Posted on 11/26/2004 1:32:40 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
He reported the death of John F. Kennedy, made Richard Nixon squirm over Watergate and helped show the world a myriad of abuses perpetrated by U.S. soldiers at Iraq's infamous Abu Ghraib prison. But as Dan Rather prepares to leave the top anchor chair at CBS News in March, he is more likely to be remembered for a series of controversial memos whose validity he was never able to prove.
Rather didn't mention his controversial 60 Minutes story in the announcement that he would leave the CBS Evening News on March 9, 2005 - his 24th anniversary as the network's top anchor. But the news comes just before an independent panel is expected to report on its investigation into how Rather and the show's producers aired a report on President Bush's National Guard service based on memos now widely believed to be fake.
Before the "Memogate" scandal in September, industry watchers expected Rather to leave the anchor desk on his 25th anniversary in 2006 - far enough from NBC anchor Tom Brokaw's Dec. 1 retirement to ensure maximum attention and perhaps lure some Brokaw fans to his third-place newscast. News that Rather will leave a year earlier - giving CBS much less than the two years NBC used to groom Brian Williams as Brokaw's replacement - fuels rumors that the coming report will not be kind to the 73-year-old anchor.
Rather and CBS executives say the decision to focus on work as a 60 Minutes correspondent was prompted by soul-searching over the summer, not the 60 Minutes story. But few believe that explanation, which is similar to the hollow denials CBS News floated in September defending the documents used in Rather's controversial story, just before admitting that they could not prove the memos were genuine.
Despite the twin departures of Rather and Brokaw, claims that network TV evening newscasts are obsolete are premature. The shows still earn ratings higher than the cable news channels, while the anchors embody network news divisions in a way no other figure does. Still, the broadcasts will change significantly, helmed by younger faces at a time when fewer viewers than ever seem willing to believe news that does not reinforce their existing biases.
Those put off by Rather's quirky behavior (an election night press release from CBS quoted Rather calling the presidential race "hotter than the Devil's anvil") or convinced he has a liberal bias may cheer the anchor's impending retirement. Those Web sites and conservative critics who fed the memo story controversy will also claim their measure of credit for clipping his career.
By leaving this way, Rather ends the longest run of any network news anchor under a cloud, mostly of his own making, that threatens to tarnish the entire industry. It is an unfortunate legacy for a newsman who has devoted more than half a century to chasing news before the camera's unblinking eye.
We need to keep an eye on this; he's just leaving the anchor desk, and would still be able to run 60 Minutes trash. We need to stand ready to pressure CBS for full retirement, depending on the content of the "internal investigation" results.
Right now, I have to say, I think we're being played for patsies.
Dan and his MSM friends won't admit it's the new media that is to blame for his being yanked off the air, it's all Bush's fault somehow...
I think that virtually all the analyses of the Rather fiasco are at best poorly performed charades. Journalists or journalist professors have their careers at stake and will not utter a single word that would derogate one of the card carying members lest it would reflect on their entire profession and endanger their livelihoods and the pedestals upon which they have placed themselves.
Exactly. I don't expect to see much from this "investigation". We need to keep the pressure on, if that is the case, and it is just a whitewash.
The next time I listened to Rush, he was quoting an article I read posted on FR three times the day before his show. Was Rush wizzing on our parade and telling us it's raining? Just curious...
That's like saying that the sky is widely believed to be blue.
I'm not sure what this means. First, I don't think you can seriously search souls that you don't believe exist. Second, if the fawning Rather did over Bill and Hillary and Saddam Hussein never embarrassed CBS puppeteers nothing that 60 Minutes could do would so embarrass them.
If CBS has been searching the hollows where souls should be, I find it interesting they and other networks continue to run news organizations as hobbies. I admit that "News" is sort of an intangible product. Still, a product that many have sacrificed their lives gathering ought to be treated with more respect than network executives give it. If any other business lost market share the way the network news organizations have, the house cleaning that would take place would be awesome to see. Yet for decades, the networks have sauntered along oblivious and uncaring.
Yes maybe we are being played, "John Q public" But the pajama people are watching and waiting.....
Dan Rather's departure - almost abrupt, and with relatively little ceremony.
As a sop, Danno was "kicked upstairs" to 60 Minutes II, the same venue in which he was poised to reveal the great calumny concerning George W. Bush's failure to discharge his responsibilities in the Air National Guard.
Walter Cronkite must feel a little torn.
of course ..... its a bait and switch ... they think if they wait long enough our power will dimish ...... and they will be right back in the driver seat.....
i would think he would take over another seat some other MSM and then continue his work....
i would like to get a cronicle of what happened that is real..... not our spin or theirs ..... just facts.... have it loaded for the eventual fight which will come ....
They care, it's just about their politics not their bottom line. But it seems the cupboard is bare and they need to make some money to continue their journey toward socialist bliss.
It would diminish him!
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