Dan Rather has spoken many times of the importance of fair and accurate journalism. Rather has also remarked on how important it is for a reporter to keep his or her emotions and biases out of the news. See also "Defending Himself".

For an alternative perspective to Rather's, see our interview with author and former CBS correspondent Bernard Goldberg.

"So when I ask you to present your information responsibly, when I ask myself and my colleagues to do the same, I'm not necessarily asking us to be responsible reporters (although I won't object if we are responsible reporters). I'm simply asking us to be more like Roy Rogers. When we have information to present, let us present it responsibly." "Presenting information responsibly means doing so as if you are accountable for what you say -- even if nobody ever does hold you to account."
--Dan Rather in a speech at the Video Software Dealers Association convention, July 7, 1998.

"I do believe in what's become an archaic word for journalists: objectivity. You know my job is to be accurate, be fair, and in so far as it's humanly possible, to keep my feelings out of every story.... I do agree that one test of a reporter is how often he or she is able to keep their emotions out of what they are doing and keep their own biases and agendas out of it."
--Dan Rather to Tim Russert on CNBC, September 20, 1997.

"If people watch you every night, they can see right into your soul."
--Dan Rather, quoted in USA Today, March 5, 1985.

"You are always conscious of what happens when you do become a part of the story you cover, like it or not, and I didn't."
--Dan Rather in The Camera Never Blinks, 1977.

"[T]hose of us in the mainstream media are trained to set our opinions aside as far as humanly possible."
--Dan Rather in The Humanist, November/December 1990.

LARRY KING: Can you be a dispassionate journalist?
RATHER: Yes, can be. Doesn't mean that one always is. You know, Larry, we've talked about this, you and I, over the years. But I do think that the hallmark of a good reporter is how well, how often he or she is able to drain their own personal opinions out of their reporting. No one can do it perfectly all the time every day and ever way on every story, and I certainly haven't.
But over a period of time, how hard the reporter tries to do that and how often he or she succeeds I think is one way to judge a reporter.
I do believe in what used to be called 'objective reporting.' I think there is such a thing. This has gotten to be controversial in journalism, and in this case I'm an 'Old Testament' believer that that's possible. And most reporters do a pretty good job of it, and you know, my hope and my prayer every time I go out on a story is that I can do that.
"Now, it's like -- it's a little like the Ten Commandments. No one can live up to every letter of each of the Ten Commandments in every way all their life. I don't mean to be sacrilegious here, but in a small, minuscule way trying to keep your own personal opinions out of your reporting is the goal, and it's a goal that one has to continue to be trying to achieve. And on your best days, you may come pretty close."
--Dan Rather and Larry King on Larry King Live, April 19, 2000.

"Good journalism must be independent. It must be fair and accurate and if does these things it may serve to make the world a better place."
--Dan Rather in a speech at Harvard University, receiving a Goldsmith journalism award, March 12, 1998.

"While Washington and much of the nation's radio, television and press and Internet outlets titillate themselves and they hope you, with the latest rumors and speculation about what they believe is a 'sexual scandal,' and while President Bush is engaging in New York photo ops aimed at helping himself and his party politically with immigration-conscious voters, especially northeastern Catholics, it may be as good a time as any to ask: why isn't there at least equal attention being paid to what's happening to the world economy? Caution if not outright warning flags are up worldwide.
"This on-going and still developing story doesn't sell as well as sex, that's true. The belief that sexy, titillating rumor mill stuff may very well do better for ratings and circulation, in the short term, anyway. But where and when the highest standards are applied to what is important journalism and what is not? Can any reasonable person argue that what's happening with the global economy isn't more important and matters more to Americans from all walks of life?"
--Dan Rather in Rather Reporting, July 11, 2001.

"Do you think newsmagazines rely too heavily on celebrity stories? I do. We are trying hard to resist that. Some of my competitors say, 'Dan's living somewhere in the past if he thinks a program can survive without this kind of material.' We shall see.
"What's been the impact of so many prime-time newsmagazines? The impact is considerable. They've created an undertow away from news values and toward entertainment values. Since the beginning of TV there's been a struggle to prevent entertainment values from completely overwhelming news values, and I think now we're very near the point where (that has happened).
"Is that limited to prime time? No. Watch the newscasts in the early evening and there are precious few that have at their dominant core hard news values. But I'm committed to the proposition that a program that has core news values not only can survive, but can thrive."
--Dan Rather, quoted in the Atlanta Constitution, December 9, 1997.

"One way in which then and now are more or less the same is that despite the many channels covering the news on September 11, we ignored what everyone else was doing. Only this story would have me saying that I did not once think about the competition. Generally you do: "What are 'the biscuits' doing?" (That's how we refer to NBC around here—as "the biscuits." I won't say why, and I won't tell you how we refer to ABC, except to say that it's a Disney character.) I did tell myself, however, that when all this is over, I hope it's said that we were the most accurate and that we were good at our jobs. Every reporter's prayer, or at least this reporter's prayer, is: "Lord, if you can see your way clear, give me the big story. And by the way, if you do, please let me be at or near my best on it." A version of that I did think about."
--Dan Rather in an interview for Texas Monthly, November 2001.

"I was taught by parents, my preacher and my bosses Fred Friendly and Frank Stanton that you do what's right, even when nobody notices, perhaps especially when nobody notices. Because the point isn't to be noticed; it is to be right."
--Dan Rather in a speech at Harvard University, receiving a Goldsmith journalism award, March 12, 1998.

"With facts, accuracy and fairness always as our guideposts, we're trying to dig deep as part of our coverage of the White House under fire."
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, January 26, 1998.

John Solomon, a writer for George magazine, followed around Dan Rather to see what a typical news day was like and what types of stories would be run--or be rejected:
"A new study showing that too many Americans are overweight is offered. 'What's the bullshit factor in this?' asks Rather. Others argue that although the story may not be important, the audience will find it interesting.
"Finding the right balance between important and interesting is the major task in the fishbowl {the room where the night's news is planned}. 'We aim to separate the brass tacks from the bull shine,' Rather says. 'Now if the bull shine is really interesting, then we're going to give some of that, too.'"
--Dan Rather, quoted in George, May 1997.

Rather's legacy will be "as a good, straight, hard news reporter who was not afraid to cover the news, was not afraid to go where it was and was not afraid to tell people exactly what he thought about it."
--CBS political correspondent Bob Schieffer in American Journalism Review, June 1998.

"Rather's day-to-day commitment to substantive, fair and accurate news reporting and his tough, active style have cemented for him a position of unrivaled respect among his peers and the public."
--Praise of Rather on the CBS News Web site.

"So this is a limited amount that the president is authorizing, federal monies, to be spent for stem cell research. Obviously this is a very complicated subject. It's the kind of subject that, frankly, radio and television have some difficulty with because it is--requires such depth into the complexities of it. So we can, with, I think, impunity, recommend that if you're really interested in this, you'll want to read in detail one of the better newspapers tomorrow."
--Dan Rather during a CBS Special Report, August 9, 2001.

"TV news tends to be a headline service, not an in-depth service. Anybody who just watches TV news cannot be well-informed. You have to read."
--Dan Rather to the San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle, January 5, 1975.

Journalists must overcome the fear "that you can't do right and do well at the same time.... Fear that if you listen to the wee small voice within you that says, 'Don't do this. It's not good journalism' or if you listen to the small voice that says, 'Do it.' And it might be good journalism, it might be great. The fear is that if you listen to those voices that you won't have your job very long, whatever your job is."
--Dan Rather in Cigar Aficionado, March 1996.

The impeachment crisis was in full swing. Dan Rather reported the day's news before interrupting himself:
"Let's pause now for a moment to underscore the importance of this week for the United States of America. For only the second time in our country's history, the House of Representatives, your elected representatives, will decide whether to impeach the President, to officially accuse him of high crimes and misdemeanors."
"It would be impossible to overstate how serious this is and how fast it is now moving. We want you to know that CBS News is committed to bringing you fair, accurate, crystal-clear coverage as the House makes this momentous decision."
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, December 14, 1998.

At the end of a speech, Rather answered questions from the audience:
QUESTIONER: Does it bother you that you and your colleagues have the power to oust presidents, start wars in the case of William Randolph Hearst, or even cause princesses to die in the case of--if you consider paparazzi media?
RATHER: The answer is no. But I'll give it my best shot. First of all, I say this respective to the question: I don't believe those things are true. In a lifetime in journalism, low and, yes, sometimes high leads me to a different conclusion: widely believed it may be but true it is not that the media, the press--the word I prefer to use--got, quote, "got" Richard Nixon. Not true. The people of the United States got Richard Nixon. Some may be starting wars (unintelligible)
The press is at its best in where it fills its role, best I think in our our system, as an honest broker of information. What the press does do is get the people the facts and when the people have the facts, they make up their mind what they want to do. So it was with Richard Nixon, so it will be with Bill Clinton. If Bill Clinton stays in office, if he finishes his term, it will not be because the press decided he should do so. And if he leaves office, through resignation or forced by impeachment or what have you, it won't be because the press got him. It will be because the facts came out and the people decided they wanted to do it.
I would respectfully lead you away from the conclusion that the press has all of this power. The press does have a power, a very strong power, a very potent; it is the power to inform. But Ed Murrow once said, in this context, when it comes to opinion, mine doesn't count much more or any more than the guy at the end of the bar. And the American people are very smart about that. Their wisdom, to me or to Marvin or to any other reporter with any credentials, so long as we are saying, "these are the facts," "this is the context, this is the perspective." The second we say, "Let me tell you what I think," they'll listen, but they discount it heavily.
--Dan Rather speaking at Harvard University, receiving a Goldsmith journalism award, March 12, 1998.

CBS was facing high-profile charges of bias and Dan Rather rallied the troops at the annual affiliates meeting; the 700 affiliate executives applauded loudly:
"Insofar as it's humanly possible, and with God's help, we're going to report it straight."
--Dan Rather quoted at the 1985 CBS affiliates meeting in San Francisco, May 24.

Larry King asked Dan Rather about the morality of having former political movers and shakers from parties becoming reporters for networks:
"In some cases, and I don't exclude CBS News from this criticism, what happens is they're brought on to, and they're allowed to give their opinion on the air and we don't say this is their opinion. They go into some political or highly partisan ideological rant, from where I sit. I have no objection to that being done, but I think it needs to be clearly labeled and also the other side or other sides need to be given a chance. I think this is valid criticism. I'm glad to hear the public is picking up on it."
--Dan Rather on Larry King Live, January 13. 1997.

DAN RATHER: Look, a Bill Moyers came out of the Lyndon Johnson White House and became one of the great journalists of all time.
LARRY KING: But a major liberal, self-confessed.
RATHER: Ah, is he? I don't want to get into that, but he was terrific.
--Dan Rather and Larry King on Larry King Live, January 13, 1997.
Note: Moyers's journalistic star dimmed in 1999 after it was discovered that he was giving money to liberal interest groups while reporting on them.

"My job is to be accurate and fair, an honest broker of information. Period."
--Dan Rather in his book I Remember, 1991.

"I walk out every day trying to have a big 'I' for independence stamped right in the middle of my forehead. I try to play no favorites, pull no punches."
--Dan Rather at a CBS News press conference, reported in the Houston Chronicle, July 18, 1992.

While defending his own independence, Rather is not afraid to question the independence of other journalists:
"Turning to the looming U.S. showdown with Saddam Hussein, Iraqi television has aired portions of a rare meeting between the Iraqi dictator and Arab journalists who describe themselves as independent."
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, October 9, 2002.

PAULA ZAHN: On to the issue of some broader ideas of what's being debated in our business. Peter Jennings in an interview suggested back in March, that quote, "There are not enough conservative voices in mainstream broadcasting." What's your response to that?
DAN RATHER: Well, Peter speaks for himself. When Peter speaks, I listen very carefully. I don't think reporters should see themselves as conservatives, liberals, Democrats, Republicans, or for that matter, Mugwumps. I think reporters should take the view "Pull no punches, play no favorites," that insofar as it's humanly possible, to be objective reporters. I recognize that there are people in journalism, and certainly a lot of people in politics, who see this as an archaic view. But that's my view. I think--
ZAHN: But of course, there's a whole blood sport that's come up of they're accusing you of being a liberal.
RATHER: Well, of course there's a blood sport, and I understand that. There's also a blood sport on the other side of, you know, accusing you of being a tool of corporate America and therefore a reactionary. They very rarely use the word "conservative."
But you know, a lifetime in journalism has taught me that the people--the public in general, viewers, listeners and readers, don't think in--they recognize it pretty quickly. And they will do one of two things. They will either get mad at you, or they will discount it and say, "Well, look, he made a mistake today, but tomorrow it'll be OK."
I think here's the important thing. I recognize that some reporters say, "Look, I want the world to know I'm a Republican and I'm a conservative," or however they want to describe themselves. "I just want to say I want the world to know I'm a Democrat or I'm a liberal."
That's fine if they really feel that way, but however anyone may see me from a distance, I don't feel that way. I try to be an honest broker of information. I try to--insofar as it's humanly possible, to be accurate, fair, drain my own biases, whatever they may be, out of it.
Now, no one can do that every day in every way on every story, but I see it a little--I don't mean to be sacrilegious here--a little like the 10 Commandments. We all know we should live up to the 10 Commandments, but who among us says we're able to do it every day? But one test of the character of a person is how often they try and how often they succeed to live up to the 10 Commandments.
Now, in journalism, I can't do it perfectly, but I'm willing to be judged on the basis of how hard do I try and how often have I succeeded in being simply an honest broker of information? What I won't do--and this is what gets me in trouble with some people. What I won't do is allow someone to tell me how to report the news.
There are people, particularly in politics and people who feel very strong ideologically, who want to say, "Listen, you either report the news the way we want you to report it, or we're going to punish you, Dan Rather." And they set out to punish you, not just me, but--
ZAHN: Do you feel you've been punished?
RATHER: No, I don't really think--
ZAHN: I mean, what do you make of the--of so many charges out there that you're--you are a lefty?
RATHER: Well, first of all, I never rule out the possibility that the other person is right. Some criticism is justified. I've been doing of smile at--and I am able to smile at it now--is that criticism that says, "Well, because he doesn't report it our way, we're really going to make him pay a price." I pay that price happily. While I think it's--
ZAHN: And what--and how does--
RATHER: I like--I wear it--
ZAHN: --that go about--
RATHER: as a badge of honor. Quite frankly, I--you know, I have a lot of scars, but I'd like to think, when it comes to this kind of criticism, my wounds are at least always from the front.
--Dan Rather and Paula Zahn on The Edge With Paula Zahn, May 22, 2001.

"[T]here's plenty to raise hell about, and too few reporters left who believe in asking the tough questions--in raising a little hell."
--Dan Rather in The Humanist, November/December 1990.

"I don't like the word 'balance' as applied to journalistic work, because to me, that carries with it at least a connotation that you're going to, if you run 15 words about the Republican Party, then you've got to run 15 words about the Democratic Party. That's balance. But I think "fairness" is the word I prefer."
--Dan Rather being interviewed by Hedrick Smith on PBS, 1996.

"I love the news. You know, news is addictive. I tell young journalists sometimes, be careful about news, because it's more addictive than crack-cocaine in its own special way. But no, I can't -- you know, it used to be said of the old cowboys in Texas that they were crying for daylight because they just loved to herd cows, crying for daylight. Well, when it comes to news, I'm always crying for daylight. There's never been a day that I wasn't just really eager to get at it."
--Dan Rather on Larry King Live, April 19, 2000.

"I understand keeping secrets from the viewer, I don't understand keeping secrets from me."
--Dan Rather, to a CBS News employee, about early 1996 election results.

"We work hard not to use anonymous sources. We have our standards. We don't subscribe to them,"
--Dan Rather at an American Society of News Editors conference.

"I was taught early on that one of the fundamentals of being a good journalist is to play no favorites, pull no punches, and -- insofar as humanly possible -- have no fear of the results."
--Dan Rather in The Humanist, November/December 1990.

"To be a journalist is to ask questions."
--Dan Rather speaking at the forty-eighth annual conference of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, September 29, 1993.

"The camera can also be manipulated. At the very least, it must be turned in one direction -- only one direction at a time -- and it must exclude everything that falls outside its range. Who chooses what direction to point the camera, and why? We see all the time that videotape, although it seems neutral, never is -- any more than any other form of communication. That's why it's so important to present information responsibly."
--Dan Rather in a speech at the Video Software Dealers Association convention, July 7, 1998.

"[M]y basic job as a reporter is to keep my opinions out of it, insofar as that's humanly possible. Now nobody can do it every day and every way on every story. But as is the case with the Ten Commandments, that's the ideal, and it's an ideal for which I'm always striving." "I am committed to a phrase that's become a bit archaic in journalism. I'm committed, by and large, to objective journalism, which is to say journalism that takes the view, 'My major responsibility is to be accurate and fair, to be an honest broker of information.'"
--Dan Rather to host Brian Lamb on C-SPAN's Booknotes, July 25, 1999. print_file('footer'); ?>