1. Dan Rather Chris Raine J-503 May 5, 2007

2. Dan Rather “A Pioneer and a Lightning Rod”

3. Early Career 1950 - Began career as AP reporter in Huntsville, TX 1959 - Became news director for KHOU-TV in Houston 1961 - Reported live from Galveston seawall during Hurricane Carla 1962 - Hired by CBS as a news correspondent 1964 - Became CBS White House Correspondent 1968 - Punched by security “thugs” at Democratic convention in Chicago

4. Rather succeeds Cronkite March 9, 1981

5. CBS Evening News 1991 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9mYUgBDe5g

6. Falling Ratings In 1980’s CBS Evening News was the top rated news program in America In 1989, CBS falls to second place By 1995, CBS is third in the ratings All the networks’ ratings are falling as cable news and the internet offer more choices

7. Enter Connie Chung http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0fRkfh5kr8 Connie Chung becomes co- anchor June 1st, 1993 Rather and Chung have shaky relationship Chung does more fluff interviews and pop journalism Pairing doesn’t help ratings Chung removed as anchor after insensitive Oklahoma City bombing questions

8. Interview with a Tyrant Rather interviews Saddam Hussein shortly after Iraq invades Kuwait

9. “Rather” Biased Rather is a constant target of conservatives, who accuse him of reporting with a strong liberal bias Former CBS reporter Bernard Goldberg levels charges of “heavy liberal bias” at CBS and Rather Accusations stretch from Nixon years to Iran-Contra coverage to 2004 election

10. “RatherGate” In 2004, Rather reported that he had documents proving that President Bush did not fulfill his military duties “Killian Documents” are alleged to be fakes by bloggers and other news organizations Rather stands by his reporting Leads to his retirement as anchor of CBS Evening News, March 9, 2005

11. Dan Rather’s Legacy Anchored CBS Evening News for 24 years Longest tenure as network news anchor in history Dominated the news ratings for nearly a decade before decline Widely respected, widely hated In America’s living rooms for over 40 years, covering presidents from JFK to George W. Bush

12. Citations Wikipedia entry: Dan Rather. Retrieved on May 5, 2007. www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=49&aid=74795 www.museum.tv/archives/etv/R/htmlR/ratherdan/ratherdan.htm www.stateofthemedia.org/2007/chartland www.csmonitor.com/2005/0309/p03s01-ussc.html