Summary
For half a century, Dan Rather has covered the major news stories of our time: the civil rights movement, the assassination of JFK, Vietnam, Watergate, 9-11, Iraq, Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib. For twenty-four of those years, he was the network face of TV journalism as the anchor of the CBS Evening News . At the end of his tenure, he became part of the news himself. Now for the first time, Dan tells the real story of his final months at CBS, including his removal from the anchor chair in the wake of the controversy surrounding the story of George W. Bush and the Texas Air National Guard. He also exposes the frantic and secret behind-the-scenes machinations that followed. These clandestine maneuvers unmasked the independence of the investigation by the Thornburgh commission, revealing a news division that had, Rather believes, temporarily abandoned its principles in order to enhance the bottom line of the parent company. In Rather Outspoken , Dan looks back over his entire career, from his boyhood in Houston, Texas, through his coverage of every US president since Eisenhower, to his successful return to investigative reporting on Dan Rather Reports for Mark Cuban's HDNet. Since leaving CBS, he has been engaged full time in the kind of hard hitting journalism pioneered by his boyhood idol, Edward R. Murrow-and he has the Emmys to prove it. Along the way, he sounds an urgent call for more programs like his own-more investigative journalists and more in-depth reporting, even in the face of what he calls the corporatization, politicization, and trivialization of the news. Dan Rather makes an eloquent case for the critical importance of a free and independent press as a check on political power, and its responsibility to be the voice of the people, to force government to be fair, reasonable, and democratic. Throughout his career, Dan has been dedicated to the two bedrock principles of journalism: first, find out the truth; and then, tell people about it. In Rather Outspoken , he follows those principles and opens up as never before. It all makes for a compelling, eye-opening listen.
Dan Rather was born in Wharton, Texas, October 31, 1931. He attended Sam Houston State College at Huntsville, Texas, and earned his B.A. in Journalism in 1953. He went on to earn his Law degree from the University of Houston and South Texas School of Law.
After graduation he became a Journalism instructor at Sam Houston State College and worked for United Press International, and the Houston Chronicle as a news writer, reporter, and news director. He joined the CBS radio affiliate KTRH in Houston in the mid-late 1950s. He became the director of news and public affairs for CBS television affiliate KHOU in Houston in the late 1950s to 1961. From 1961 to 1964 he was the chief of CBS's southwestern bureau in Dallas. In 1963 he became the CBS White House Correspondent, and two years later the chief of the CBS London bureau for a year. In 1966 he was a war correspondent in Vietnam and returned to a position as CBS White House correspondent from 1966 to 1974.
In 1974, Rather became the anchor-correspondent for CBS Reports for a year before becoming the correspondent and co-editor for 60 Minutes until 1981. He has been an anchor for Dan Rather Reporting on the CBS Radio Network since 1977 and anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather form 1981 to 2005. In 1988 he became the anchor for 48 Hours and has anchored numerous CBS news specials.
Rather is the recipient of the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters' awards for spot news coverage in 1956 and 1959. He has received numerous Emmy Awards for his outstanding news reports. In May 2007, Rather received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Siena College in Loudonville, New York, for his lifetime contributions to journalism. Rather is also a columnist whose work is distributed by King Features Syndicate. On May 28, 2007, Rather compared historical events to events in the Star Wars films in the History Channel special, "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed". Rather continues to speak out against alleged influence in journalism by corporations and governments. At a recent conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sponsored by the group Free Press, Rather criticized both local and national news organizations, stating, according to reports, that there is no longer incentive to do "good and valuable news." Rather has since resumed his career with HDNet, a high-definition cable television station as a producer and hosts a weekly one-hour show called Dan Rather Reports as of October 24, 2006. Rather also has contributed as a guest on The Chris Matthews Show, and on The Daily Show. He has also formed an independent company called News and Guts Media.
(Bowker Author Biography)
