Rather's career put in harsh light

Baltimore Sun ^ | March 5, 2005 | David Zurawik, Sun Television Critic

[Cincinatus' Wife]

........."This was a man who moved with a surefootedness and determination that if it wasn't ruthlessness, it was just short of it."

Terrence Smith.... said that for two decades the take on Rather was "great reporter, awkward anchor."

"And, yet, nobody said it in public.... "Now you hear some of the most senior and respected voices at CBS - Andy Rooney, Mike Wallace and Walter Cronkite - saying these things. ... So, the question is: Why the bruising comments as he goes out the door?"

Smith suggests that while the flawed story on Bush is a key part of the explanation, the "real answer" goes beyond that: "In the end, I think it goes to a very deep-seated anxiety in people who spent their entire career at CBS News about where the institution is headed. I think they really fault management for all the trouble and uncertainty, but the comments are being laid at Dan's door."

Susan Zirinsky, a staunch Rather supporter and executive producer of Wednesday night's retrospective, also attributed some of the negative assessments of Rather to the volatility of a news division in transition. "This is a hard time at CBS. People feel very sad that Dan is leaving. His leaving has pushed CBS to take a look at where the evolution of news is, and I think some people may not be prepared for that."

....many television journalists say that it is sad to see Rather's tenure ending in this manner. "I think it's tragic that a guy who worked as hard as he did would have his career capped like this, because the Bush report is going to be what he's remembered for," Fenton said. "He'll carry this with him to his obituary. ... Tragic - that's the only word for it."

[Blueflag]

Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The article is scathing.

I just posted the ending.

[pt17]

One of the most damaging charges - that the anchorman allowed a liberal bias to taint his report - now is being reiterated publicly by his colleagues.

Taint his report? How do you "taint" something that's bad to begin with? Liberal bias created and drove the report.

[lainde]

Whoops...That's gonna leave a mark! Andy Rooney, of all people, made the most relevant observation that it just wasn't the Bush national guard forgery but his "tone" and barely contained contempt for the President

[expat_panama]

The article is scathing.

I thought it was a powder puff softball.   The article referred to "the flawed story on Bush".   Flawed my tush.  A blemish on a cabinet is a "flaw".    Inability to use proper grammar is a "flaw".   OTOH, the felonious, arrogant, careless, forging of government documents, followed by a week of refusing to admit the falsehood is not a "flaw".  This is what we call a "sever criminal sociopathic character disorder".

It's no surprise that Rather still, to this day, insists that the docs were genuine.  CBS refuses to say the docs were forgeries but says that they're just not sure anymore.

[iopscusa]

Goodbye to DR, another crappy "newsman" gets his due. Dan's career is one of fraud, lies and exteme bias, if anyone should be castigated unruthlessly till the day he meets his maker, this fool is one.

[AmericanArchConservative]

The article calls the story on Bush "flawed"? ROTFL! It was not simply flawed, it was patently fraudulent, made up of "whole cloth".

It matters precious little how harshly Dan Rather is treated on his way out the door - he will only be their designated whipping boy for a season. What really matters is the endemic MSM problem with admitting when they have an agenda, admitting when they have treated a story with unmerited and undisclosed bias, and admitting when they have lied and/or embraced outright fraud.

So long as they fail to comprehensively address their systemic disregard for consistent, honest reportage, the institution will continue to wither on the vine even as people ignore them in swelling numbers.

A.A.C.

[leprechaun9]

How about those bogus Viet Nam "Actors" that he interviewed on thier actions in Viet Nam. They sounded a awful lot like John Freakin' Kerry!

[kingattax]

the other night Dandy Dan was on Letterman and told him that the papers could have been "authenticated if we had had more time".

denial....denial.....denial

[tkathy]

"the flawed story on Bush".

The flawed story was a criminal act, which, if the republicans had done the same thing, would have sent the MSM into collective hysteria.

[patso]

Let's not forget his election day madness about the Ohio tally. It was the most shameful, partisan, defeatist display I have ever seen.

[SkyPilot]

"This is a hard time at CBS. People feel very sad that Dan is leaving. His leaving has pushed CBS to take a look at where the evolution of news is, and I think some people may not be prepared for that."

Susan Zirinsky

These people are pathetic. I have actually watched CBS news over the years. I did it to see how biases, worthless, and unprofessional it really had become.

Susan Zirinsky is typical of the liberals at CBS who turned the news division into their own private left-wing play toy. They did about 9 to 14 minutes of "hard news" every night, sometimes even less. Their news was terribly biased and horribly delivered.

They always wrapped up their segment with some "Liberal Commercial." Pick a left wing cause, that is what they ended their show with. Some examples:

- The "threat" of Christianity to America
- Not enough funding for breast cancer (but never, ever a story about the possible link of breast cancer to abortion)
- Gay rights
- Cheer leading for the Democrat politician of the day
- The evil nature of the US Military
- Women's, African, Chicano, "Queer and Trans-gendered" - Studies programs and why they are so wonderful

[jec41]

Future history question; Who was that guy? Oh, you know Rather, He's the bum reporter who tried to overthrow a election by planting a fake story on the president. Yea, I remember, the blogs caught him. He was fired but did not serve any time.

[Diogenesis]

[1FASTGLOCK45]

"This is a hard time at CBS. "

--> No kidding, it's hard when your little fabricated stories crash and burn, aint it a Bi**. hehehe

"People feel very sad that Dan is leaving. "

--> I can't find anyone that's sad he's living, Hey Dan, come by my house after work so i can kick you right back out with my steel toe boots! hehehe

"His leaving has pushed CBS to take a look at where the evolution of news is, and I think some people may not be prepared for that." "

--> Evolution of news? How can there be evolution @cBS when you just make up what you want and it's mostly biased crap anyways? hehehe
Just a little early morning fun :)

[kitkat]

***the other night Dandy Dan was on Letterman and told him that the papers could have been "authenticated if we had had more time".

denial....denial.....denial***

How could they authenticate something that was written on a computer that wasn't in use at the time?

[SkyPilot]

You're right, the article is scathing towards Dan Rather. This statement, however, sums up why they are finally speaking the truth:

A lot of people within CBS News - and outside CBS News - are angry about how the Bush story developed and was handled," said Sandy Socolow, former executive producer of the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. "They are angry that the news media as a whole - print as well as television - has been damaged. The credibility has been soiled, and God knows how long it's going to take to clean it up."

In reality, their credibility was lost long, long ago. They just refused to see it. They truly believed that if they marginalized talk radio, Republican politicians, and their critics, they could do anything they damn well pleased.

[beyond the sea]

"I think it's tragic that a guy who worked as hard as he did would have his career capped like this, because the Bush report is going to be what he's remembered for," Fenton said.

How about "The Wall Within"?

Rather's been a liar for decades. How could he hold an important position at SeeBS and not be a liar?

[kingattax]

lol...exactly .... rather is following the liberal code.."thou shalt not ever confess or agree to the facts"