 Minutes''. Rather's career at CBS News ended in a 2004 credibility crisis when the contents of forged documents were broadcast in the heat of the 2004 US Presidential elections, which led to Rather's 2005 ouster from the anchor role, demotion to correspondent and later firing in 2006.

Biography

Early life

Rather was born in Wharton, Texas, the son of Daniel Irvin Rather Sr. and his wife, the former Byrl Veda Page. After moving to Houston, Texas, Rather attended Love Elementary School, Hamilton Middle School, and Reagan High School. In 1953, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State University where he was editor of the school newspaper, ''The Houstonian''. Also at Sam Houston, he was a member of the Caballeros, which was the founding organization of the currently active Epsilon Psi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Though, never going through an official I-Week program he was an influential voice to the process. After obtaining his bachelor's, he briefly attended South Texas College of Law, which later awarded him an honorary JD in 1990.

Start of his career

Rather began his career in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Later, he was a reporter for United Press International (1950–1952), several Texas radio stations, and the ''Houston Chronicle'' (1954–1955). In 1959, he entered television as a reporter for KTRK-TV in Houston. Rather was promoted to the director of news for KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston.
In 1960, Dan Rather auditioned for the voice of cartoon character Dudley Do-Right but was turned down by animator/director Jay Ward.
In early September 1961, Rather reported live from the Galveston Seawall as Hurricane Carla threatened the Texas coastline. This action, which has been imitated by countless other reporters, impressed the network executives at CBS, and they hired him as a CBS News correspondent in 1962. In his autobiography, Rather notes that back then TV stations didn't have their own radar systems, and of course nobody then had the modern computerized radar that combines the radar image with an outline map. So he took a camera crew to a National Weather Service radar station located on the top floor of the Post Office Building on 25th Street in Galveston, where a technician drew a rough outline of the Gulf of Mexico on a sheet of plastic, and held that over the black and white radar display to give Rather's audience an idea of the storm's size and position of the storm's eye.

At CBS News

The newsman has been the subject of controversy sporadically throughout his career. As he wrote in an autobiography, Rather was the first network television journalist to report that U.S. President John F. Kennedy died in the November 22, 1963 shooting in Dallas. He was also one of the first to see the Zapruder film taken by an eyewitness to the passing Dallas motorcade and reported that JFK's head went "violently forward" when he was hit. It in fact went violently backwards, after jerking forward briefly.
Later, he reported that some schoolchildren in Dallas had applauded when they were notified of the president's death. Administrators said, in fact, the thrust of the announcement was that school was to be dismissed early (making the students' delight more understandable). This story infuriated local journalists at then-CBS affiliate KRLD-TV (now KDFW-TV), who temporarily threw the CBS News staff out of their workspace.
Rather's reporting during the national mourning period following the Kennedy assassination and subsequent events brought him to the attention of CBS News management, which rewarded him in 1964 with the network's White House correspondent position. After serving as a foreign correspondent for CBS News, he drew the assignment as primary anchor for the CBS Sunday Night News, while serving as White House correspondent during the Richard Nixon presidency. His coverage of the Watergate investigation and impeachment proceedings are renowned.
After President Nixon's resignation, Rather took the assignment of chief correspondent for CBS News Special Reports. He later became a correspondent of the long-running Sunday night news show ''60 Minutes,'' just as the program was moved from a Sunday afternoon time-slot to primetime. Success there brought Rather in line to succeed Walter Cronkite as main anchor and Managing Editor of ''The CBS Evening News.''

Rather assumed the position upon Cronkite's retirement, making his first broadcast on March 9, 1981. From the beginning of his tenure, it was clear that Rather had a significantly different style of reporting the news. In contrast to the Cronkite, who ended his newscast with "That's the way it is", Rather searched to find a broadcast ending more suitable to his tastes. For one week during the mid-1980s, Rather tried ending his broadcasts with the word "courage" and was roundly ridiculed for it. He eventually found a wrap-up phrase more modest than Cronkite's and more relaxed than his own previous attempt; for nearly two decades, Rather ended the show with "That's part of our world tonight."
While Rather had inherited Cronkite's ratings lead and held it for a few years, his ratings declined as his network competition changed. Simultaneously, CBS went through an institutional shift and was purchased by Laurence Tisch.
When Rather took the helm at the CBS News anchor desk, the United States had only three established commercial television networks: CBS, NBC and ABC. CNN had begun operations less than a year before. When he retired, the three commercial networks were in competition with many more news outlets, including FOX, CNN, MSNBC, PBS and Internet news sources. Competition financially weakened the "Big Three" networks. In 1984, Tisch oversaw layoffs of thousands of CBS News employees, including numerous correspondents such as David Andelman, Fred Graham, Morton Dean and Ike Pappas. Fewer videotape crews were dispatched to cover stories and numerous bureaus were closed. The events depicted in the movie ''Broadcast News'' are thought to closely parallel those of CBS' downsizing; Rather is thought by many to be the model for the part played by Jack Nicholson, the anchor whose own astronomical salary is deemed as the little people are let go. However, it is the warm-hearted, light-weight anchor played by William Hurt who shares an important biographical feature with the CBS newsman: Rather also began his news career in sports.
For a short time from 1993 to 1995, Rather co-anchored the evening news with Connie Chung. Chung had previously been a Washington correspondent for CBS News and anchored short news updates on the west coast. She was a popular news anchor in Los Angeles for a number of years before becoming weekend anchor of the ''NBC Nightly News''. On joining the CBS Evening News, however, she worked to report "pop news" stories that didn't fit the style of the broadcast. In one incident she was on an airplane interviewing Tonya Harding, who was accused of being behind the plot to injure fellow Olympic ice skater Nancy Kerrigan. After the Oklahoma City bombing, Chung somewhat indifferently asked firefighters working rescue duty, "Can the Oklahoma City Fire Department handle this?" Chung was offered a demotion to weekend anchor or morning news anchor and chose to leave the network, and Rather went back to doing the newscast alone.
At the end of Rather's career, the ''CBS Evening News'' had fallen to a distant third place in network viewership. Although still garnering some 7 million viewers each evening, the broadcast was behind the ''NBC Nightly News'' and ''ABC World News Tonight'', and the networks were all losing influence to cable and the Internet news. Rather's departure from the anchor chair was troubling for CBS, as his journalistic credentials were questioned during the 2004 Presidential campaign between George W. Bush and John Kerry, when 60 Minutes II ran a report by Rather about Bush's military record; numerous critics questioned the authenticity of the documents upon which the report was based. Rather retired, possibly under pressure, as the anchor of the CBS Evening News at 7:00 eastern time, 9 March 2005.

Other current notes

In 2006, Dan Rather donated $2 million to his alma mater, Sam Houston State University, the largest single monetary gift in the school's 127-year history. The University renamed its mass communications building after Rather in 1994. The building houses ''The Houstonian'' and KSHU, which refers to the radio and television stations which are both run by students.
In May, 2007, Rather received a honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Siena College in Loudonville, New York for his lifetime contributions to journalism.
Rather is also a columnist whose work is distributed by King Features Syndicate.
His daughter, Robin, is an environmentalist and community activist in Austin, Texas.
On May 28, 2007 Rather compared historical events to events in the Star Wars films in the History Channel special, "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed".

Journalistic history and influence

Nixon

During the presidency of Richard Nixon, critics accused Rather of biased coverage. At a Houston news conference in March 1974, Nixon fielded a question from Rather, still CBS's White House correspondent, who said, "Thank you, Mr. President. Dan Rather, of CBS News. Mr. President..." The room filled with jeers and applause, prompting Nixon to joke, "Are you running for something?" Rather replied "No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?" [1]
CBS apparently considered firing Rather; its news president met with administration official John Ehrlichman to discuss the situation. According to NBC’s Tom Brokaw, the network considered hiring him, Brokaw, as its White House correspondent to replace Rather. But these plans were scrapped after word was leaked to the press. The controversy did little to dent Rather's overall tough coverage of the Watergate scandal, which helped to raise his profile.

Afghanistan, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush

During the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Rather was on camera wearing a traditional Mujahadeen headdress and garments while reporting from near the front lines. These reports helped Rather gain prominence with the Evening News audience (and the nickname "Gunga Dan"; Rather's reports were also spoofed by the comic strip ''Doonesbury''). Rather's energy and spirit helped him out-compete Roger Mudd for the anchor spot on the Evening News. Mudd was a more senior correspondent and a frequent substitute anchor for Walter Cronkite on the Evening News, and he also anchored the Sunday evening broadcast. But it was Rather who traveled through Afghanistan when the news led there. A few years into his service as anchorman, Rather began wearing sweaters beneath his suit jacket to soften and warm his on-air perceptions by viewers.
Later during the 1980s, Rather gained further renown for his forceful and skeptical reporting on the Iran-Contra Affair, which eventually led to an on-air confrontation with then Vice President George H. W. Bush: Bush referred to Rather's "dead air incident" saying, "I want to talk about why I want to be President, why those 41 percent of the people are supporting me. And I don't think it's fair to judge my whole career by a rehash on Iran. How would you like it if I judged your career by those seven minutes when you walked off the set in New York?" Rather did not respond.
This incident was believed to have been a notable event in Bush's campaign to win the presidency in the 1988 election. It also marked the beginning of Rather's ratings decline, a slump from which he never recovered. Bush never forgave him, and refused to grant Rather an interview after that tangle. His son, George W. Bush, followed suit and never granted Rather an interview during his presidency.
Shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait, the Rather secured an interview with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, which, among other things, captured the flavor of Saddam's bravado concerning the U.S.
On February 24, 2003, Rather conducted another interview with Hussein before the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. In the interview, Hussein invited Rather to be the moderator of a live television debate between himself and George W. Bush. The debate never took place.

''The Wall Within''

On June 2, 1988, Rather hosted a CBS News special, ''The Wall Within''. In it, he interviewed six former servicemen, each of whom said he had witnessed horrible acts in Vietnam. Two of the men said that they had killed civilians, and two others said that they had seen friends die. Each talked about the effects the war had upon their lives — including depression, unemployment, drug use and homelessness.
In their book ''Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of its Heroes and its History'', authors B. G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley said they had obtained the service records of all six men, documenting where each was stationed during the Vietnam War. According to the records, the authors said, only one of the men was actually in Vietnam; he claimed to have been a 16-year-old Navy SEAL but, said Burkett and Whitley, the records listed him as an equipment repairer.

Killian documents

Main articles: Killian documents

On September 8, 2004, Rather reported on ''60 Minutes Wednesday'' that a series of documents concerning President George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard service record had been discovered in the personal files of Lt. Bush's former commanding officer, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, in which Bush was found unfit for flight status after failing to obey an order to submit to a physical examination. The authenticity of these documents was quickly called into question by both conservative and liberal bloggers; by September 10, stories in media outlets including ''The Washington Post'', ''The New York Times'', and the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' examined the documents' authenticity. Rather and CBS vigorously defended the story, insisting that the documents had been authenticated by experts. However, CBS was contradicted by some of the experts it originally cited, and later reported that their source for the documents, former Texas Army National Guard officer Bill Burkett, had misled the network about how he had obtained them. Rather held a one-on-one interview with Killian's personal secretary who vouched for the contents of the documents although she did not authenticate the documents in question themselves, which suggested that the documents were recreations of originals made from poor reproductions or from memory.^[1] On September 20, CBS retracted the story. Rather stated, "if I knew then what I know now, I would not have gone ahead with the story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question."^[2] The controversy has been referred to by some as "Memogate" and "Rathergate." Following an independent investigation commissioned by CBS, CBS fired story producer Mary Mapes and asked three other producers connected with the story to resign. Rather's retirement was directly hastened by this incident, and many believe that he would otherwise have stepped down in March 2006, 25 years after beginning as anchor. The Burkett documents are popularly believed to be forgeries created by making hazy photocopies of computer-generated documents crafted using Microsoft Word's default font settings, but no one has ever proved them to be so.

Retirement from the ''Evening News''

Rather retired as the anchorman and Managing Editor of the ''CBS Evening News'' in 2005; his last broadcast was Wednesday, March 9, 2005. He worked as the anchorman for 24 full years, the longest tenure of anyone in American television history and for a short time continued to work as a correspondent for ''60 Minutes''. Bob Schieffer, a fellow Texan and host of ''Face the Nation,'' took over Rather's position on an interim basis, and Katie Couric has replaced Schieffer in 2006.
Since retiring, he has been on a speaking tour across the United States. On January 24, 2006, Rather spoke to a Seattle audience. Before the speaking engagement, he told a newspaper reporter, "In many ways on many days, [reporters] have sort of adopted the attitude of 'go along, get along.'"
"What many of us need is a spine transplant", Rather added. "Whether it's City Hall, the State House, or the White House, part of our job is to speak truth to power."^[3]

Retirement from CBS News

In June 2006, reports surfaced that CBS News would most likely not renew Dan Rather's contract.^[4] According to a ''Washington Post'' article, sources from CBS said that executives at the network decided "there is no future role for Rather".
On June 20, 2006, CBS News president Sean McManus announced that Rather would be leaving the network after 44 years.^[5]^[6] Rather issued a separate statement which accompanied the news of the departure:^[7]
Rather has since resumed his career with HDNet, a high-definition cable television station as a producer and hosts a weekly one-hour show called ''Dan Rather Reports'' as of October 24, 2006. Rather also has contributed as a guest on ''The Chris Matthews Show''.^[8]
He has also formed an independent company called News and Guts Media and is reportedly working on a book.^[9]

Awards

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

Criticisms of Rather

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

Claims of liberal bias

Rather has been accused of having a liberal bias for a great part of his career.^[10]^[11] Media Research Center, a conservative organization which claims to expose liberal bias in the media, has a file devoted to what they say are examples of Rather's bias.^[12] The phrase "rather biased" (an obvious pun on Rather's name) has become a catchphrase used frequently by those who believe he is.^[13] Critics claim Rather has a double standard on how and which news stories to report, the Killian documents being the most famous example of this.^[14]^[15] During the weeks following the Killian documents, Rather received widespread criticism from other journalists and historians for his approach on reporting and confirmation of the documents' authenticity, as well as his continued insistence of standing by them. They also claim many of his interviews of public officials reflect a liberal bias, either being overly harsh (when interviewing a conservative) or "soft-ball" (when interviewing a liberal).^[16] Rather's on-screen comments and election night reporting have specifically come under attack as well, dating back to Richard Nixon's presidency. In a June 2002 interview with Larry King, his long-time co-worker (and self-described liberal) Andy Rooney stated that Rather is "transparently liberal".^[17]In an interview with commentator Bill Maher, Rather accused Fox News Channel of receiving "talking points" from the Republican controlled White House. Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly, who had defended Rather during the Memogate incident, criticized Rather heavily for not offerring any evidence to support the claim:

"As you may remember, I defended Rather in the Bush National Guard debacle. I said Rather did not intentionally put on a bogus story. He just didn't check it out, he was too anxious for the story to be true.
Now many of you criticized me for that defense, but I'm a fact-based guy. And there's no evidence Dan Rather fabricated anything. It was sloppy reporting that did him in.
But now the fabrication word is in play again. If Dan Rather has evidence of White House dictums coming to FOX News employees, he needs to display that evidence. We are awaiting his appearance. We'll let you know when it is.^[18]"

Chandra Levy-Elizabeth Smart reporting

On July 12, 2001, Brent Bozell of the conservative Media Research Center issued a press release stating that the failure of CBS News to run a single story regarding the disappearance of former Congressional intern Chandra Levy was evidence of "media bias".^[19] This press release was featured prominently by several conservative news organizations. Rather then appeared on the Don Imus radio show to defend himself against the allegations of the press release, arguing that a single missing person incident did not merit mention on a national newscast.^[20] CBS News eventually ran a single story about the Levy disappearance the following week.
In 2002, the American press began focusing on kidnappings (especially of children like Elizabeth Smart). This time, Rather followed suit in reporting the story. His defenders interpreted the move as an indication that Rather's authority within CBS News had declined, and that he was unable to insist on a more traditionalist approach. His critics interpreted this as his partisanship for refusing to report the Levy story.

Criticism from Walter Cronkite

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

Notable incidents

1968 Democratic convention

During live coverage of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Rather attempted to interview a delegate who appeared as though he was being forcibly removed by men without identification badges.
As Rather approached the delegate to question the apparent strong-arm tactics of the Chicago political machine, he was punched in the stomach by one of the men, knocking him to the ground. "He lifted me right off the floor and put me away. I was down, the breath knocked out of me, as the whole group blew on by me...In the CBS control room, they had switched the camera onto me just as I was slugged."

"Kenneth, what is the frequency?"

In October 1986, as Rather was walking along Park Avenue in Manhattan to his apartment, he was attacked and punched from behind by a man who demanded to know, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?", while a second assailant also chased and beat him. As the assailant pummeled and kicked Rather, he kept repeating the question over and over again. In describing the incident, Rather said, "I got mugged. Who understands these things? I didn't and I don't now. I didn't make a lot of it at the time and I don't now. I wish I knew who did it and why, but I have no idea."
The incident and Rather's account led some to doubt the veracity of Rather's story, although the doorman and building supervisor who rescued Rather fully confirmed his version of events. The story entered popular lore and remained unsolved for some time. The incident inspired a song called "Kenneth, What's the Frequency?" by the band Game Theory in 1987, and in 1994 the band R.E.M. released the more widely-known song "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" on the album ''Monster''. It became the subject of many jokes over the years and slang for a confused or clueless person. Rather was a good sport about it, and actually sang with the band when they performed the song on ''The Late Show with David Letterman''.
In 1997, a TV critic writing in the ''New York Daily News'' claimed to have solved the mystery, and published a photo of the alleged assailant, William Tager. Rather confirmed the story: "There's no doubt in my mind that this is the person." Tager is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for killing NBC stagehand Campbell Montgomery outside ''The Today Show'' studio in 1994.
In the December 2001 issue of ''Harper's Magazine'', writer Paul Limbert Allman concluded that Professor Donald Barthelme (who died in 1989) had somehow orchestrated the attack through other unnamed persons, citing unusual passages in Barthelme's writing, including the phrase "What is the frequency?", a recurring character named Kenneth, and a short story about a pompous editor named Lather.^[21] The article was adapted into two plays, both entitled "Kenneth, What is the Frequency?" The first was by Ian Allen and Monique LaForce and debuted in Washington, D.C., in 2003.^[22] The second, written by Allman himself, premiered in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2004^[23].

"Courage"

For one week in September 1986, Rather signed off his broadcasts to CBS with the single word "Courage".^[24] Apparently it was just a signature line and had nothing to do with the news at the time (which included the Joseph Cicippio abduction and a threat by Arab extremists to "become familiar with your skyscrapers and extend the terror campaign to the United States"), although TV critic Peter Boyer suggested it may have been in response to recent staff cutbacks at CBS News. Other newscasters ridiculed and parodied him, and he dropped it. Afterwards, Rather said "And that's part of our world." On his last ''CBS Evening News'' broadcast, he once again signed off with "Courage", this time linking it to the September 11, 2001 attacks as well as courage shown by fellow journalists.

Dead air

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

AIDS activists

On January 22, 1991, and unknown to Rather until just after the evening newscast began to air, three AIDS activists stormed the live studio, repeatedly shouting, "fight AIDS, not Arabs...fight AIDS, not Arabs...", just as the opening credits rolled. One of the activists was actually seen on the air. In embarrassment, Rather ordered producers to "break for a commercial", after which he apologized for the activists' actions (they were later detained by CBS security). [[3]]

"Ratherisms"

Rather is known for his many off-the-cuff colorful analogies and descriptions while filling the air during live broadcasts. Very similar to those used by baseball announcer Red Barber, and cycling commentator Phil Liggett, these "Ratherisms" are also called "Texanisms" or "Danisms" by some. A few of the more colorful ones from the 2000 Election include:^[25]

★ "This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-O."

★ "This thing is as tight as the rusted lugnuts on a '55 Ford."

★ "This race is tight like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach."

★ "He swept through the South like a tornado through a trailer park."

★ "Don't bet the trailer money on it yet."

★ "It's a ding-dong battle back and forth."

★ "Look at that. Can't get a cigarette paper between 'em."

★ "His chances are slim to none right now, and if he doesn't carry Florida, Slim will have left town."

★ "If a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a hand gun."

★ "Close only counts with hand grenades and horseshoes."
He spoofed his statements on Comedy Central's 2006 ''Daily Show'' / ''Colbert Report'' Midterm Midtacular on November 7, 2006:

★ "Ran away with it like a hobo with a sweet potato pie."

★ "If you ain't got the yolk, you can't emulsify the hollandaise"

★ "If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" (A quote from Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall.")

Pop culture figure

Though his popularity and ratings declined over the years, Rather's apparent affinity for the bizarre has made him into an ironic pop-culture icon. He has been lampooned numerous times by the television shows ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''Family Guy'' and many films. Samples of Rather's newscasts were used to create "Rocked By Rape", a single by the Evolution Control Committee which was subsequently banned by CBS; the song combined some of Rather's more dramatic headlines ("''Gunned down / shooting death / blood drops / murderer''") with a heavily edited recording of AC/DC's ''Back in Black''. He also had a cameo appearance in the JibJab political cartoon, ''Good to Be in D.C.''.
In 2004, he was featured in the documentary film "Barbecue: A Texas Love Story" by Austin-based director Chris Elley. Two years later, Rather and Elley educated a group of New Yorkers in Madison Square Park about the true meaning of BBQ and its significance to the identity of the Lone Star State. Rather began the discussion with a direct statement: "Let's get this straight folks. If it ain't beef and it ain't in Texas, then it ain't barbecue."
Newspapers and magazines are fond of compiling Rather's expressions, and many people enjoyed tuning in to Rather's broadcasts in the hopes he'd say something amusing.

Illegal drugs

In a July 1980 interview with ''Ladies' Home Journal,'' Rather said that "in 1955 or '56, I had someone at the Houston police station shoot me with heroin so I could do a story about it. The experience was a special kind of hell. I came out understanding full well how one could be addicted to 'smack,' and quickly."
According to journalist Cliff Jahr, Rather said, "As a reporter - and I don't want to say that that's the only context - I've tried everything. I can say to you with confidence, I know a fair amount about LSD. I've never been a social user of any of these things, but my curiosity has carried me into a lot of interesting areas."^[26]

Ratings

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

Quotes

★ "I cannot remember a time when I didn't want to be a reporter."

★ "You can't be a good reporter and not regularly be involved in some kind of controversy."

★ In reference to the CBS News, while referring to Katie Couric, Rather stated that "the mistake was to try to bring the 'Today' show ethos to the 'Evening News,' and to dumb it down, tart it up in hopes of attracting a younger audience."^[27]

References

1. Killing the Messenger: Who Gave Rather the Memos and Why, ''Democracy Now!'', September 21, 2004
2. Dan Rather Statement On Memos, ''CBS'', September 20, 2004
3. Sam Skolnik, Demand solid news, Rather urges, ''Seattlepi.com'', January 25, 2006
4. Source Says Dan Rather Nearing CBS Exit, ''CBS'', June 15, 2006
5. David Bauder, Dan Rather Signs Off, ''CBS'', June 20, 2006
6. Rather Leaves CBS in Bitter End to 44 Years, ''The New York Times'', June 20, 2006
7. Harsh words as Rather leaves CBS, ''CNN'', June 21, 2006
8. http://www.thechrismatthewsshow.com/
9. Fall In, Scamps! Rebecca Dana
10. Dan Rather: a pioneer and a lightning rod at ''Christian Science Monitor''.
11. Dropping the anchorman at ''The Economist''.
12. The Dan Rather File at ''Media Research Center''
13. Charles Krauthammer, Rather Biased, ''Washington Post'', January 14, 2005
14. Rather's Double Standard at ''FairPress.org''
15. Be Wary of Rich Cabinet Members? at ''Ratherbiased.org''
16. Hard and Soft Interviews at ''Ratherbiased.org''
17. Interview With Andy Rooney, ''CNN'', June 5, 2002
18. Dan Rather Owes FOX News an Apology O'Reilly, Bill
19. Bryan Keefer, Spinning Chandra: Making the Condit Affair Partisan, ''Spinsanity.com'', July 23, 2001
20. [2]
21. "Dan Rather is the sphinx of our time, and his riddle is 'Kenneth, what is the frequency?'", Paul Limbert Allman, ''Harper's Magazine'' 2001
22. "Kenneth, What Is The Frequency" at cherryredproductions.com
23. Gritten, David, Edinburgh reports: stew of strange ideas at The Daily Telegraph
24. Courage at ''RatherBiased.com''
25. Dan Rather at ''FamousTexans.com''
26. Richard Connelly, Party On, Dan, ''Houston Press'', December 2, 2004
27. http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=265433>1=7703

External links

★ CBS biography of Rather

★ Official website of Rather's new company News and Guts Media (no content yet)

★ Dan Rather discusses the 2008 Presidential Campaign

★

★ "Courage, Dan, things can't get any worse … or, can they?", Gary Dretzka, TV Barn, July 22, 2003.

★ "It's running of the bull", Michael Goodwin, ''New York Daily News'', 9 March 2005

★ "Wrong from the Beginning", Phillip Chalk, ''Weekly Standard'', March 14, 2005.

★ "Dan Rather, What's the Frequency, Kenneth", A timeline with quotations.

★ "Dan Rather's location at 12:30 pm on 11/22/63" — Discussion on JFK Lancer Research Forum

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	Dan Rather at SXSW 2007
	Rocketboom: Dan Rather at SXSW

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