Dan Rather retires

[Non_Comformist]

The news gets better and better for GWB.

[Jedi Flopper]

that is the important question /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[bholdr]

old white protestant males will never get a fair shake in this country /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[GWB]

[ QUOTE ]
The news gets better and better for GWB.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is no good news for me. It is much better to have a known liberal like Rather in his seat. Fewer people would be fooled about CBS's "objectivity".

Notice how he retires long after his phony documents story, and yet well ahead of the investigation's report? I call this "Reputation Damage Control".

[MelchyBeau]

So when are you retiring over your phoney weapons of mass destruction claims?

Melch

[GWB]

Chronology of Rather's '60 Minutes' Controversy (http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200411\NAT2004 1123e.html)

It began on the evening of Sept. 8, when CBS News anchorman Dan Rather used documents obtained from an anonymous source to produce a "60 Minutes" segment that disparaged President Bush's National Guard service. The story caused a near immediate firestorm, more for the way the story was produced than for what it said.

Wed., Sept. 8

"60 Minutes" airs a report, narrated by Dan Rather, alleging that George W. Bush received preferential treatment during his service in the Texas Air National Guard in the 1970s. Before the evening is over, members of various web logs begin detailing their skepticism about the documents used in the "60 Minutes" story.

Thurs., Sept. 9

Major news organizations across America repeat the details of the CBS News "60 Minutes" story without authenticating the documents underlying the story.

CNSNews.com is the first news organization to report the possibility that the CBS documents are forgeries. The CNSNews.com story quotes three independent typography experts, all of whom suspect that the documents purporting to date back to 1972 were in fact produced on current computer word processing equipment.

Fri., Sept. 10

CNSNews.com reports on more problems surrounding the authenticity of the documents used in the "60 Minutes" report.

In a statement on its website, CBS News stands by the documents from the "60 Minutes" report. Rather also defends the authenticity of the documents. "I know that this story is true. I believe that the witnesses and the documents are authentic. We wouldn't have gone to air if they would not have been. There isn't going to be -- there's no -- what you're saying, apology?"

The liberal media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) defends the authenticity of the "60 Minutes" documents.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) indicates he won't back down from his criticism of Bush's National Guard service despite suspicions that the military records used in the "60 Minutes" story and central to Harkin's criticism of Bush might be fake.

Tues., Sept. 14

The source of the "60 Minutes" documents is identified as retired Texas National Guard Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, who had spent the past six years accusing Bush and his aides of allegedly tampering with military records.

Former CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg calls the "60 Minutes" report "disgraceful" and says it is ironic that Dan Rather, a journalist who helped bring down the presidency of Richard Nixon, is now behaving like Nixon did during Watergate.

Wed., Sept. 15

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.) asks his fellow lawmakers to investigate Rather's "60 Minutes" report to find out who gave the network documents of questionable authenticity pertaining to President Bush's National Guard service. Also, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) calls on CBS News to issue a complete retraction of the "60 Minutes" story.

Thurs., Sept. 16

Despite the growing controversy over the documents, CNSNews.com reports that advertisers and CBS affiliates feel no compulsion to abandon the network.

Brent Bozell, president and founder of the Media Research Center, the parent organization of CNSNews.com, criticizes Rather for "employing old Bill Clinton tactics of denying the obvious, muddying the issue with irrelevant information and attacking critics."

Fri., Sept. 17

CNSNews.com reports that Bill Burkett wrote a commentary in August for a left wing online journal in which he bragged that he had "reassembled" President Bush's National Guard files.

Mon., Sept. 20

CBS News issues a statement admitting that it was "misled" by Burkett regarding the authenticity of the National Guard documents used in the "60 Minutes" segment. The network promises to launch an "independent review of the process by which the report was prepared and broadcast to help determine what actions need to be taken."

Dan Rather acknowledges: "We made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry. It was an error that was made, however, in good faith and in the spirit of trying to carry on a CBS News tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism."

Hours after CBS News executives apologize for using faulty National Guard memos in the "60 Minutes" segment criticizing President Bush's military service, the Democratic National Committee continues to cite the documents on its website.

Wed., Sept. 22

CBS News announces that Dick Thornburgh, former governor of Pennsylvania and United States attorney general under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and Louis D. Boccardi, retired president and chief executive officer of the Associated Press, will comprise the independent review panel that will examine the process by which the "60 Minutes" report was prepared and broadcast.

Thurs., Sept. 23

Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie suggests that John Kerry's presidential campaign and CBS News were in cahoots to derail President Bush's re-election effort prior to the network's "60 Minutes" broadcast of the National Guard memo story.

Fri., Sept. 24

The Center for Individual Freedom files a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing CBS and the Kerry campaign of colluding in a calculated attack on President Bush.

Mon., Oct. 1

The recent controversy surrounding CBS News' use of apparently forged memos and the reaction to the flap prompts a Newsweek editor to demand that conservatives stop trying to "intimidate" the media.

Mon., Oct. 26

A CBS News/New York Times story about 380 tons of missing explosives in Iraq, considered potentially damaging to the Bush re-election effort, is reportedly placed on hold at the network, with plans to air the segment on Halloween, two days before Election Day.

Tues., Nov. 2

President Bush is re-elected, defeating Democrat Sen. John Kerry.

Tues., Nov. 23

Dan Rather announces plans to step down as anchor of the CBS Evening News in March of 2005 but indicates that he will stay on as a correspondent for both the Sunday and Wednesday editions of "60 Minutes."

[Cyrus]

...you'd be a retard by now.

Oh wait...

/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
...you'd be a retard by now. Oh wait...
/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you realize this doesn't even make sense?

[Cyrus]

Every joke you explain becomes more of a tragedy.

re·tard
v. re·tard·ed, re·tard·ing, re·tards
v. tr.
To cause to move or proceed slowly; delay or impede.
v. intr.
To be delayed.
n.
A slowing down or hindering of progress; a delay.

re·tired
adj.
Withdrawn from one's occupation, business, or office;
having finished one's active working life.
Received by a person in retirement: retired pay.
Withdrawn; secluded.

Pronounciation key: exactly the same in Texas.

[Rooster71]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The news gets better and better for GWB.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is no good news for me. It is much better to have a known liberal like Rather in his seat. Fewer people would be fooled about CBS's "objectivity".

Notice how he retires long after his phony documents story, and yet well ahead of the investigation's report? I call this "Reputation Damage Control".

[/ QUOTE ]
Are they actually considering Rather's situation as "retiring"? The news bits I've heard said that he was "stepping down from his position as anchorman" but would still be employed by the network. Not that it really matters, I am just curious if this could accurately be called "retiring".

[GWB]

[ QUOTE ]

Are they actually considering Rather's situation as "retiring"? The news bits I've heard said that he was "stepping down from his position as anchorman" but would still be employed by the network. Not that it really matters, I am just curious if this could accurately be called "retiring".

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, we can say he is retiring, from his position as anchor, not from the company. It should be noted that the retiring Brokaw will also be doing programs for NBC News. Most past anchors have retired the anchor's chair without completely stopping work as well.

Perhaps we should say he has been demoted, since Rather has expressed interest previously in being anchor for another 10 years. This is not voluntary on Rather's part.