Posted on 02/17/2005 7:22:15 PM PST by Arnold Zephel
|
|
|
 |
||
| Rather to Host His Own Farewell Tribute on CBS Thu Feb 17, 2005 08:31 PM ET
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - No sooner will Dan Rather bid viewers a final good night as anchor of the CBS Evening News than he will be back on the air to lead viewers through a retrospective of his 50 years in broadcast journalism.
CBS News said on Thursday that an hourlong special, "Dan Rather: A Reporter Remembers," will be telecast on March 9, at 8 p.m. EST, within an hour of his stepping down as host and managing editor of the "Evening News."
The broadcasts come exactly 24 years after Rather assumed the anchor chair from legendary newsman Walter Cronkite.
The prime-time special is billed as a "candid memoir of Rather's extraordinary career, told in his own words." CBS said it will span the past five decades of his life and include never-before-seen archival footage.
A network spokeswoman said Rather would address the controversy surrounding his now-discredited "60 Minutes" report last September questioning the military service of President Bush.
The program will undoubtedly highlight the more celebrated points of Rather's career, including his coverage of the Kennedy assassination in 1963, the tumultuous Democratic National Convention of 1968 and the Watergate scandal during the 1970s, not to mention testy on-air exchanges with President Nixon and then-Vice President George H. W. Bush.
It remained to be seen how CBS would handle Rather's less flattering moments, such as walking off the set in 1987 after a tennis match pre-empted the start of a newscast, or the jokes he endured after being assaulted on the streets of Manhattan by a man who asked him: "Kenneth, what's the frequency?"
While TV retrospectives have become ubiquitous on prime time, paying homage to figures ranging from Johnny Carson to "Laverne & Shirley," a self-hosted special paying tribute to a living broadcast journalist on the day of his retirement is rare.
"I don't remember them doing one like this for Walter Cronkite, but you could bet they would if Walter Cronkite were retiring today," said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television.
On the other hand, Thompson said, "He (Rather) has got a lot of good clips."
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
CBS's attempt at making a silk purse from a sows ear.
And .. I heard CBS is planning to practically replay the entire Bush AWOL stuff (to show how Rather was dedicated to the truth) - these people are pitiful - they just have to poke a stick at Bush one more time for spite.
I can only pray the ratings for the show are so BAD ..!!
That's fitting.
No one loves Dan quite like he does.
Thanks for the link. I didn't know he used the "Courage" sign-off for only one week. A la Kerry, it's "seared in my memory".
No sooner will Dan Rather bid subject his viewers [to] a final good night as anchor of the CBS Evening News than he will be back on the air to lead drag viewers through a retrospective mind numbing historical revision of his 50 years in broadcast journalism lies and muckraking.
There, fixed it so it's much more accurate.
Come to think of it, I think my friend in San Antonio does, but she hasn't spoken to me since the election.
I'll celebrate by having a few beers and watching something else.
"Is anybody really going to watch this?"
I'd watch the FOX News coverage of the Freepers at work outside CBS during that broadcast!
But your version has variable-spaced script.
Have a heart, Dan, your colleagues will send along their regards via voice-mail and give you your 30 second picture tribute with piano music on their newscasts the next day. Happy days, moron.
Saddam will wish him well from his 8 X 10 Jail Cell in Iraq
Robert Mugabe will offer a toast to Dan
Kim Jong Il will be ronery without him
Osama bin Laden will grant Dan an interview
and John Kerry will send him a check, even though it didn't work
That is hilarious, I think I'll tape it.
I didn't know that happened. My day is getting better all the time.
Only because the Kinko's in Texas was closed and due to the fact that the NYT was gonna report it unless I hurried it up, I was forced use my 1984 version of Wurd. But even though it may be completely fraudulent, the content still is completely accurate. Trust me! Courage!
And for some good irony, it will bounce.
In other words, one last effort to make money for himself and CBS. I'd shoot the TV rather than pay...via paying attention.
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.
