Students will have a unique opportunity to hear from one the most notable journalists of the past 30 years this Thursday. Dan Rather, the Emmy-winning former anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” will deliver a free lecture, “The Future of News: The Crisis in American Journalism and Why People Should Care,” at the Texas Union Ballroom on Thursday at 4 p.m.
As a network television journalist, Rather was the first to break news of the Kennedy assassination and provide in-depth coverage of the Watergate scandal and Nixon impeachment. As a correspondent for “60 Minutes” and the successor to beloved Texas journalist Walter Cronkite on the “Evening News,” Rather won numerous Peabody awards for his news coverage and special reports on topics such as the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. Clearly, Rather is one of the most qualified figures in American journalism today.
But criticism followed Rather throughout his career. Although he retained the strong viewership Cronkite pulled at CBS, the popularity of the “Evening News” fluctuated during his tenure as managing editor and anchor. While Rather plans to speak on the crisis of journalism in America, he was criticized by Peter Boyer of The New York Times for doing little to stop severe news staff layoffs in 1984. He has also been accused of having a double standard in his story selection, leaning toward coverage of more “liberal” issues, though he was among the first to point out a similar conservative bias on Fox News Channel, which he argued received talking points from the Bush administration and portrayed them as “news.”
Rather may be famous for his hard-nosed interviews of world leaders and his low-pitched Texas drawl, but he’ll be infamous for the 2004 Killian documents controversy, during which he was castigated for reporting a story on George W. Bush’s Air National Guard service record after consulting what most experts consider inauthentic documents. CBS defended itself by claiming it was misled by the provider of the documents, and Rather was quoted on “Larry King Live” in 2007 saying, “Nobody has proved that they were fraudulent, much less a forgery.” The fallout from the story led to several management changes at CBS and most likely hastened Rather’s retirement in 2005. Rather later unsuccessfully tried to sue CBS for making him a scapegoat in the aftermath of the story.
But despite the rocky ending of Rather’s CBS career, he is considered one of the most influential figures in journalism. Rather has accused journalists of softness in the covering news and missing the true story — what many journalists need, he has said, is a “spine transplant.”
Few journalists have walked the walk like Rather, who has long spoken out for courageous and critical reporting. It may be that drive that led him and the “CBS Evening News” to go ahead with the Killian documents story. But Rather’s historic and decorated background proves his style has ultimately benefited American journalism. He has experienced the gifts of a judicious mind and the consequences of brash action. His background, with its triumphs and criticisms, is a reminder of why it is important to be strong-headed and thorough in reporting, and his speech is sure to remind us why journalism matters.
