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2001 & Earlier

In order to keep loading time down on our main "What's New" page, we shift older stories from the current year into "Previous News." Articles from before get broken down as well. This page is an archive of our work from our launch in 2000 to the year 2001. Please note that some of the links referenced here may no longer be valid because of the passage of time.

This time-period was a particularly rough one for Rather. He got into trouble for several things, most prominently headlining a fund-raiser for the Democratic Party of Texas. Rather also stirred up controversy with his remarks about former president Bill Clinton whom he said was fundamentally "an honest person." For the first time in his career, people inside CBS began talking openly about hiring a replacement for the aging Texan.

2001-11-26 19:03:50 PT

• As a college student at Sam Houston State Teachers College, Dan Rather, the editor of the school paper, proclaimed the virtues of the Democratic candidate for President, Adlai Stevenson: "I'm madly for Adlai first and foremost because I'm a Democrat. I believe in the principles of the Democratic party and believe those principles have given this nation the most prosperous years."

  Rather's statement as a college student conflicts with a later statement he made about Stevenson's Republican opponent, Dwight Eisenhower. After an allegation of bias, Rather responded by saying, "As far as your labeling of me as a liberal, I'm not sure where you (or anyone else) get such ideas, since I've never discussed my politics in public or private except to say that I voted for Eisenhower twice." In both of Eisenhower's campaigns, the Democratic opponent was Adlai Stevenson.

• One of Rather's 2001 embarrassments is discussed in Bill O'Reilly's new book, The No-Spin Zone. The host of Fox New's O'Reilly Factor tells of his grilling of Dan Rather last spring. In what he called "one of my all-time favorite" interviews, he grilled Rather for failing to do investigative reporting during the Clinton years, and for Rather's remark about Clinton's honesty. O'Reilly said Rather was soft on Clinton because "Dan Rather is more of a pragmatist. He indeed has seen it all and is willing to tolerate far more shenanigans than I am. He understands that a certain amount of corruption is built into the system and is willing to play by those rules. I am not."
• Despite being very critical of Dan Rather, we've operated this Web site with no animus toward him. He is a competitive journalist and is dedicated to "being first." But his creativity is marred by the influence of his personal political views, which taint otherwise good reporting. We appreciate those who've read our work and those at CBS who acknowledged our criticisms.

2001-11-06 15:51:14 PT

• In the next issue of Rolling Stone, Rather finds fault with the military for not allowing enough access for journalists covering the war in Afghanistan. "They want the public to have a perception that everything is beautiful." He complains about the military's refusal to reveal the location of targets for attack, claiming they're confidential: "So let me get this straight. The enemy knows where the targets are because they've just been hit, right? And the people who hit the targets obviously know because they have mission analysis afterward. So by and large, the only people being kept in the dark are the American people."

  Rather says that Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of the U.S. Central Command in central Asia, "has been the least accessible of any U.S. commander with this many troops and this much responsibility in the history of the country. Saying that will probably eliminate me from ever getting an interview with him. But we need the facts in full. I'll go ahead and say it: I may be wrong, but on my bullshit meter, the pointer begins to bound against the post."

• After Congress finally passed a version of an airline security bill, Dan Rather said it was "watered-down" after some elements of what House Republicans wanted were put into the bill.
• On Tuesday Nov. 13, Rather received the Silver Circle Gala Award from the New York chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. There to present the award was Connie Chung, Rather's former co-anchor. Trying to make up for bad blood in the past, Chung sang her own lyrics to the tune of "Love and Marriage."
  "Dan and Connie, Chung and Rather, time to put aside the past and gather," she sang. "Glad that I came back, Dan. What's done is done. You're No. 1."

2001-11-06 15:51:14 PT

• Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer air two unbalanced reports on the Congressional debate over airline security, recounting Democrats' views on why Republicans opposed their proposal and not relaying what the Republicans thought.
• Rather says he'd be happy to go along on commando raids in Afghanistan if he got the chance. "I'm ready to go. I'm ready to jump," he said.
• This past Sunday, Rather served as a guest announcer for the Dallas Cowboys radio network. "He knows the game from couch-potatoing on most fall Sundays through the years," writes Sports Illustrated's Peter King. The special-guest "color man" dished out a few of his "Ratherisms," some recycled, some new. After Dallas returned an interception for a touchdown: "Did you see Giants coach Jim Fassel? He leaped up like somebody stuck him with a hat pin." On the Cowboys' early 17-7 lead: "You don't taunt the alligator till you cross the creek, and they still have plenty of creek to cross." Rather and regular color man Babe Laufenberg also discussed their morning habits.
• Rather's boast that he will not be tested for anthrax was met with ridicule from the Weekly Standard. The conservative magazine derided Rather's "posturing," especially since "Rather was consulting regularly with his personal doctor and with the New York City health department."

2001-10-31 00:04:31 PT
Rather’s 70th
Today, Halloween, is Dan Rather's birthday. He was born 70 years ago in Wharton, Texas.

• Despite his more obvious gaffes in recent months, Rather was not shy about his political preferences back in 1981. On his first day in the anchor chair, Rather introduced two biased pieces (replete with campaign-ad-style graphics) about then-President Ronald Reagan's budget proposals.
• Nervous about taking the helm from Walter Cronkite, Rather couldn't decide whether to sit or stand, resulting in what one TV critic called "a kind of squat, a contortion that was awkward just to watch." Rather's nervousness also showed in his vocal inflections and facial expressions.
• See some of the many cartoons that have featured Rather over the years.
• Despite some earlier reports that today might be his last day, Rather has been dropping some hints that he may have no intention of stepping down, despite his age. "If I have my health, I intend to breeze right on past 70, and I look forward to it," Rather told the Hartford Courant. "I've been saying for years, because I believe it, I still think my best work is in front of me."

  MediaWeek says Rather's "new" attitude might be a product of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks or possibly another manifestation of Rather's long-time skill at pulling the levers of power by being deliberately coy about designating a successor. "He's adept at protecting his job. He knows, say former CBS executives, how Walter Cronkite got pushed out, and he knows that happened because there was a successor in the wings -- him.

  "It seems there's a little of Mao Zedong as well as Machiavelli at work. Rather's developed a cult of personality at CBS that would shame Chairman Mao. 'The most masterful things he's done at CBS over the years is to convince one news director after another not to bring along a successor,' says a CBS producer. There is no obvious successor to Rather right now."

• On a Halloween note, see Rather's costume as he tried to disguise himself while in Afghanistan.

2001-10-20 16:51:48 PT

• On the day Dan Rather found out his assistant was infected with anthrax, he started the Evening News by saying, "Two more cases of anthrax were confirmed today, both of them women. One works in a New Jersey post office that handled two letters containing anthrax; the other works in my office as my assistant here at CBS News in New York. Both women contracted skin anthrax, both are being treated and doing well. The source of the anthrax at CBS has not been determined, but we are now the third major television network news organization to be targeted." At the end of the program, before reporting on Dick Cheney's visit to the World Trade Center site, he said, "What happened to a respected and loyal colleague and beloved friend here at CBS News today drove home the point, in a very personal way, that it has been just over five weeks now since everything changed and the threat of terror in this country became a real part of everyday life."
• That night, in an appearance on Larry King Live, a caller asked Rather if the anthrax envelopes sent to news organizations was the work of "extremists right here in United States who think of the media as ultra-liberal."
• In an interview for the November issue of Texas Monthly, Rather told a reporter that "on September 11, we ignored what everyone else was doing." But most of the time, they do wonder, "'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."

Rather Assistant Infected with Skin Anthrax
2001-10-18 12:16:17 PT

• Claire Fletcher, a CBS News employee in Dan Rather's office, has contracted cutaneous anthrax, Rather and CBS News president Andrew Heyward said at a press conference. They withheld her name at the conference, but it was provided later. Heyward said CBS did not know of any suspicious mail that might have transmitted the disease but did acknowledge that Fletcher was the principal person charged with opening Rather's mail. No part of the CBS News broadcast center has been closed down as Rather and Heyward said the news division would continue with normal operations.

  "Perhaps as important or more important to [persons spreading anthrax] is the psychological aspects," Rather said. "We are resolute, we will not flinch, we will not bend, we will not swerve. We will get out a first-class evening news broadcast this evening."

  Asked how he felt about being a target: "I've been a target for a lot of years but not at this level and not in this way," Rather said. "We're at war. This is a two-front war. In wars, people do bestial, savage things."

  Several days ago, CBS News's Washington bureau received a letter which turned out to be a hoax. No other CBS employees have been tested for exposure, including Rather. Heyward declined to say if CBS would pay for testing of its employees.

Media Mailrooms Close Following NYC Anthrax Scares
2001-10-12 17:12:08 PT

• News organizations in New York City have shut down their mailrooms following press reports that an assistant to NBC anchor Tom Brokaw has been infected with a dermal form of anthrax after opening a suspicious envelope addressed to Brokaw and on news that a New York Times reporter who tracks terrorism received an envelope containing a suspicious "powdery white substance."

  CBS announced it had closed its New York mailroom and is currently not accepting new mail. Mailrooms of ABC and the Associated Press were also shut down. Offices of the Times were locked down for a brief time.

• In an interview aired Monday on Entertainment Tonight, Dan Rather continued his support of possible military retaliation efforts against terrorism. Describing his reaction to the recent attacks as a mixture of "fear and sadness" and "deep rage," Rather indicated his desire to punish those responsible.

  "That being the case, the anger and rage I feel will keep me from resting until we get these people who did this. I don't want the people of my country to rest until that happens."

  Entertainment Tonight is owned by Viacom, the parent company of CBS.

• Reporting on one of the first non-terrorism-related stories since Sept. 11, Rather's political preferences resurfaced. After relaying the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision banning former president Clinton from arguing cases before the body, Rather asserted that the court's actions came as a result of Clinton's "misleading testimony in the Paula Jones sex case." Rather's words were similar to those of Clinton supporters who insisted the former president had never lied but merely "misled" and that Jones's case was just about sex.
• Today is the 15th anniversary of the "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" incident.

2001-09-25 05:57:07 PT

• Washington Post media critic and TV pundit Howard Kurtz had Dan Rather on as a guest for CNN's Reliable Sources where Kurtz asked Rather why the media are currently supporting George W. Bush. Rather he was trying to be patriotic and was willing to give the president and the military "the benefit of any doubt here in the beginning" of the war against terror.

  Following up on a recent article in the New York Times, Kurtz queried Rather about his opinion of TV newspeople wearing American flags on the air. Rather that he probably wouldn't.

  "It doesn't feel right to me. I have the flag burned in my heart, and I have ever since infancy. And I just don't feel the need to do it. It just doesn't feel right to me," Rather said, adding "[M]y inner self says you don't need to do that. But I have absolutely no argument with anyone else who feels differently."

2001-09-18 18:37:58 PT

• In an appearance on Tuesday's Late Show with David Letterman, Dan Rather choked up twice while discussing last week's terrorist attacks with the noticeably subdued host.

  Rather--who was briefly overcome during a live broadcast when he announced the deaths of a couple who jumped from a World Trade Center tower holding hands--also departed from his earlier criticisms of President George W. Bush and expressed support for Bush's desire to capture suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden "dead or alive."

  Taking it a step further, the anchorman said he was prepared to do what he could to help with what Rather said would be a long-term and potentially bloody effort to punish those responsible.

  "George Bush is the President. He makes the decisions, and, you know, I'm just one American, wherever he wants me to line up, just tell me where."

• Despite his liberal positions on many issues, Rather's remarks to Letterman will likely provoke leftist critics who accuse the American media of war-mongering. Rather himself was the target of an activist who grilled him at a 1999 press conference, alleging that Rather was biased in favor of the United States.

2001-09-06 11:23:32 PT

• As Congress comes back from summer break, the news media are focusing on the legislative battles ahead. In a story about Washington's reaction to George W. Bush's recent embryonic stem cell decision, CBS airs an unbalanced report with opponents of Bush's plan outnumbering supporters.
• In a radio commentary, Rather says that the American people were lied to by Richard Nixon during the Vietnam war, but had a different reaction to lies during Bill Clinton's administration.

The Race to Replace Rather
2001-08-25 04:37:49 PT

• As Oct. 31, Dan Rather's 70th birthday, is fast approaching, the race is on among Rather's younger colleagues to fill his spot when the long-serving anchorman decides to hang up his TelePrompTer. With Rather on extended vacation, CBS has begun allowing other network reporters other than usual sub John Roberts a chance to show their stuff. 60 Minutes II correspondent Scott Pelley, 44, has recently been pointed to as a possible replacement, especially since this month marked the first time in his 12-year career at CBS that Pelley has filled in for Rather on the weekday Evening News, Aug. 1 and 2.

  Rather, whose opinions carry weight at CBS News, has been said to be pushing for Pelley over Roberts, according to the (New York) Daily News. Such reports may have some credence since Rather has often denounced so-called soft news reporting--which happens to be where Roberts, also 44, got his start. Although Roberts now serves as senior White House correspondent and anchors the Sunday Evening News, he first broke into television as an entertainment reporter for a Toronto station. Not known for his "hard news" reporting, the Toronto Star later described "J. D. Roberts" as "the cute, long-haired CityTV veejay who schmoozed his way through the 1980s."

  In 1989, CBS offered Roberts an anchoring job at its Miami affiliate but worried, as Eric Ober, the CBS executive who hired Roberts, later told the Washington Post: "The biggest question I had was, he was infotainment. The question was more one of gravity, heft and intellect."

  Ultimately, it may not be Pelley or Roberts who takes over. Some within the network worry that neither has the name recognition needed to boost CBS out of last place. CBS "reserves the right to look outside CBS News" for an anchor, a spokeswoman told the News.

• Asked if the networks' premature calling of Florida in the 2000 presidential election had an effect on the outcome, Rather said that no study showed that network projections affect voter turnout.
• CBS's Russ Mitchell asked Rather, who was paying a visit to the CBS Morning News, to speak some "Ratherisms" on the spot. After showing he could quickly spout a few, Rather joked, "I mean, how far should we do with this?"

2001-08-22 00:42:49 PT

• With Dan Rather still out on his summer vacation, two people with whom Rather had less-than-pleasant relations are in the news this week. Jesse Helms, the conservative senator (R-N.C.) who led a effort to "become Dan Rather's boss", has announced he will not seek reelection in 2002.

  Helms began his drive urging fellow conservatives to pool their resources and purchase CBS stock with the intent to fire the network's star anchor. In the midst of the controversy, Rather told the CBS News president he'd be willing to resign to foil the Senator's efforts.

• ABC News correspondent Connie Chung--who was instructed by Walter Cronkite to "watch your back with Dan" during her ill-fated co-anchorship with Rather--has snagged an exclusive interview with embattled Rep. Gary Condit (D-Calif.). While initially seen as in the running for the scoop in light of his scant coverage of the search for Condit's former paramour, Rather's chances fell dramatically when both camps decided an interview would be seen as a "reward."
• Three CBS News executives journeyed to CNN's Atlanta base last week as the two news organizations began "examining each other's cost structures and news-gathering techniques," according to a report in the New York Times. The opportunity to utilize CNN's extensive news-gathering resources is attractive to CBS, especially since broadcast news divisions have been under increased pressure to keep costs down and profits up. One CNN official told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that teaming up with CNN would allow a broadcast network to save $50 to $100 million a year.

  In exchange, CNN might be given the ability to rebroadcast well-known CBS News television shows such as 60 Minutes, and the possibility of Rather (or someone else) hosting a news or talk program on CNN, which cable network officials hope would help in CNN's nightly battles with Fox News Channel. For his part, Rather told Tim Russert on CNBC last June: "I'd love to have CBS News with the worldwide resources of CNN and be on cable," although he added that personally, he did not think a partnership deal was likely.

2001-08-14 20:36:45 PT

• In the midst of a long vacation, Dan Rather flew back to New York to anchor President Bush's live speech on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. In doing so he found himself in the news. After Bush's speech, Rather said stem cell research "is a very complicated subject. It's the kind of subject that, frankly, radio and television have some difficulty with because it requires such depth into the complexities of it." Rather recommended that viewers should read about it "in detail one of the better newspapers tomorrow." Then CBS switched over to an episode of Big Brother.

  In the morning, Howard Kurtz and Tom Shales of the Washington Post had picked up on Rather's comment. The Associated Press also filed a story that day. The following few days, newspapers around the country either reported his remark or carried the AP story.

  After the uproar, the anchorman told the Chicago Tribune that he was surprised his comments had caused another uproar in the media world. "Sometimes that world is a cosmos apart from the real world. Sometimes you just state the obvious and it becomes a [controversy]."

  When asked if the latest incident would further enforce the perception of him as a loose cannon, Rather said, "If that makes me a loose cannon, light my fuse."

  When asked about his remarks by the New York Post, he said they were "spur of the moment" and that, "I don't think you can be a well-informed person and only watch television and listen to radio. If you want to be well-informed, you want to read at least one newspaper a day and a good thoughtful magazine and occasionally at least a good book. Especially with something as complicated and as important as the whole genome revolution of which stem-cell research is a part."

• Joe Palca, a science correspondent for National Public Radio, disagreed with Rather, saying the reporting of complex issues can be done: "[N]obody has to go home and create embryonic stem cells after hearing me describe them on the radio. I'm doing it so an interested person can have some idea of what we're talking about."
• As RatherBiased.com noted previously, Rather has long believed that television is less able to report on difficult subjects. In his pre-anchor days, he said as much to the San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle in 1975.

2001-08-09 22:08:20 PT

• Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite yesterday said that with his avoidance of the Condit-Levy story, Dan Rather "went too far. He could have covered it a little bit."
• Rather proclaimed to Tim Russert on CNBC that "nobody, and I mean nobody, is gonna tell me how to report the news."
• 60 Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt said Rather should not be the first reporter to sit down with Gary Condit. "It wouldn't be good for Dan or for Condit. Somebody would assume there is some kind of deal, which there isn't." Hewitt added that he would certainly want his program to land the first interview: "I can't believe there is anybody in the news business who would not be interested."

2001-08-03 14:11:48 PT

• After former president Bill Clinton awarded Dan Rather his first post-impeachment interview, there are signs that embattled Rep. Gary Condit may reward Rather as well. A report in today's New York Post quotes an anonymous source within the California Democrat's staff saying all the signs are pointing toward Condit granting Rather the interview all his competitors have been clamoring for. "CBS has been extraordinarily responsible," a Condit aide said of Rather's reluctance to cover the story. "However, there's been no decision made yet."

  "They're very, very open about saying they would prefer a national media outlet that has covered this situation less than most," NBC's Tim Russert said on the Today Show. "That certainly has been the strong indication in my discussions."

• Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, and other journalists attended a preview screening of an expanded version of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, the 1979 film about the Vietnam War, according to the July 30 issue of the New Yorker. The journalists who were invited had been in some way involved with the war. One late arrival to the screening was former Senator Bob Kerrey, the man Dan Rather had grilled last spring about war atrocities some claimed he had committed in Vietnam.

  All eyes were on Kerrey, to see his reaction to the movie. Afterwards, he said, "It was a nice invitation, and it gave me a chance to see the movie, and I was free for an evening." He also added, "I might not have gone if I'd been told I was going to be sitting with Dan Rather."

• Following a year of extensive bad press for Dan Rather, CBS has removed Dan Rather's name from a "feedback form" on CBSNEWS.com, which until recently listed the Texan's name on a drop-down list of shows. The new list offers "CBS Evening News w/John Roberts" but strangely leaves off the network's $7 million-a-year man, calling his program merely "CBS Evening News." The form is designed to allow viewers to give their suggestions to the network, but CBS News's highest profile personality has most likely been the subject of viewers' comments with his recent gaffes and provocative comments. View a picture of the the old form (archived by the search engine Google) and the new form (on CBS News's Web page).

• After George W. Bush's Social Security commission issued a report saying the pension system needed to be partially privatized to stave off bankruptcy, CBS focused extensively on what opponents of privatization argued, but gave supporters little time to explain their arguments.
• Fox News Channel anchor Brit Hume criticized Dan Rather for his coverage of Katherine Harris. Rather responded to Hume's charge of bias.
• Commenting on the revelatory nature of television, Rather said it enabled viewers to "see right into your soul."

• Reporting on Attorney General Ashcroft's decision to change how long the federal government should keep data from gun background checks, Rather and Jim Stewart decided to relay arguments from critics of the decision and none supporting it. "Ashcroft's proposal is just one of several recent Bush administration initiatives championed by the gun lobby," says Jim Stewart.
• Now online: The complete transcript of Rather's July 19 appearance on Imus in the Morning. Topics included Rather's Levy-Condit boycott, accusations of bias and Rather's admission that "of course I'm bizarre."
• After the House passed President Bush's plan to give federal aid to religious groups, Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer report only why opponents didn't like the bill.

• CBS heavies ordered Dan Rather to report the Condit-Levy story, over his objections, he said during an interview today on Imus in the Morning. "I work with some really good people. Jim Murphy, who's executive producer of the broadcast, Andrew Heyward, who's president of CBS News. And they came in and said, 'Good God almighty, Rather, you're going to be on Imus tomorrow... we gotta save you from yourself. We're gonna run some of this stuff tonight.'"

  "What happened was they got the willies, they got the buckwheats. Their knees wobbled and we gave it up. There was a great fear that I'd come on the I-Man this morning and defend something that was indefensible."

  Rather also explained why he avoided the story: "[T]he facts are so few. Rumors, speculation, gossip, innuendo -- and I decided to try to exercise some restraint." "I want CBS News to be high road, hard news. We'll take a public caning about it. Maybe we deserve it but I don't think so."

  Imus asked Rather why he was willing to cover the sexual allegations surrounding Republican Senator Bob Packwood in 1992. Rather admitted he had made a mistake. When asked to tell how the Packwood case was different from Condit, Rather said, "I don't know that there is a big difference. We learn. I think the Packwood thing was another feeding frenzy and unfortunately we took part in it in a way that I wish we hadn't."

• It isn't often that Dan Rather gets upstaged by his bosses. During the 1988 presidential campaign Rather was angry with CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl, whom CBS officials told to report a poll that showed Republican George Bush several points ahead of Michael Dukakis--contrary to Rather's heated protestations.

• After widespread criticism inside and outside CBS News, Dan Rather finally broke his embargo of the story that his colleagues and competitors had been reporting on for weeks. In a face-saving move, Rather told viewers "[t]here is news tonight worthy of national note" about a story he had previously branded as "gossip and rumor" and declared his program a Condit-free zone.

  The CBS anchor has come under intense flak from all sides, including fellow journalists. The Condit-Levy story "has just about all the ingredients of what anyone except a terminal prig would readily accept as news," said Washington Post staff writer Jonathan Yardley. "The hunch here is that CBS got beat on the story and decided that, rather than lumber in late with yesterday's news, it would corner the high road by going holier than thou."

  Once Rather came under fire for not running with the story, his well-known stubbornness prevented him from acknowledging his error, said RatherBiased.com Co-Director Matthew W. Sheffield.

  "Dan Rather has always abhorred criticism, so once he came under fire, he simply dug his heels in and said no. And who's to stop him? At CBS, telling Rather he's making a mistake is akin to blasphemy. They're all terrified of him, even the management."

• Rather's neglect of the Condit story came as somewhat of a surprise, especially since he once wanted to end his broadcast with images of missing children.

• Dan Rather savaged the news media again for their coverage of the search for missing Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy, a paramour of Rep. Gary Condit (D-Calif.). In a radio commentary, Rather declared that the press is trying to "consume the nation, with gossip and rumor about a missing person's case." Rather also accused his colleagues (including those at other CBS News programs) of obsessing over "the sex and power gossip now running rampant in Washington."
• In 1992, however, Rather immediately covered allegations of sexual harassment leveled against a Republican official.
• Shortly before the 2000 elections, Dan Rather decided to report on a 1976 arrest of then-presidential candidate George W. Bush, the day after the story was first reported on the Fox News Channel.

• As the search for Chandra Levy continues, Rather has decided to ignore the story that has been reported on by every network and major publication, as well as CBS's morning show. The disappearance of the intern, who was also a paramour of Democratic Congressman Gary Condit, has not been mentioned on the CBS Evening News.
• In his radio commentary, Rather denounced the media for reporting on the Condit imbroglio, saying that the media "titillate themselves and they hope you, with the latest rumors and speculation about what they believe is a 'sexual scandal.'"
• In an earlier address, Rather said why Senator Mitch McConnell is opposed to John McCain's campaign finance efforts, being "the Republicans' principal money raiser." Rather also spoke of the possibility of "meaningful reform biting the dust"
• Rather defended himself against charges of bias "Rather's main, true bias is that he believes in honest, straight reporting."

• Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer continue their support for John McCain's "gutsy" drive for more campaign finance laws, relaying what only one side thought about the recent political fund-raising decision by the Supreme Court.
• In Esquire magazine, Rather told a reporter that "If anybody does criticize me, I sort of brush them away. Even if I know within myself that it's true."
• A writer asked Rather "What is the quality you like most in a man?"
• Older news items have now been moved to our "Previous News" section. See above for link.

• Republican Congressman Charlie Norwood broke with George W. Bush and Capitol Hill Republicans by supporting a Democratic version of a "Patient's Bill of Rights," instead of a version introduced by Republicans. Dan Rather called Norwood's move "a big shot in the arm for your consumer and medical rights."
• Besides thinking they are politically illegitimate, Rather has made clear he disagrees with religious conservatives and their "prejudicial rhetoric," most recently in a June 11 syndicated column.
• Former CBS News President Ed Joyce describes how Rather ran to him and said a man "walked up and knocked me to the ground," and shouted, "A man is about to come through that door. Get somebody to keep him away."

• Appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman to promote his book, Dan Rather told Letterman how President Bush has an "Uncle Cheney, who runs an awful lot of things."
• Letterman also asked Rather about his Democratic fund-raiser speech.
• On his own program, reporting on Bush's signing of his tax cut, Rather reported only why Democrats opposed the bill and not why anyone supported it.
• Rather also said that President Bush eliminated repetitive motion regulations because he was "under pressure from his business supporters," but did not say the same about former President Clinton, who had instated the rules at the behest of labor interests.

• Reporting on New Jersey Senator Robert Toricelli's alleged campaign finance violations, Rather immediately added the uproar is "what [Toricelli] sees as a Republican-motivated" attack. However, when then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich came under criticism from Democrats for allegedly violating tax laws, in several reports, Rather never said what the Georgia Republican thought of his accusers.
• Dan Rather is set to receive the Joseph M. Quinn Award for Journalistic Excellence and Distinction at the Southern California Journalism Awards, June 9. "To be recognized with the Quinn Award is a great honor," said Rather, "and I am gratified and humbled."
• Earlier, during the turmoil of Bill Clinton's Lewinsky scandal, Rather received another award, the Goldsmith Journalism Award for Lifetime Achievement. While accepting the award, he denied the press had too much power: "If Bill Clinton stays in office...it will not be because the press decided he should do so."
• Rather was asked about Bob Zelnick, a former ABC journalist who claimed he was fired because he was conservative: "[T]he idea that there's some internal prejudice against reporters who have, quote, a 'conservative' point of view" is false, said Rather.
• Rather also derided the Lewinsky imbroglio as a "so-called scandal."

• Dan Rather and CBS run a lop-sided report condemning George W. Bush's environmental policies while governor of Texas.
• Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather feuded with each other after Rather said his competitors were "going softer." Brokaw took offense and ridiculed Rather's penchant for rushing to cover hurricanes. "Whenever there is the first hint of a counter-clockwise symbol on a weathermap in the fall that a hurricane might hit land, 'Mr. Hard News' is down there wrapped around a lamp-post," the NBC anchor said.

• A former CBS correspondent, who left the network last year, castigates Dan Rather in the Wall Street Journal. "Dan can't help it. He doesn't know he's biased," Bernard Goldberg writes. "Rather, Brokaw and Jennings don't even know what liberal bias is. I concede this is hard to believe, but I'm convinced it's why we keep getting these ridiculous denials."

2001-05-23 13:02:53 PDT

• Dan Rather continues the promotion of his book, this time with an appearance on FNC's The Edge With Paula Zahn. Zahn asked Rather about Peter Jennings's comment that "there are not enough conservative voices in mainstream broadcasting." Rather disagreed.
• Rather also defended his statement that Bill Clinton is an "honest man."
• On his program, Rather continues his opposition to soft money and his support for John McCain's campaign finance initiative. Rather says President Bush is rushing to "cozy up to big-money special interests."

• Continuing his rounds on cable talk shows to promote his book, Dan Rather told CNBC's Geraldo Rivera that he's not liberally biased because he disagreed with Lyndon Johnson's Vietnam policy. Rather also told Rivera how he handles "a lot" of bias accusations: "I usually try to stop and say, 'Well, is the criticism valid or not?' A lot of times, it isn't," said Rather.
• When asked by Rivera about his speech at a Democratic fund-raiser (see below for coverage), Rather called his presence "one of the dumbest mistakes I ever made" but insisted it was "the proverbial honest mistake."
• Rather places last among the "Big Three" in a survey that asked viewers to name the news personality they trusted most.

• The day George W. Bush unveiled his energy plan, CBS aired unbalanced reports in which statements from detractors of the president's plan significantly outnumbered those from supporters.
• Although Rather reported that "It's not a pretty picture. Americans are paying record prices for gasoline," the day after Bush's plan was announced, he wondered if "there are some serious questions tonight about whether any of his plan is really necessary at least for consumers."
• While appearing on Fox News's O'Reilly Factor, Dan Rather commented on the alleged rape of Juanita Broaddrick by then-Attorney General Bill Clinton of Arkansas. His comment caused Broaddrick to say, among other things, "It really sickens me to think that Mr. Rather would think what happened to me should be relegated to the category of Bill Clinton's private sex life."

• Appearing on Fox News Channel's the O'Reilly Factor program Tuesday to promote his Brokaw knock-off book, The American Dream, Dan Rather defended himself against accusations that CBS was being soft on former president Bill Clinton by doing fewer investigative reports than during Republican administrations.
• Rather also rebuffed those who criticize Clinton's trustworthiness. "I think at core, he's an honest person," Rather said. "I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things."
• The CBS anchor also attempted to deflect charges that he was biased because the CBS Evening News mentioned unsubstantiated allegations of past drug use by George W. Bush more than twice as many times as it mentioned rape charges (judged as credible by NBC) against Clinton.

• Dan Rather agrees with Democratic criticism of George W. Bush's budget and tax plans: "It does not say how it's possible" to cut taxes "while also spending more for education, defense and other things, including drug coverage for seniors," Rather says.
• President Bush submitted the names of several people he wants approved to sit on federal appeals courts. Rather marked the occasion by reporting only what Democrats thought of the nominees.

• A number of readers have e-mailed us asking for a picture of Dan Rather's new haircut.

• Dan Rather regularly calls the large tax reductions proposed by President Bush as "big," but rarely mentioned the large size of President Clinton's 1993 tax hike.
• CBS and Dan Rather have been promoting allegations from a unit member of former senator Bob Kerrey who says they killed innocent civilians during the Vietnam War. Rather and his colleagues say Gerhard Klann's allegations are confirmed by an old Vietnamese woman whom CBS claims witnessed the attack.

  But Bob Kerrey isn't the only one who's been charged by communist sympathizers of murdering innocents. After his 1980 trip to Afghanistan, Rather was actually accused by the communist rulers there of ordering a band of anti-Soviet Afghans to stone and decapitate three villagers. The New York Times reported the absurd allegations. The incident went down as yet another of Rather's strange experiences.

2001-05-02 17:32:05 PDT

• Dan Rather and CBS favor missile defense opponents in coverage of George W. Bush's announcement of a large-scale program, including agreeing with opponents who say the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty is still valid. "[T]hen there's the question of whether it would work, at any price," Dan Rather says.
• Time magazine casts doubt on a Vietnamese woman's veracity who Rather and his 60 Minutes II colleagues say corroborates accusations that former senator Bob Kerrey committed war crimes while serving in the Vietnam War. The newsweekly says the woman has changed several key portions of her story and adds that it is "standard procedure in Vietnam" to have government officials present during citizens' interviews with foreign journalists.
• Dan Rather tells an author many people may think he's so loyal to CBS he has the network's logo tattooed in an unusual place.

2001-05-01 11:16:09 PDT

• Dan Rather (or at least his picture) makes a cameo appearance on a fake Survivor III: Washington video clip shown at last week's White House Correspondents Association Dinner.

2001-04-27 12:32:37 PDT

• Dan Rather reports on the House's passage of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act by relaying only what opponents think of it.
• CBS airs a one-sided story about President Bush's plan to put a federal reading program under state control.
• At the 1996 annual Radio Television Correspondents Dinner, radio talk show host Don Imus was the featured speaker. His routine poked fun at everybody, with President Clinton as the featured target. The White House disliked the speech so much that Press Secretary Mike McCurry asked C-SPAN not to rebroadcast Imus's routine (it did anyway). Dan Rather probably didn't like it much either, as Imus told several jokes savaging his frequent guest, saying Rather was so weird he was capable of, among other things, "pulling a gun out on the set."

2001-04-23 17:37:16 PDT

• Shortly after the assassination of president John F. Kennedy, Dan Rather agreed to 60 Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt's half-baked order to go to Abraham Zapruder's house, knock him out, and steal his film.
• CBS reporter Lesley Stahl recounts how Rather did not want to report an expensive poll that showed George H.W. Bush ahead of Michael Dukakis in the 1988 campaign because he was afraid it would influence the outcome of the election.
• We're relocating to a new server. Please report any service problems to info@ratherbiased.com.

2001-04-19 09:31:35 PDT

• Dan Rather pushes for measures to resolve the "medical crisis" of HMOs. In his syndicated column, he writes that "such halfway measures as the so-called Patients' Bill of Rights" have been "stalled now for years." Managed care facilities may be "jeopardizing the quality of our future medical care," Rather says.
• After accepting the Welles Hangen Award for Distinguished Journalism at Brown University, Rather defended himself against accusations of bias in a Q&A session, dismissing an audience member's charge that he "taunted" Republican presidents.
• Prior to becoming anchor, Rather told the San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle that anyone "who just watches TV news cannot be well-informed."

2001-04-13 19:28:12 PDT

• Coverage of the Americans stranded in China and the spate of bad publicity Dan Rather received lately has led to a minimum of political stories this week; Rather is sporting a new, military-style hairstyle, though.
• Watch Dan Rather as he gets tricked by a Howard Stern fan posing as a Coast Guard lieutenant during the search for John Kennedy's airplane.
• Dan Rather's controversial interview with George H. W. Bush in 1988 began with a letter from CBS inviting Bush to its studios. The then-vice president seemed hopeful, "I feel comfortable with Rather," Bush wrote to aides.

Media Reaction to Rather's Fund-raiser
2001-04-07 12:58:16 PDT

• The fallout from Dan Rather's headlining of a Democratic fund-raiser in Texas continued this week. Wall Street Journal OpinionJournal columnist, Peggy Noonan, cheekily says Rather should be commended for no longer pretending he has no opinions. She also tells how as the ghostwriter for his "Dan Rather Reporting" column, "it was starting to be a problem for me to write his point of view well" as she became more conservative.
• News organizations across the country covered the controversy after Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz broke the story. The Associated Press filed two reports on the incident, relaying Rather's apology and saying CBS had no intention of punishing Rather.

  The New York Post played it up on page 3 with an article on Rather's apology headlined "Rather's in a 'Sorry' State" accompanied by a montage (unavailable online) of Rather's experiences which it called "lowlights from Dan Rather's broadcasting career." The paper followed up on Friday with an editorial noting that "[s]ome Rather defenders explained away his behavior by noting his daughter's involvement." Such statements are inaccurate, the Post's "Media Watch" column charged, because they "ignore Rather's specific denial to Kurtz that he knew his daughter was co-hosting the event."

  USA Today talked to Bob Steele of the Poynter Institute who said he was surprised Rather would let himself "get out on such very thin ice," adding that Rather wasn't the first journalist in a situation "where politics is part of the immediate family." The piece also quoted Media Research Center chairman Brent Bozell calling for Rather to apologize on the air but said that CBS News president Andrew Heyward "considered the matter closed."

  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel TV columnist Tim Cuprisin praised Rather for doing "the right thing" in apologizing for speaking at the fund-raiser saying that "the rest of the world" should be satisfied with Rather's apology but that alleged "anti-Rather forces," which he said included RatherBiased.com, would not be contented.

  The Atlanta Journal's "@Wit's End" associates Rather with former vice president Al Gore who became involved in his own fund-raising controversy, saying: "Earth to Dan Rather, Al Gore: When the collection plate comes around at church, it's for the Lord's work. When it comes around at a Democratic event, it's a fund-raiser." The paper accompanied its criticism with a cartoon (from Richmond Times Dispatch cartoonist Gary Brookins) of a donkey sitting behind an TV anchor desk saying, "For CBS News, I'm Dan Rather."

  In a Thursday column headlined "Rather Hits Ethics Land Mine," Chicago Sun-Times TV critic Phil Rosenthal argues the incident rivets charges that Rather is biased against conservatives: "For years, [. . .] conservatives have branded Rather as a lefty. This gaffe secures that image like a double knot tied in wet rawhide."

  Kurtz followed up his scoop on Thursday with a piece, quoting Susan Weddington of the Texas Republican party who agreed that Rather's speech will hurt his reputation, it "just cements the impression already out there that Dan Rather's reporting comes from a partisan bias." RatherBiased.com Co-Director Matthew W. Sheffield is quoted in the piece saying: "A journalist has no business going out and raising money for political groups. This is a textbook case on how journalists should not behave."

  The Washington Times's "Inside the Beltway" column says that Texas Republicans aren't that angry at Rather for raising soft money for Democrats. A party official joked to the column that it was considering inviting Rather to see if he could earn some money for the GOP.

  "The Democrats raised $20,000 with Dan Rather. Our Karl Rove dinner raised $250,000. We're going to invite Dan Rather down to see if he can beat that," said Alan Sager, chairman of the Travis County Republican Party.

  Several other papers ran briefs on Rather's apology including the New York Times, the (New York) Daily News, the Minnesota Star Tribune, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

• A CBS News reporter addressed the topic of bias this week. Unfortunately, Sharyl Attkisson only mentioned it in the context of a controversy involving pharmaceutical companies and medical journals. "Biased literature can make a drug sound better or safer than it really is," she said. "And unbeknownst to most doctors, it's even finding its way into the most respected medical journals."
• Why is it unlikely that Dan Rather will be punished for headlining a political fund-raiser? An anonymous CBS staffer told the Daily News in June of 1997 that "graveyards are filled with newcomers who've gone after Dan."

Rather Apologizes for Fund-raiser
2001-04-04 18:36:12 PDT

• Dan Rather apologized for speaking at a fund-raising barbecue sponsored by a group of Texas Democrats. In a public statement issued earlier today, Rather said his involvement was "a regrettable error in judgment."

  "I made an embarrassing and regrettable error in judgment by going to this event," the CBS anchor said. "It was a serious mistake, which I acknowledge. No one believes more strongly in CBS News standards than I do, and I have let those standards down."

  "I am determined to do everything possible to guard against any future word and deed that would even suggest any question about where CBS News and I stand when it comes to ethical journalistic conduct."

  Rather received no remittance for his speech which was billed as the keynote address by the Travis County Democratic Party.

  CBS has no intention to punish Rather for his breech of CBS News ethics rules which bar employees from participating in political events, the Associated Press quoted a CBS spokeswoman as saying.

  "Dan Rather's statement was a good beginning," said Greg Sheffield, Co-Director of RatherBiased.com. "I would hope that Rather and CBS learn from his experience and begin to take fairness questions more seriously instead of dismissing them without thinking."

Rather Headlined Democratic Fund-raiser
2001-04-03 20:26:25 PDT

• Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz is reporting in Wednesday's editions that Dan Rather was one of several speakers at a Democratic fund-raiser in Travis County, Texas. Rather came at the behest of his daughter's friend, Will Wynn, a local environmentalist and Austin City Council member, to the event which garnered $20,000 for the local party.

  Others in attendance included local party chairperson Scott Ozmun and Rather's daughter, Robin Rather, the former head of an Austin-based environmental activist group who was listed as an official host, a position granted to those donating $1,000 or more to the party. Ms. Rather is said to be contemplating a run for the Austin mayoralty, seeking the help of a political consultant whom the Austin-American Statesman said has "helped elect several green-leaning City Council members."

  "I take full responsibility for it. I'm responsible and I'm accountable," Rather told the Post.

  Rather's appearance, for which he insisted he was not paid, continues the CBS anchorman's ties to the Democratic party and liberal groups. Rather's 1977 book The Camera Never Blinks contains an account of Rather accompanying his father to a Democratic precinct meeting. Rather also hosted a fund-raiser for the liberal NAACP in 1994.

  "When I got there, I was very aware that it was a fund-raising event. I'm not going to say I had no idea what was going on," Rather said.

2001-04-03 13:17:18 PDT

• 60 Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt tells C-SPAN that former president Clinton "likes Dan. And Dan likes him."
• Dan Rather hails the Senate's passage of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill, praising the body for saying "yes to serious campaign finance reform."
• Rather and CBS's continual usage of the word "reform" to describe such proposals violates good journalism rules. The Associate Press warns its reporters to avoid using such "loaded words."

2001-04-01 19:06:48 PDT

• Dan Rather tells why former president Clinton opposed a tax cut bill but not why president Bush supports it.
• Rather uses without comment the preferred language of supports of the McCain-Feingold bill but always qualifies his usage of what abortion opponents call "partial-birth abortions."
• The Bush administration said it would not support a treaty placing restrictions on developed nations but not on less-developed nations. The Clinton administration had indicated support for the treaty but the Senate voted 95-0 not to support it. Rather calls Bush's announcement "another rollback, another reversal in U.S. environmental policy."
• North Carolina Republican Senator Jesse Helms urged his fellow conservatives to purchase CBS stock and use their clout to stop what he said was Rather's "anti-Reagan" bias by "becoming Dan Rather's boss."

2001-03-27 21:43:15 PST

• Both Rather and John McCain call an amendment to the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill a "poison pill."
• Following its custom, CBS airs another unbalanced report on George W. Bush's tax plan.
• Rather describes the decisions made before news programs as separating "the brass tacks from the bull shine."
• Rather announces only what "critics say" about Bush's federal budget, nothing from supporters.

Rather Replacements?
2001-03-27 13:32:31 PST

• NBC News has denied that Tim Russert was ever asked to take Dan Rather's place as anchor of the CBS Evening News. NBC News communications director Barbara Levin told RatherBiased.com that accounts of the offer are "simply untrue, simply fabricated," adding "It never happened. We have pretty good sources on this subject, I think." Levin said Russert's appearance on Don Imus this morning was designed to put a stop to such reports.

  "Tim went on Imus this morning and shot it down."

  NBC could not be reached on whether informal measures were used to contact Russert.

• Tim Russert denied he was offered the anchor spot at the CBS Evening News, telling radio host Don Imus "when I grew up, I always admired the player who stayed with his hometown team his whole life. That's what it's all about. That's who I am, that's who I want to be."

  Some television observers suspected Russert would never accept an offer, preferring to keep his job as host of top-rated Meet the Press rather than sit behind a desk reading the news.

2001-03-26 15:21:21 PST

• CBS News has denied reports that anchorman Dan Rather is slated to be replaced by NBC Washington Bureau Chief, Tim Russert.

  "The rumors this morning are completely and utterly false and are not true at all," Kim Akhtar, spokeswoman for CBS, told RatherBiased.com. "I have no idea who would give out that misinformation."

  NBC spokeswoman Allison Gollust echoed the denial, telling CNN that the idea that Russert would be leaving NBC is "completely false."

2001-03-26 10:21:14 PST

• Cyberscribe Matt Drudge reported today that CBS has offered NBC News Washington Bureau chief, Tim Russert, the anchor position of its Evening News program. Dan Rather has been rumored to be on the verge of retirement during the past few months in the face of sagging ratings and stepped-up accusations of bias.

  Many expected Rather to retire this year after it was leaked that the anchorman wanted last year's national political conventions (CBS had its poorest showing ever) to be the last he would cover in that position. The idea of outside-talent Russert replacing Rather came as a bit of a surprise since many television observers had expected CBS would give the nod to long-time anchor wannabes John Roberts (he doubles as the the substitute anchor and White House correspondent) or 60 Minutes II man and former WH correspondent, Scott Pelley.

2001-03-19 3:30:05 PST

• Dan Rather is on spring break.

2001-03-15 13:34:52 PST

• Rather appends only liberal arguments to a correspondent's relatively balanced report of President Bush's CO₂ decision.
• During the 1992 presidential race, the Washington Post ran a series of articles on then-vice president Dan Quayle. Like most long-term feature pieces, they were largely positive. Rather denounced Post reporters Bob Woodward and David Broder for their work.

2001-03-08 23:34:52 PST
To commemorate 20 years of Dan Rather's bias (the 9th is his anniversary), RatherBiased.com unveils:

• A new study of the CBS News's coverage of George W. Bush's tax cut proposals. RatherBiased.com tracked CBS's coverage from Bush's first mention of a tax cut early on in the primaries until now. Our research found Dan Rather and his reporters aired more Democratic arguments against tax cuts than Republican arguments in favor of tax cuts by a margin of nearly two-to-one.
• Jumping the Gun, a new section where Rather, in his rush to be first, reports stories before checking them, getting things completely wrong.
• An analysis the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather's usage of the term "right-wing" compared to its usage of "left-wing."

2001-03-06 20:22:45 PST

• Since the 2000 Census began, Democrats have claimed that the figures from the count must be adjusted in order to count people (mostly poor and minorities according to Democrats) who Census Bureau officials missed. Republicans believed that such adjustments could not be accurate and opposed them. Dan Rather agrees with the Democrats.
• Rather suggests conservatives have flip-flopped on issues over the years.

2001-03-03 00:03:04 PST

• This week, Dan Rather and his Evening News colleagues did not mention a CBS poll that found President George W. Bush with high approval ratings following his recent congressional address. RatherBiased.com studied CBS's procedures for State of the Union polling and found that Rather broke a nine-year internal precedent of promoting or releasing instant poll results following presidents' major addresses before Congress.
• Following then-President Bill Clinton's first address to Congress in 1993, CBS conducted "man on the street" interviews showing wide support for his policies. In 2001, CBS only interviewed those skeptical of Bush.
• Instead of relaying the results of CBS's expensive poll, Rather chided Bush for supporting reducing of a budget of a program designed to plan against natural disasters.

2001-02-28 10:26:29 PST

• Dan Rather gives his opinion of President Bush's budget plan, calling it a "tax-cut gamble."
• Female Esquire reporter explains to Rather what testosterone is.
• CBS president criticized for visit to Castro's Cuba.

2001-02-22 15:06:03 PST

• CBS continues its behavior of one-sided reporting with stories airing only the opinions of scientists who are proponents of the global warming theory, and no words from those scientists who are skeptical.
• In Bizarre, Dan Rather was embarrassed at the thought of a woman knowing that he carried a makeup compact.

2001-02-16 16:51:50 PST

• Dan Rather relays only tax-cut opponents' views in the ongoing Congressional debate.

2001-02-08 19:35:01 PST

• As the demand for workers remains high, many companies are offering luxurious perks. Today, Dan Rather described his idea of perks "down at the office vending machine."
• In 1993, CBS tried to boost its ratings by adding a woman, Connie Chung, to co-host the Evening News. Chung relates how former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite congratulated her, but said to "watch your back with Dan." Their tumultuous and short-lived time behind the anchor desk together proved Cronkite right.

2001-02-06 22:06:16 PST

• Rather and CBS air another one-sided report about President Bush's tax reduction proposal. All three stories featured only congressional Democrats' view.
• View our collection of media links.

2001-01-31 16:05:10 PST

• A week after allegations broke of Clinton administration staff members vandalizing the White House, the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather has not mentioned it. In the meantime, CBS's broadcast competitors have aired several stories.
• With the congressional battle over John Ashcroft still going on, RatherBiased.com looked at how Dan Rather treated Clinton's choice of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993. At that time, Rather praised Clinton for not appointing "another white male" and agreed with Democrats who said Ginsburg was a political moderate.
• Several new abortion-related quotes were added.
• 1992 Flashback: Rather and CBS say Republicans fault the media for "many of their problems" when they call journalists "liberals."

2001-01-26 20:21:40 PST

• Rather decides to tell only what the Democrats think about a tax plan.
• Rather describes his "lifetime fascination with hurricanes."

2001-01-25 22:01:33 PST

• After George W. Bush named his cabinet appointees, Dan Rather picked up an AP story saying several are millionaires. In 1993, the AP ran a similar story about nine of Clinton's nominees being millionaires, Rather did not mention it.

2001-01-22 14:28:16 PST

• Read all of the White House press conferences where Richard Nixon clashed with Dan Rather, each trading insults. Also, see Rather's coverage of Bill Clinton.

2001-01-19 22:54:56 PST

• Dan Rather continues his portrayal of Bill Clinton's deal with Robert Ray as just about sex.

2001-01-18 11:16:15 PST

• Rather wonders if George W. Bush's "uniter not a divider" message refers "to only the most conservative wing" of the Republican party.

2001-01-16 19:35:30 PST

• Dan Rather speaks to David Letterman about George W. Bush being "selected" as President.
  
• Rather tells how he comes up with his famously weird phrases.

2001-01-14 11:05:31 PST

• Dan Rather and Bobbi Harley air an unbalanced report on Katherine Harris's testimony before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, interviewing only opponents of Harris.

2001-01-11 20:31:07 PST

• Dan Rather jokes about hosting a talk show with Bill Clinton after they both retire.

2001-01-04 20:31:07 PST

• Dan Rather denies bias in CBS News's Election Night coverage.
• Rather and Jim Stewart only relay Democratic arguments in the John Ashcroft confirmation battle.

2001-01-02 19:23:22 PST

• Send your comments, tips or questions using our new Guest Book.

2000-12-29 00:49:34 PST
Florida Dispute

• During his coverage of the prolonged dispute over Florida's vote in the presidential race, Dan Rather continually described Secretary of State Katherine Harris as a Republican while declining to label the Democratic-dominated Florida Supreme Court. See extended coverage in Florida Controversy.
• Renamed "Hard Right" to Conservatives.

2000-12-22 01:34:12 PST

• Dan Rather says George W. Bush may be bringing on a recession by "talking down" the economy. Here Rather does just that.

2000-12-20 10:05:12 PST

• We've added video clips of two well-known Dan Rather incidents. Watch Rather get knocked to the floor at the 1968 Democratic National Convention or see him disguised as a peasant in Afghanistan.
• Newt Gingrich came under CBS News criticism for signing a $4.5 million book advance, but five years later when Hillary Clinton gets $8 million from a publishing house owned by CBS's parent company, Rather and his colleagues don't mention it says the Media Research Center.

2000-11-12 03:47:14 PST
Election 2000 Update

• Twelve hours of live television seems to bring out the weirdness in Dan Rather. During his marathon coverage of the presidential race, Rather uttered more than a few of his famous "Texanisms," several of which he seems to have said before.

2000-10-31 0:00:01 PST

• Today is Dan Rather's birthday. He was born 69 years ago on Halloween in Wharton, Texas. Read his Mr. Showbiz bio.

2000-10-30 11:24:17 PST

• Dan Rather and CBS report on 14-page think tank paper critical of George W. Bush education policy after ignoring 270-page study which praised Bush's programs.

2000-10-27 0:13:17 PDT

• Dan Rather relays only Bill Clinton's view of the Republicans' 2001 budget proposal.

2000-10-18 08:58:14 PDT

• Rather's "truth patrol" only goes after George W. Bush following the third Gore-Bush debate.

2000-10-17 11:42:31 PDT

• Former Nixon aide John Ehrlichman tells about Rather's attempts to intimidate him after Ehrlichman spoke against Rather's "laziness." Ehrlichman also recounts how Tom Brokaw told him that CBS had intended to let Rather "move on" and replace him with Brokaw during the 70s.
• Added demos of R.E.M. song, "What's the Frequency, Kenneth" to Bizarre.

2000-10-12 17:31:14 PDT

• CBS News uses controversial surveying techniques in poll showing a Gore lead in the presidential race. Twenty-one percent of its respondents included people who were not even registered to vote.

2000-09-17 14:48:21 PDT

• Former George Bush press secretary Marlin Fitzwater relates how Rather and Bush became "mortal enemies" after their famous on-air confrontation in Attack on Bush.

2000-09-13 23:40:13 PDT

• Rather only relays Bill Clinton's point of view in summarizing a House vote that failed to override a veto of the "marriage penalty" tax in Republicans.

2000-09-08 08:17:46 PDT

• Rather only relays Bill Clinton's view of the inheritance tax repeal law in Republicans.

2000-09-06 08:15:23 PDT

• Former CBS News political director describes how Dan Rather was convinced in 1992 that the George Bush campaign "had in some way inspired the Gennifer Flowers story."
• CBS News producer calls Rather a girl in Bizarre