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Dan Rather, CBS Evening News Anchor, Stepping Down

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dolcevita Extraordinary Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:24 pm Posts: 16061 Location: The Damage Control Table	Dan Rather, CBS Evening News Anchor, Stepping Down http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/business/media/23WIRE-RATHER.html?oref=login&hp wrote: Dan Rather to Step Down at CBS in March Less than two months after acknowledging that he could not authenticate documents central to a broadcast report that raised fresh questions about President Bush's National Guard service, Dan Rather has decided to step down as anchor and managing editor of the "CBS Evening News" on March 9, on what will be his 24th anniversary behind the anchor desk... Mr. Rather will continue to work full time at CBS News, as a correspondent for the Sunday and Wednesday editions of "60 Minutes." There was no word from CBS News on a successor as anchor... Mr. Rather's decision represents an abrupt, somewhat ignominious end to the nearly quarter of a century that he spent in one of the most visible jobs in journalism. In announcing his decision now to quit the anchor desk, Mr. Rather, 73, is seeking to act ahead of an independent panel investigating the journalistic breakdowns that led CBS News to broadcast and then vigorously defend the Guard segment, which it later acknowledged to be based on documents whose genuineness and origins it could not substantiate. But Mr. Rather is also choosing to depart at a moment of generational transition atop the network news divisions, as their flagship programs continue to lose viewers. On Dec. 1, Tom Brokaw, 66, will deliver his last broadcast as anchor of the "NBC Nightly News," the highest rated of the three evening newscasts. He will be succeeded the next night by Brian Williams, 45. Among the emotions that had long kept Mr. Rather from announcing his own retirement was his hope that in the wake of Mr. Brokaw's departure, he might pick up enough of Mr. Brokaw's nearly 10 million viewers to lift his program out of third place, where it has lagged behind "World News Tonight" on ABC for nearly a decade. At least until recently, Mr. Rather had told colleagues that he hoped to remain behind the CBS anchor desk until March 2006, when he would mark the 25th anniversary of the day he succeeded Walter Cronkite. But even before the broadcast of the discredited Guard report, executives of the network, which is owned by Viacom, had begun to discuss an earlier end date with Mr. Rather's representatives... But for Mr. Rather, all that calculus was apparently erased by the strain and scrutiny of the investigation. The inquiry's two panelists, Louis D. Boccardi, a former top executive of The Associated Press, and Dick Thornburgh, a former United States attorney general, have interviewed dozens of people...Among the central questions they are examining is why Mr. Rather, who anchored the segment, and Mary Mapes, the producer who shepherded it, were so convinced of the authenticity of four memorandums purportedly drawn from the personal files of Mr. Bush's Vietnam-era squadron commander... Immediately after the report was first broadcast, on the evening news on Sept. 8 and later that night on the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes," intense criticism arose from the purveyors of Web logs and other commentators who contended that the documents - all apparently copies, none on official letterhead stationery and two without signatures - appeared to have been typed on a modern computer, not a typewriter in typical use in the early 1970's... But on Sept. 20, Mr. Rather and his bosses reversed course. Speaking again from the anchor desk, Mr. Rather told his viewers that a former Texas National Guard officer had misled him and his producers about how the officer had obtained the documents and that relying on them to buttress the report had been a "mistake in judgment." "I want to say personally and directly I'm sorry," Mr. Rather said, before adding, "This was an error made in good faith." Mr. Rather's apology represented an unlikely low point in a year in which, despite the clock's ticking down on his career, he had notched some of the more memorable achievements of his more than four decades at CBS News. Just a few months before the Guard report, he joined forces with Ms. Mapes, one of the most respected producers at the network, for a segment on the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes," then known as "60 Minutes II," which reported in detail on the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. Hey, I used to watch him when I was still in grade school before I abandoned television news altogether. I don't know much about what happened except for from newspaper articles, and it was clearly in bad taste. Still anchors are kind of just reading what the executives tell them to aren't they? They do a little reporting and research, but they don't have authority control so to speak. He was 73, so he kinda should retire anyways, but he's leaving in bad favor after 24 years I guess. I won't really take notice, haven't seen the news in years, but reading this article reminded me I grew up watching this guy at 7 pm every evening. Tom Brokaw stepping down too? They're all getting old, this reminds me of a toned down non-scripted version of "Newtork."
Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:26 pm

Coasterman2002 Indiana Jones IV Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 6:23 pm Posts: 1010 Location: New Yawk	good he deserves to step down ever since he made up those reports :evil: _________________ Michael Savage's "The Savage Nation" On Radio Monday through Friday 8pm-11pm (Eastern Time) Liberalism is a Mental Disorder - BUY THE BOOK NOW!!! On New York Times Best Seller List 9 Weeks in a Row
Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:31 pm

Terminator1997 George A. Romero Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 10:30 pm Posts: 9773 Location: Enjoying a cold pint	i "rather" like that article glad to see him go, didn't really like him too much.
Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:37 pm

Ripper 2.71828183 Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 9:16 pm Posts: 7827 Location: please delete me	Re: Dan Rather, CBS Evening News Anchor, Stepping Down dolcevita wrote: They're all getting old, this reminds me of a toned down non-scripted version of "Newtork." I was thinking the same thing, I am just so used to Brokaw and Rather, I don't watch the news anymore but it will still be odd to not have them there.
Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:37 pm

neo_wolf Extraordinary Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:19 pm Posts: 11028	Good.
Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:42 pm

NCAR Angels & Demons Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:19 pm Posts: 270 Location: Pleading my case before the jury	Re: Dan Rather, CBS Evening News Anchor, Stepping Down dolcevita wrote: Hey, I used to watch him when I was still in grade school before I abandoned television news altogether. I don't know much about what happened except for from newspaper articles, and it was clearly in bad taste. Still anchors are kind of just reading what the executives tell them to aren't they? They do a little reporting and research, but they don't have authority control so to speak. He was 73, so he kinda should retire anyways, but he's leaving in bad favor after 24 years I guess. I won't really take notice, haven't seen the news in years, but reading this article reminded me I grew up watching this guy at 7 pm every evening. Tom Brokaw stepping down too? They're all getting old, this reminds me of a toned down non-scripted version of "Newtork." Actually, Dolce, Dan Rather is also Executive Editor of CBS News, he's virtually his own boss and is in complete control of the copy he reads, at least. However, he is not the assignment editor and others make the decisions on the stories done by field reporters. That's why so much of the flap regarding this National Guard story fell on him. He was in charge of what was said, he was the reporter on the story. Much more than a "talking head." _________________ No representation is made opinions expressed are better than others. MSRP. WAC. Limited Time. Some Restrictions Apply. All Rights Reserved. Not FDA approved. Results not typical. Close cover before striking. Mileage may vary. Void where prohibited.
Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:42 pm

A. G. Draughty Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:23 am Posts: 13347	Shrug, he just reads the news. I don't consider anchors to be significant people and don't really understand why they are treated like they are.
Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:50 pm

Maximus Hot Fuss Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:46 am Posts: 8427 Location: floridaaa	Archie Gates wrote: Shrug, he just reads the news. I don't consider anchors to be significant people and don't really understand why they are treated like they are. Because they lie and don't give a damn. I'm glad he's gone. The man's an ass.
Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:10 pm

Eagle Site Owner Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:09 pm Posts: 14631 Location: Pittsburgh	Because the entire nation knows them, respects them, and relies on them for honest information. They have millions of viewers, and people have been watching them for decades. Now they are being replaced, and the people that replace them will be the people WE recognize for the rest of our lives. While this may not effect us much, people like my grandmother will be deeply affected believe it or not. KJ
Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:12 pm
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Dan Rather, CBS Evening News Anchor, Stepping Down

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