Dan Rather
American journalist and former CBS Evening News anchor.
Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name in September 1961 after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurricane Carla. He has reported on some of the most significant events of the modern age, such as from Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, 9/11, the Iraq War, and the war on terror. Rather also famously reported from Dallas in November 1963 at the time that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.
- born
- October 31, 1931
- field
- Journalism
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- CBS Evening News anchor, Hurricane Carla coverage, JFK assassination reporting,
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Rather served as White House correspondent beginning in 1964, then as foreign correspondent in London and Vietnam over the next two years before returning to the White House correspondent position. He covered the presidency of Richard Nixon, including Nixon's trip to China, the Watergate scandal, and the president's resignation. In 1981, Rather was promoted to news anchor for the CBS Evening News, a role he occupied for 24 years. Along with Peter Jennings at ABC News and Tom Brokaw at NBC News, he was one of the 'Big Three' nightly news anchors in the United States from the 1980s through the early 2000s. He frequently contributed to CBS's weekly news magazine, 60 Minutes. Rather left the anchor desk in 2005 following the Killian documents controversy, in which he presented unauthenticated documents in a news report on President George W. Bush's Vietnam War–era service in the National Guard. He continued to work with CBS until 2006, when he was dismissed. In September 2007, Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS and its former parent company Viacom, accusing them of making him a 'scapegoat' in the Killian story. An intermediate New York state appeals court dismissed the lawsuit in September 2009, and the New York Court of Appeals refused to reinstate it in January 2010. On the cable channel AXS TV (then called HDNet), Rather hosted Dan Rather Reports, a 60 Minutes–style investigative news program, from 2006 to 2013. He also hosts several other projects for AXS TV, including Dan Rather Presents and The Big Interview with Dan Rather. In January 2018, he began hosting an online newscast called The News with Dan Rather on the Young Turks YouTube channel. Since 2021, he has been writing the newsletter 'Steady' on the Substack platform, with 170 posts in 2024.
Reader's Guide
Dan Rather's significance lies in his long career as a national news anchor and his role in shaping American broadcast journalism. He was one of the 'Big Three' nightly news anchors alongside Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw, dominating evening news from the 1980s through the early 2000s. His reporting on Hurricane Carla in 1961 demonstrated the life-saving potential of television weather coverage—he conceived of overlaying a transparent map over the radar screen to show the size of the hurricane, and more than 350,000 people evacuated, believed to have saved thousands of lives. His work during the Kennedy assassination and Watergate era established him as a trusted correspondent. However, his legacy is also marked by the Killian documents controversy, which ended his anchor tenure and led to a $70 million lawsuit against CBS that was dismissed. Rather continued to produce investigative journalism on cable and online platforms, maintaining a presence in media into the 2020s. His career reflects both the heights of network news authority and the challenges of journalistic accountability.
Did You Know?
- Rather hitchhiked to Sam Houston State Teachers College and walked on to the school's football team, but did not earn an athletic scholarship.
- In 1955, under the auspices of the Houston Police, Rather tried a dose of heroin for a piece he wrote, which he characterized as 'a special kind of hell'.
- Rather was one of the first to view the Zapruder film showing the Kennedy assassination, and the first to describe it on television.
- Rather enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in January 1954 but was soon discharged because he was found to have had rheumatic fever as a child, a fact he had omitted during enlistment.
- Since 2021, Rather has been writing the newsletter 'Steady' on Substack, with 170 posts in 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Dan Rather?
Dan Rather is an American journalist and commentator best known for his long tenure as the anchor of the CBS Evening News. Born on October 31, 1931, he built a career spanning several decades of major U.S. and international reporting.
How did Dan Rather first become nationally famous?
In September 1961, his on-the-ground reporting from Texas during Hurricane Carla helped save thousands of lives and put his name on the national map. That early coverage set the tone for a career defined by being physically present at critical moments.
What was Dan Rather's role during the JFK assassination?
Rather was reporting out of Dallas in November 1963 when President Kennedy was shot, and he became one of the primary voices delivering the unfolding news to American television viewers. His presence there made him a central figure in how the nation first learned of the tragedy.
What major events did Dan Rather cover over his career?
He reported from the front lines of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, stood at the fall of the Berlin Wall, covered the Gulf War, and provided on-scene reporting after the September 11 attacks. His work also extended through the Iraq War and the broader war on terror.
Why is Dan Rather considered important in journalism history?
Rather spent decades as the face of a major network's evening broadcast, giving him a unique vantage point on some of the most consequential stories of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. His career is often cited as a benchmark for the tradition of anchor-driven, event-driven television news.
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