Posted on 06/16/2006 4:30:08 AM PDT by abb
NEW YORK — His four-decade run at CBS was headed toward the finish line, but former anchor Dan Rather continued to press the network where he'd made his name to send him back into service on some big stories.
The longtime correspondent, known for his travels to hot spots around the world, said he had asked to go to the Gulf Coast last fall to cover Hurricane Katrina and to visit Iraq and Afghanistan to cover the conflicts there, but his requests were denied.
"They just said, 'Not interested,' " he said.
It now seems clear that even then CBS News officials were moving to distance themselves from Rather, the face of their news division for almost a quarter-century. Network sources said Thursday — and Rather confirmed — that final negotiations are underway for the former anchor to leave before his contract expires at the end of November, even though he had hoped to stay on in a new role.
"If it had it worked out for me to be an important contributor to CBS, I would have liked that," Rather said by phone. "The work has not turned out what I hoped it would be, and under those circumstances, the network executives decided that I should go onto the next step of my work."
The 74-year-old newsman said he doesn't view his departure with disappointment.
"My view of it is I'm a pro and it's a business and I'm focusing on the future," said Rather, who added that he is excited about other opportunities that he cannot discuss. "That's where my focus is. I tend to be an optimist by nature and by experience."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Ping
My bet is he goes to PMSnbc
"It's clear I have some difficulties with the current corporate management, but that's not unusual with reporters," he said.
"I think now as much or more than ever, Americans need hard-news reporting — particularly hard-news reporting about foreign affairs and how their government works," he said. "I'm committed to that. When my feet hit the floor every morning, I'm looking for a great story."
"There are things that interest me that I want to know more about."
Rather declined to say whether he views the push for him to leave CBS before his contract expires as a betrayal, saying, "I'd leave it for others to define it."
The newsman said he tried to handle the discussions for him to leave "in a professional, classy, gentlemanly manner. This is a news operation, and professional jealousy and backbiting and backstabbing are common in newsrooms and common in ours, unfortunately."
David Blum's 1 1/2 cents worth...
David Blum: Kicking Dan When He's Down
David BlumThu Jun 15, 6:59 PM ET
The CBS executives who leaked the story of Dan Rather's imminent exit from the news division to Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post today clearly despise the former anchorman. They blame him for the 2004 National Guard documents scandal that tarnished the reputation of CBS News. They hate him for the ratings slide of the CBS Evening News that began in the final years of his tenure. They resent him for his oddball persona, his addiction to the red light of the camera, and his multi-million-dollar annual salary. It all seems a bit harsh when you consider his enormous contributions to the history of television news -- his reporting from the front lines of hurricanes, assassinations and wars; his classic confrontations with Richard Nixon during Watergate; his memorable "60 Minutes" stories that helped the show achieve its first number-one Nielsen rating in 1975, and even his absurdist but groundbreaking "Gunga Dan" reporting from Afghanistan in 1979. In light of those legendary achievements, it seems coldhearted and callous for CBS to cast Rather out so mercilessly, and so publicly, in the twilight of his career.
But then you remember what happened to Walter Cronkite when Rather got hired as the anchor of the CBS Evening News in 1980. Perhaps to those executives, today's events seem like perfect payback for the man who himself once booted the most trusted man in America off the airwaves. When CBS agreed to pay Rather $2.2 million a year to replace Cronkite and keep the young star from bolting to ABC News, it also acquiesed to push the former anchor into an "emeritus" position. With Rather's blessing, CBS prevented the 64-year-old Cronkite from any active role in the network's news coverage. Despite Cronkite's expertise and popularity, Rather boxed out the once-beloved anchorman forever. Cronkite was never again allowed to cover a space launch or report an election or conduct an interview on CBS News. Rather wanted the spotlight to himself, and CBS News allowed its new anchor whatever he wanted.
With the arrival of Katie Couric at CBS News this September, CBS wants to create a similar sense of freedom for its latest star. Pushing Rather aside, the way Cronkite got shoved, seems a necessary step in making sure there's no shadow cast on her debut. And perhaps there's a perfect symmetry to the situation: after 44 years at CBS News, Rather has long outlasted most of his colleagues, including Cronkite, and it's high time for younger talent (like Couric and Anderson Cooper) to get space on the network's most prestigious shows, like "60 Minutes." But for anyone who knows Rather -- and that includes just about everyone in America, thanks to his highly personal style and his longevity -- it's going to be sad to imagine him wandering around the streets of New York, searching for the red light of a camera. Maybe there ought to be a kinder way for business executives to treat legends of the news business -- at least by doing something nicer than leaking stories of their dismissal to media reporters hungry to cover the latest casualty of progress.
Rather was/is a casualty of truth. Something he never believed in reporting.
Rather = Little Lord 'Font'leroy.
Anderson Cooper and Katie Couric. Are they kidding? Cooper of "this is my first hurricane fame?"
"My view of it is I'm a pro and it's a business and I'm focusing on the future," said Rather..."
Maybe Rather's daughter can get him a job as a motivational speaker for Democratic Party fund-raisers?
Comedy Central. He'll be Jon Stewart's sidekick.
"My name is Matt Foley and I AM a motivational speaker!"
http://badtree.com/Saturday_Night_Live/wmv/Matt_Foley_-_Motivational_Speaker.htm
"The work has not turned out what I hoped it would be, and under those circumstances, the network executives decided that I should go onto the next step of my work."
Fake, and accurate.
A pro what, Danny?
So long, Dan! Everybody hopes you make a stumbling exit out the door.
Here's the editorial staff of National Review on this:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjZjYzYwYmYwNDg0ZDk0M2VlZDg0MTY2YTc2ZDFiZGE=
Memogate — CBS’s recycling of transparently forged documents in order to hurt President Bush’s reelection prospects — was Dan Rather’s Strontium-90. He poisoned himself from the outset; it just took a while for his career to die. In the wake of the fiasco, Rather and CBS agreed on a face-saving arrangement whereby Mary Mapes, Rather’s producer, was made a scapegoat and Rather was shuffled to other assignments. Now it is reported that CBS and Rather will part ways this fall. There can be no doubt that the downturn in Rather’s fortunes would not have occurred were it not for his terrible but typical partisan reporting in 2004. That the reckoning is long overdue makes it no less welcome. Conservative bloggers should take a bow for helping bring it about. While the left-wing blogosphere has eaten almost nothing but failure, the Right’s bloggers have scored important victories for truth against the mainstream media, including the departure of New York Times editor Howell Raines. The demise of Gunga Dan is another feather in their cap.
How can we miss him if he won't go away?
""They just said, 'Not interested,' " he said.
Danny boy, it is past time for you to say, "Goodnight and Good Bye!"
Dan be gone. Let Americans live without having to hear your name anymore until it is your obit. Live a long and miserable life, Danny, you lying POS!
"My view of it is I'm a pro and it's a business and I'm focusing on the future," said Rather, who added that he is excited about other opportunities that he cannot discuss. "
Yeah, he can't discuss them because there ain't none. LOL
Take your life jacket with you Dan. You're about to be thrown overboard.
How can we miss him if he won't go away?
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