Rather stepping down (told ya so Dissension)

[strandinthewind]

I believe I called this two months ago and Dissension responded that I should put down the bong, stop smoking crack, you're crazy, etc. Oh - it is good to be right!!!!! :wavey: :wavey: :wavey:

Dan Rather to Step Down as CBS Anchor

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

NEW YORK — Dan Rather (search), embattled anchor of the "CBS Evening News," (search) announced Tuesday that he will step down in March, on the 24th anniversary of taking over the job from Walter Cronkite (search).

The veteran anchor has been under fire in recent months for his role in a "60 Minutes Wednesday" story that questioned President Bush's service in the National Guard, which turned out to based on allegedly forged documents.

Rather, 73, said he will continue to work for CBS, as a correspondent for both editions of "60 Minutes."

He made no mention of the National Guard story in announcing the change, saying he had agreed with CBS executives last summer that after the Nov. 2 election would be the right time to leave.

"I have always been and remain a 'hard news' investigative reporter at heart," he said. "I now look forward to pouring my heart into that kind of reporting full time."

CBS did not mention a potential successor for Rather, who has been at CBS for more than four decades and made his name as a reporter covering the Nixon White House.

"He has been an eyewitness to the most important events for more than 40 years and played a crucial role in keeping the American public informed about those events and their larger significance," CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves said.

A report on what went wrong with the National Guard story, from a two-man independent investigative panel, is due imminently. Rather anchored the story and initially defended it when it was criticized.

Rather's announcement comes eight days before his NBC rival, Tom Brokaw, steps down as "Nightly News" anchor and is replaced by Brian Williams.

The triumvirate of Rather, Brokaw and ABC's Peter Jennings has ruled network news for more than two decades. Rather dominated ratings after taking over for Cronkite during the 1980s, but he was eclipsed first by Jennings and then by Brokaw. His evening news broadcast generally runs a distant third in the ratings each week.

His hard news style was mixed with a folksy Texan style that led him to rattle off homespun phrases on Election Night. But odd incidents dogged him: In 1987 he walked off the set, leaving CBS with dead air, to protest a decision to let a tennis match delay the news. And his claim that he was accosted on the street by a strange man saying, "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" led rock band R.E.M. to write a song with the same name.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,139391,00.html

[dissention]

I believe I called this two months ago and Dissension responded that I should put down the bong, stop smoking crack, you're crazy, etc. Oh - it is good to be right!!!!! :wavey: :wavey: :wavey:

Dan Rather to Step Down as CBS Anchor

If I remember correctly, you said that they would can Rather. If you can prove that he was canned, especially over the guard story, I'll gladly admit you were right. :) I suspect that is not the case because if they wanted him out that badly, they certainly wouldn't let him stay on as a major part of the show that came up with the guard story.

It's a shame he's leaving, he's the only one I like.

[strandinthewind]

I think I said he would resign :shrug: My comp. will not let me research the old threads for some reason. But, you are welcome to :wavey: In any event, I am sure Rather made this decision with absolutely NO heat from the top brass :rolleyes: :laugh:

I, too likes him, but thought he was losing it for the last two or so years and this story and the cover up, lying, whatever you want to call it, was WAY beneath him :shrug: But, I still like him.

Also - from the NYTimes:

November 23, 2004
Dan Rather to Step Down at CBS in March
By JACQUES STEINBERG

ess 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.

"I have been lucky and blessed over these years to have what is, to me, the best job in the world and to have it at CBS News," Mr. Rather said in a statement issued by the network just after noon today. "Along the way I've had the honor of working with some of the most talented, dedicated professionals in the world, and I'm appreciative of the opportunity to continue doing so in the years years ahead."

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 immediate 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. Among the scenarios being discussed was one in which he would depart the anchor chair next May, but continue to report for CBS News, most likely on "60 Minutes."

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 - from the highest echelons of CBS News to its rank and file, as well as outside it - and are expected to submit their report to senior network executives early next month. 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.

In the documents, which were dated in the early 1970's, Mr. Bush's commander, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, appeared to describe the pressure he was under to "sugar coat" the record of Mr. Bush, then a young lieutenant, who was said to have disobeyed a direct order to take a physical. Surfacing less than two months before the presidential election, the documents were presented by CBS as filling gaps in Mr. Bush's official record, including questions about why he had failed to take his pilot physical.

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 appeared to have been typed on a modern computer, not a typewriter in typical use in the early 1970's. For nearly two weeks, Mr. Rather - sometimes speaking from behind the anchor desk - asserted that the wide questioning of the records was coming, in large measure, from Republican partisans.

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.

[dissention]

I think I said he would resign :shrug: My comp. will not let me research the old threads for some reason. But, you are welcome to :wavey: In any event, I am sure Rather made this decision with absolutely NO heat from the top brass :rolleyes: :laugh:

I, too likes him, but thought he was losing it for the last two or so years and this story and the cover up, lying, whatever you want to call it, was WAY beneath him :shrug: But, I still like him.

I don't feel like going through the old ones, I'll take your word for it. Also, did you notice that when you search for old Chit Chat threads, they only go back to April (I believe)? I tried to find one of the old Passion threads, but had no luck.

I think what made him resign is the current stress of the job and his age. He's going to be 80 soon, I can't imagine doing what he does at that age.

[strandinthewind]

I don't feel like going through the old ones, I'll take your word for it. Also, did you notice that when you search for old Chit Chat threads, they only go back to April (I believe)? I tried to find one of the old Passion threads, but had no luck.

I think what made him resign is the current stress of the job and his age. He's going to be 80 soon, I can't imagine doing what he does at that age.
I know - and when I typed in rather - dan - and the - dan rather - it kept yielding no results. Then I went back in the threads since the middle of Aug. and could not find it. Oh Well!!!!!

But, yes, I think at 80, he deserves to retire, etc. I will miss him. He is the last vestige IMO of the old cigarettes and coffee journalists who really did not play it for the soundbyte especially when compared to what we have today, which are mostly just IMP pale shadows. But, every now and then another good one pops up like K. Armenpour (sp.?) - who appears to be widely respected if not liked.

:cool:

[dissention]

But, yes, I think at 80, he deserves to retire, etc. I will miss him. He is the last vestige IMO of the old cigarettes and coffee journalists who really did not play it for the soundbyte especially when compared to what we have today, which are mostly just IMP pale shadows. But, every now and then another good one pops up like K. Armenpour (sp.?) - who appears to be widely respected if not liked.

:cool:

Oy, I'd have an orgasm if Amanpour took over for Rather. :lol: I LOVE HER!!!! She's one of the last true and respectable journalists. She got into trouble over the Iraq coverage because she refused to report what US officials told her to, and then she went on her own network and lambasted them for their coverage. :D

And I'll never forget when she cornered Clinton on live TV. :nod: She's got balls, just like Rather.

[SuzeQuze]

Do you think if Rather had not apologized he would still have a job? I mean, it seems that saying "I'm sorry" or admitting any type of guilt in this "culture" is no longer done. How dare Rather show humility! ;)

I heard that the documents were proven to be legitimate. I do not know if this is true but a guest on Air America said they had been legitimized (if that's a word). This may or may not be so, I have not had the time to research it.

[DrummerDeanna]

She's one of the last true and respectable journalists. S

Not true - NPR has a lot of true and respectable journalists...they adhere to a strict set of ethics...:nod:

[dissention]

Not true - NPR has a lot of true and respectable journalists...they adhere to a strict set of ethics...:nod:

Too bad it doesn't show in their programming. I used to listen to it all the time, but I would never dream of listening to it in its current state. It's really moved to the right whenever they report anything lately.

[DrummerDeanna]

Too bad it doesn't show in their programming. I used to listen to it all the time, but I would never dream of listening to it in its current state. It's really moved to the right whenever they report anything lately.

what!? that's totally not true - I listen to it every single day (because I have to) and they are actually very balanced...and good and thourough...I LIKE that they actually have the right view point on as well as the the left....in any other circle NPR is getting blasted for being too left - they can't win -and all they are doing is working their hardest to bring un=biased truth and facts back into reporting....

And yeah - NPR is not being run at all by people on the right so they could easily tilt to leftist programming but they don't...

Morning Edition and All Things Considered remain two of the top news sources in broadcast right now....

[DeeGeMe]

Deanna, I love you to death but I gotta go with Diss on this. I no longer listen to NPR either. I'm all about AAR these days. NPR has taken a decided turn to the right, but then again, what media hasn't????

They say John Roberts is the most likely person to get Dan's job. I'd love to see them put a screaming liberal in there though--just to piss the right off some more. Wonder how long Keith Olbermann's contract at MSNBC is good for. . . . better yet, give the job to Jon Stewart--make it a FUNNY, legit, hard-hitting newscast. That should haul in the ratings. Let's think outside the box for a change-I mean, if nothing else, the success of Faux has shown that it's all about entertainment anyway, right-that none of it has to be. . .what are the words. . .fair and balanced?

[dissention]

Deanna, I love you to death but I gotta go with Diss on this. I no longer listen to NPR either. I'm all about AAR these days. NPR has taken a decided turn to the right, but then again, what media hasn't????

They say John Roberts is the most likely person to get Dan's job. I'd love to see them put a screaming liberal in there though--just to piss the right off some more. Wonder how long Keith Olbermann's contract at MSNBC is good for. . . . better yet, give the job to Jon Stewart--make it a FUNNY, legit, hard-hitting newscast. That should haul in the ratings. Let's think outside the box for a change-I mean, if nothing else, the success of Faux has shown that it's all about entertainment anyway, right-that none of it has to be. . .what are the words. . .fair and balanced?

I say we ressurect Howard Beale from "Network" and put him in the anchor's chair. :laugh:

[DrummerDeanna]

Seriously though - NPR is NOT tilted to the right - I listen every day - can you give some examples on what you're percieving as right tilt?

I know how their operations go - and they truly strive to not tilt one way or the other - at least on their two biggest news programs....which also provide BOTH view points on the news :shrug: I can't even think of a story in which they didn't present both or all sides - or at least tried to....

Also NPR has a huge listener ship...conservatives aren't listening because they are always flying off about how Left NPR is....and you two are saying it's right?

I think it's a great news source and I know the people who are tryiing like hell to be in the middle...to me their doing a great job :shrug:

Oh - is AAR Air America? Because that is totally to the left right? *I really don't know because I am completely unfamiliar with them....

[dissention]

Seriously though - NPR is NOT tilted to the right - I listen every day - can you give some examples on what you're percieving as right tilt?

I know how their operations go - and they truly strive to not tilt one way or the other - at least on their two biggest news programs....which also provide BOTH view points on the news :shrug: I can't even think of a story in which they didn't present both or all sides - or at least tried to....

Also NPR has a huge listener ship...conservatives aren't listening because they are always flying off about how Left NPR is....and you two are saying it's right?

I think it's a great news source and I know the people who are tryiing like hell to be in the middle...to me their doing a great job :shrug:

Oh - is AAR Air America? Because that is totally to the left right? *I really don't know because I am completely unfamiliar with them....

AAR is very left-wing.

As for NPR, Terri Gross is the biggest example. She's a disgrace. She leans every broadcast to the right by not doing her job and asking the real questions. She distorts things so much that it's as if you're listening to Limbaugh's new pet project. Back when the whole Iraq war was on the horizon, she had guests on and badgered them about how their wives felt about abortion. I don't need to hear infotainment and Bush celebrating when we're about to invade a country for no reason. It shows a lack of class.

Daniel Schorr refers to Bush as "our fearless leader."

When there were the big protests in DC and San Francisco over the war, NPR devoted TWO WHOLE MINUTES to it, then brought in ANSWER a week later, the organizers of the DC peace march, and attempted to discredit everything they said. The on-air "talent" has an agenda.

I could go on further, but it just pisses me off too much. :laugh:

[DrummerDeanna]

AAR is very left-wing.

As for NPR, Terri Gross is the biggest example. She's a disgrace. She leans every broadcast to the right by not doing her job and asking the real questions. She distorts things so much that it's as if you're listening to Limbaugh's new pet project. Back when the whole Iraq war was on the horizon, she had guests on and badgered them about how their wives felt about abortion. I don't need to hear infotainment and Bush celebrating when we're about to invade a country for no reason. It shows a lack of class.

Daniel Schorr refers to Bush as "our fearless leader."

When there were the big protests in DC and San Francisco over the war, NPR devoted TWO WHOLE MINUTES to it, then brought in ANSWER a week later, the organizers of the DC peace march, and attempted to discredit everything they said. The on-air "talent" has an agenda.

I could go on further, but it just pisses me off too much. :laugh:

First off - Terry Gross does not host a news program - hers is a public affairs program and not news at all...NPR doesn't try to even market it as a news program.

Daniel Shorr is a commentator - those are opinion and he often says things in more of a sarcastic or satirical way :shrug:

The on air talent at NPR are all liberals...except maybe Juan Williams...as are almost ALL of the producers, editors and everyone on down...it's a very liberal organization but when it comes down to production time people put their views away...

And - NPR has done many stories on protests or people against the war...I don't know perhaps since I've been there I know the process and they are making a consious effort to not tilt either way in their news programs because again - they do have a great list of ethics...

As for Fresh Air with Terry Gross...in no way is she becoming as bad as Rush Limbaugh...and if she's so to the right - the how would one explain her very easy treatment of Al Franken - then her all out word battle with Bill O'Reilly in which he stormed out of the interview??

[SuzeQuze]

First off - Terry Gross does not host a news program - hers is a public affairs program and not news at all...NPR doesn't try to even market it as a news program.

Daniel Shorr is a commentator - those are opinion and he often says things in more of a sarcastic or satirical way :shrug:

The on air talent at NPR are all liberals...except maybe Juan Williams...as are almost ALL of the producers, editors and everyone on down...it's a very liberal organization but when it comes down to production time people put their views away...

And - NPR has done many stories on protests or people against the war...I don't know perhaps since I've been there I know the process and they are making a consious effort to not tilt either way in their news programs because again - they do have a great list of ethics...

As for Fresh Air with Terry Gross...in no way is she becoming as bad as Rush Limbaugh...and if she's so to the right - the how would one explain her very easy treatment of Al Franken - then her all out word battle with Bill O'Reilly in which he stormed out of the interview??

Ooh, tell me more about O'Liely storming out! What happened?

[DrummerDeanna]

Ooh, tell me more about O'Liely storming out! What happened?

Well - she interviewed him and it was shortly after Al Franken's book came out...and she asked Bill some questions (that I can't remember) that pissed him off - he kept saying, "Did you ask Al Franken that question!?!" He basically accused her of going way too easy on Franken and then beating up on him (Bill)...and finally he got so mad and just left the interview...oh it was over an article that was not favorable to O'Reilly - and he refused to read from it - or talk about it or something...he left so then Terry Gross proceeded to read the article in his absence....

It's been a long time since I've heard that show -but that's what I remember...

[dissention]

First off - Terry Gross does not host a news program - hers is a public affairs program and not news at all...NPR doesn't try to even market it as a news program.

Regardless, she has no class and an obvious agenda when she has presidential candidates on her show to badger them about how their wives feel about abortion. When she has guests on that are there to talk about current events such as Iraq and the election, she gives the Rethugs passes and never fails NOT to ask a single question that could be deemed intelligent or thought-out. I've no use for her.

Daniel Shorr is a commentator - those are opinion and he often says things in more of a sarcastic or satirical way :shrug:

Faux News is comprised of 80% commentators. All veer to the far-right. All I've heard from these "commentators" on NPR is Bush love. NPR used to be a bastion for fair political news, it is not anymore.

The on air talent at NPR are all liberals...except maybe Juan Williams...as are almost ALL of the producers, editors and everyone on down...it's a very liberal organization but when it comes down to production time people put their views away...

Could have fooled me.

And - NPR has done many stories on protests or people against the war...I don't know perhaps since I've been there I know the process and they are making a consious effort to not tilt either way in their news programs because again - they do have a great list of ethics...

That still doesn't explain their utter lack of quality reporting when it came to the build-up and eventual war in Iraq. They failed, and they failed miserably.

As for Fresh Air with Terry Gross...in no way is she becoming as bad as Rush Limbaugh...and if she's so to the right - the how would one explain her very easy treatment of Al Franken - then her all out word battle with Bill O'Reilly in which he stormed out of the interview??

I couldn't tell ya, I don't listen to that stuff anymore. However, if we're thinking of the interview where she brought up the accusations that he's a liar, I would hardly call her tiff with O'Reilly a "battle." He did all the blustering and she backed down like a little mouse.

[Highway Woman]

I don't feel like going through the old ones, I'll take your word for it. Also, did you notice that when you search for old Chit Chat threads, they only go back to April (I believe)? I tried to find one of the old Passion threads, but had no luck.




One way around this is to search for "all posts by 'x' person" on the User Profile which you can get to by clicking the poster's name. It will show the last 500 posts, and for most this will take you back farther than April 2004. This won't work of course if the person has posted 500 in the past month or so though! lol

[DrummerDeanna]

That still doesn't explain their utter lack of quality reporting when it came to the build-up and eventual war in Iraq. They failed, and they failed miserably.




Whoa - not that is totally off the mark...first off NPR was the ONLY American outlet who had someone in Baghdad when the war started....and she did an amazing job considering what she had to go through....Anne Garrels - is an incredibly talented and good reporter - she was in Iraq for the build up and the war and now she goes back in shifts..they have three or four people there.

NPR was hailed for their coverage of the war - and I will stand behind that because they did an excellent job - and continue to...

NPR also remains one of the most reliable and fair and respected news outlets inthe US - because they report the facts. They do not lean to the left...for every example you give of their right leanings - there are equal leanings to the left -why isthat? BEcause they strive for balance!

Also when reporting straight stories and facts...no leaning...they just get it right. period.

I don't know Terry Gross - she broadcasts out of Philadelphia - but at NPR in DC - the mode is liberal...left...but again - they leave it out of their jobs...

I respect NPR because they have earned their respect from me...the do good work, and they care most about getting things right...

[dissention]

Whoa - not that is totally off the mark...first off NPR was the ONLY American outlet who had someone in Baghdad when the war started....and she did an amazing job considering what she had to go through....Anne Garrels - is an incredibly talented and good reporter - she was in Iraq for the build up and the war and now she goes back in shifts..they have three or four people there.

NPR was hailed for their coverage of the war - and I will stand behind that because they did an excellent job - and continue to...

NPR also remains one of the most reliable and fair and respected news outlets inthe US - because they report the facts. They do not lean to the left...for every example you give of their right leanings - there are equal leanings to the left -why isthat? BEcause they strive for balance!

Also when reporting straight stories and facts...no leaning...they just get it right. period.

I don't know Terry Gross - she broadcasts out of Philadelphia - but at NPR in DC - the mode is liberal...left...but again - they leave it out of their jobs...

I respect NPR because they have earned their respect from me...the do good work, and they care most about getting things right...

We'll agree to disagree. In the past couple of years, it's gotten increasingly slanted towards the right. We'll agree to disagree.

[DrummerDeanna]

We'll agree to disagree. In the past couple of years, it's gotten increasingly slanted towards the right. We'll agree to disagree.

Agreed :laugh: except for that part about the right ;)

[strandinthewind]

I have to say I like NPR as well. I tend not to like things like AAR and Fox News because I am soooooooooooooooo tired of the yelling. NPR is often delightful in the news and in other programming, esp. Second Cup!!!!!!!! :woohoo:

[DrummerDeanna]

I have to say I like NPR as well. I tend not to like things like AAR and Fox News because I am soooooooooooooooo tired of the yelling. NPR is often delightful in the news and in other programming, esp. Second Cup!!!!!!!! :woohoo:


:xoxo: yea!