CBS to boot Dan Rather from "60 Minutes"; Rather "hurt, puzzled"

WP: Stopwatch Ticking for Dan Rather
CBS to Drop Ex-Anchor From '60 Minutes'
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 15, 2006; Page C01

NEW YORK -- CBS executives have decided there is no future role at the network for Dan Rather, making it certain that the man who sat in the anchor chair for 24 years will depart by this fall.

These executives recognize Rather's contributions over four decades and are not trying to boot him because of the controversy surrounding his botched story on President Bush and the National Guard, say network sources who declined to be named while discussing a sensitive personnel matter. But the executives concluded there was no room for Rather at "60 Minutes," particularly with incoming anchor Katie Couric planning to report a half-dozen stories a year and the hiring of CNN's Anderson Cooper as a part-time contributor.

Rather's contract expires in November, but the sources say he might leave before that, depending on negotiations with CBS.

Rather, 74, declined to discuss his future this week. "I'm contracted to be a full-time '60 Minutes' correspondent, and I'm working on that contract," he said. People familiar with Rather's situation say he has had no serious negotiations with any of the cable networks but has attracted interest from people developing projects for television.

Rather has said several times that "my best work is still ahead of me." He is described by friends as hurt and puzzled by the attitude of CBS management....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR2006061402394.html

It's a shame that he's being shoved out this way. He's the last of the old guard of journalism and, in spite of the 'dodgy document' affair, deserves better than this. It will be a pity if all we see of him from now on is as a linkman for 'The Worlds Most Amazing Balls of String' on the Discovery Channel.

hand. It's just that he never thought it would happen to him.

No more of that depressing "Rather blather."

Maybe Katie can do another pelvic exam for ratings week.

Ever since her interview with Hilary in the White House back in the last century. I just remember her being so "upbeat" and it not fitting with the situation and whatever questions she was asking. So, I will not be tuning in to her. I like Bob Schieffer.

so that there is more room for Bush bootlickers who have no concept of journalism.

real good if he turned to radical truth-telling and investigative journalism.

CBS has gone from best to worst,in some ways. Can't imagine Paley doing this to Murrow.

No reason to watch 60 minutes now either, thee aren't many shows left. Thank gawd for washington journal

there. They are a shadow of what once was a trustworthy source of the straight skinny on the crooks and thieves in Washington. Reliable news reporting is rapidly becoming extinct. Corporate liars are replacing the honest reporter everywhere you look. America slips farther toward 1939 Nazi Germany every day.

There will never be anyone even close to a Dan Rather, or a Walter Cronkite at CBS again. I just can't trust CBS, like I had for a lifetime. Pity...

I wont watch Katie and her "feel good" style. Look for less politics and more health & what they used to call "women's news." I'll just spend 6:30-7:00 on the internet and catch Jim Lehrer on PBS.

and I think he leans to the right more than Dan did. I think he is very easy on Bush most of the time. Maybe Schieffer had orders from the corporation to ease up on Bush? CBS evening news just never did feel right to me after Rather left, so I quit watching a while back. I've been very sad about the quality of "Truth" media wide, but the demise of truthfulness on CBS news, hits me the hardest of all. They were the last network news people I trusted and now even that is gone.

Me sitting here watching the Bush gang trash my country, step by step, day by day, is very hard for me handle, sometimes. I'd hate to think I had a hand in it, like some of the media people do. I don't know how they deal with the guilt that they must surely feel.

Miles & 1-cylinderdad, Dana Milbank, Brian Williams, Anderson Cooper, Tweety, Lou Dobbs, Brian Lamb, the entire Fox lot. No conscience?
I really miss Bernie Shaw, John Chancellor, Howard K Smith, and Peter Jennings.

murdered?" Shaw out of the "decent" column, please.

When I heard that question my heart sank. I had the SAME feeling the night before election day 2004 when on Fox Shepard Smith suddenly said "stand by for a new tape from Osama Bin Laden." Both incidents were extremely effective in turning the tide toward the republican. Maybe Bernie was the prototype for Kenneth Blackwell! That said I did like him as a reporter.

Jeez, what the hell? Do they want him dead?!?!
Could someone start a petition or something? Something?????

:hi:

big enough to help draw the necessary ratings. :sarcasm:

So we can't have anyone on board who's not willing to shill constantly for the far right.

In fact, we need to make an example of them.

Pox on both their houses.

I'll give them an "A" for consistency: fire Rather and hire Couric. That way, nobody will doubt where the network is taking its news department. And what a shame. Great history and great potential at one time.

Gotta make room for Katie, and free up some cash for her ridiculous salary. I really do hope there's a large and instantaneous ratings drop when Katie arrives. And I hope the trend continues as CBS tries to make Katie more serious, no doubt with many make overs.

It won't work.

Loni Anderson would be a better choice for anchor. At least she doesn't pretend to be something she isn't, and I dare say her credibility is much higher than Courics.

I know I'm not going to watch. I just plain don't care for her. And i like Bob Schieffer and Dan Rather. So I'm going over to ABC.

And if Loni is already booked, how about Margot Kidder?

:-(

Sad.

Cronkite must be feeling some secret satisfaction, though. He was given the boot (too old) to make way for Rather, and Rather stayed on way longer than Walter was allowed to.

.....truth regardless of who's dandruff got ruffled. The newer ones and especially the Katie Couric types are very biased and only occasionally appear to be true journalists. The problem is most journalists confuse journalism with commentary.:banghead:

He must be feeling a little unrestrained now, free to perform some deviant acts that have been somewhat pent up.

.

for years now, I guess this is payback.

He is going to hang himself with his own rope before it's over.

Our corporate masters have a day coming. Up is down and down is up.

After they booted Aaron Brown and replaced him with Anderson Cooper the ratings went down. People like to see news and not just fluff.

i heard him say he would like to write the inside story of the tang mess. mary mapes would like some revenge as well.
hoping for :popcorn:

and has enjoyed a retirement.. Sometimes people just hang on too long.. Rather had to have seen the handwriting on the wall as soon as junior flopped his bony ass on the throne.. Had Rather been given support, he might have done well, but 9-11 DID change everything for the news coverage, so there was never a chance in hell that he would ride out the term of george, the lesser.

Rather has to be stunned to see himself taken down so dramatically...and so public. I wish he would just write a scathing book or two, and perhaps team up with Greg Palast or Robert Kennedy jr, and go on the speaking tour.. He has something to say, but the oxygen has all been sucked out , and he's not going to get mush more airtime here...if ever..

If he can get out of contract to CBS, he'll be able to do whatever he wants, wherever he wants.

always write a fucking book that sells a Million copies!

Stupid.. the very young don't watch network news; the older "loyal" audience will hold this against Couric and the network--as well they should. I predict and hope for a major backlash--at least against their nightly news program. Couric pisses me off. I used to like her and defended her after her husband died, but she is (and always was) a light weight. I want to see women succeed, but give us a deserving journalist like Christiane Armanpour. But, don't shove dedicated journalists like Rather out the door. This is pure retaliation, IMO.

n/t

do away with anybody who questioned the Bush regime.

I'd already decided to switch to ABC when she shows up on the CBS Evening News. I guess I'm scratching 60 Minutes, too.

what a terrible thing to do to Dan Rather, to get people like Katie Couric shows how they want to dumb down Americans even more.

How many have been purged and how many more will be?

It is absolutely disgusting.

When is it time to create a new channel and hire this talent for it?

Picture a station that has the people above along with reports from people like Amanpour or Olbermann. Picture the instant ratings from people thirsting for true and truthful investigative reporting. Surely some consortium could put this together and make it happen.

before Bu**sh** zeroes out funding for PBS completely.

That would rock!

Gosh, she's so cute! Wow! What 60 Minutes needs is more eye candy and less of those complicated, anti-American stories...

:sarcasm:

are not trying to boot him because of the controversy surrounding his botched story on President Bush and the National Guard"

Yeah, right. Lying a**h***s...