Posted on 09/28/2004 3:59:20 PM PDT by Libloather
Pondering when Dan Rather will swing
Timing is everything as CBS looks for an out
Months before Richard Nixon's resignation, as he was facing impeachment, a "60 Minutes" commentator compared the president to a dead mouse on the kitchen floor of America. The only issue, observed Nicholas von Hoffman, was who was going to pick him up by the tail and toss him into the trash.
CBS executives, much lathered by Von Hoffman's effrontery, booted him from his post as a regular commentator.
These 30 years later, CBS executives are in a new lather over another Republican president, and they're contemplating swinging another axe, this time against what was only weeks ago a revered if time-tarnished name on broadcast television, longtime nightly news anchor and "60 Minutes" correspondent Dan Rather.
The issue is when.
But the best bet is certainly by the end of the year, and likely sooner. Just when will depend to some extent on further fallout from the botched Air National Guard segment that aired Sept. 8, for which Rather apologized a week ago tonight.
Further fallout is indeed piling up. This weekend, CBS abruptly canceled a "60 Minutes" segment raising questions about President Bush's reasons for going to war with Iraq, saying in a statement: "We now believe it would be inappropriate to air the report so close to the November election."
Meanwhile, the bloggers who first deflated the National Guard story continue their calls for Rather's ouster, and of course it's a topic of endless debate on the cable news magazines and talk radio. CBS affiliates around the country are getting an earful from local viewers, raising further worries of steeper declines in ratings.
But the big factor in the timing of Rather's departure will be events having nothing to do with the White House.
On Dec. 1, just two months from now, Tom Brokaw retires from NBC's nightly news show, long the clear leader, and that will offer CBS a dramatic opportunity, one the longtime No. 3 evening news simply can't afford to take a pass on.
CBS would have the most to gain by implanting a new anchor just as Brokaw retires, leaving three networks in a huge scramble as viewers suddenly confront the first new lineup in nightly news anchors in decades.
CBS, having groomed no replacement for Rather, would seem to be in a tough spot. But not really. NBC's Brian Williams, Brokaw's replacement, is nowhere near the draw that Brokaw is, though he's pulled some decent numbers when sitting in.
Most likely, ABC's Peter Jennings, the longtime No. 2, will rise to the No. 1 slot. But CBS, with a new anchor, would still be in an ideal position to pick up viewers disaffected by the change at NBC. And that would serve CBS well when Jennings retires within the coming several years.
Rather, who is 72, had hoped to stay on as anchor until 2006, but under his latest contract he remains in the anchor's chair at the network's pleasure. There has been vague talk that he would leave sometime next year.
Rather's fate will be decided by the two outsiders CBS named last week to investigate the scandal now known as Rathergate, former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and former Associated Press CEO Louis D. Boccardi.
At CBS owner Viacom, executives such as chairman Sumner Redstone stress that the panel is truly independent and that the network will follow its recommendations.
Rather is sweating, as he should be. Thornburgh has been critical of "60 Minutes" in the past, a fact that was known to CBS when he was named to the investigation panel. Thornburgh and Boccardi are expected to tear up the reporting that went into the disputed "60 Minutes" episode, and Rather won't have much to offer in his defense.
The panel won't have to conclude that Rather should be fired over the incident. A strong rebuke, backed by a slew of details of how the story was mishandled, would be enough to force Rather to resign. To save face, Rather's resignation would likely not come until after the elections. But it would also not likely come that much after Dec. 1, either. Each week that passes beyond that date would be a week of lost opportunity for CBS News.
Meanwhile, the FCC doesn't move a muscle. Rather will fry, along with those who wait for this so-called investigation to end...
Getting rid of Rather would be great, but that still leaves Mary Mapes, a rabid feminist and Bush hater, behind the scenes who can do a lot of damage.
I'd like to see them both go.
If Dan Rather unfairly attacks Republicans in his military draft news story tonight, it may just be the final bias needed to remove Dan.
The longer Rather stays, the more damage he does to liberal CBS. Don't push too hard.
I will derive a great deal of satisfaction from watching him squirm and wring his hands on election night as he is forced to report that "CBS" projects one state after another for Bush.
I long to see him silhouetted in front of a huge red map of the US one more time before he goes.
Ditto to that!
She may get the axe anyway, as "fall girl" for RatherGate, leaving the network the false cover to "retire" ol' Dan.
Why do you refer to Rather as "Injun Dan"?
He can be the research assistant tasked to vet stories with pajama-clad open-source journalists.
Wouldn't it be nice though, if CBS News would chase ratings by trying to compete with FOX by hiring an honest conservative?
Both Mapes and Rather must go by October 20th as the very latest. Failure to have them out means no CBS national or local news in my house - ever. They have already been warned by mail.
But meanwhile, the RAT media continues to lie and campaign for kerry and the other RAT pols. Throwing out rather is just a beginning.
That gives the 'suits' the excuse they need to call Rather in and explain that he has just plain lost the confidence of the American people. He has to go. Rather's replacement? If I ran CBS, I would try to steal Shepard Smith. |
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
According to the NY Post, Rather's ratings are down 31%. He's toast. I think CBS management has set him up by having him anchor the network's coverage of the debates. That puts him head-to-head with everyone else, and the odds are good he'll come in last — or at least embarrasingly bad for a broadcast network.