posted November 23, 2004 01:22 PM            

Rather is following in the footsteps of Tom Brokaw who is retiring and who is the most objective of the troika of Rather, Jennings and Brokaw...also the most trusted and most watched, Brokaw that is.

Now, if someone can persuade Jenning to retire to Canada, the long overdue housecleaning at the major networks will be complete.

Viacom stock, (VIA)is up on a day when the Dow Jones Industrials are down almost 50 points,

Updated: 12:31 PM EST
Rather to Leave CBS News in March
By DAVID BAUDER, AP

NEW YORK (Nov. 23)

Dan Rather, embattled anchor of the ''CBS Evening News,'' announced Tuesday that he will step down in March, on the 24th anniversary of taking over the job from Walter Cronkite.

The veteran anchor has been under fire in recent months for his role in a ''60 Minutes Wednesday'' story that questioned President Bush's service in the National Guard, which turned out to based on allegedly forged documents.

Rather, 73, said he will continue to work for CBS, as a correspondent for both editions of ''60 Minutes.''

He made no mention of the National Guard story in announcing the change, saying he had agreed with CBS executives last summer that after the Nov. 2 election would be the right time to leave.

''I have always been and remain a 'hard news' investigative reporter at heart,'' he said. ''I now look forward to pouring my heart into that kind of reporting full time.''

CBS made no mention of a potential successor.

Rather has worked at CBS News for more than 40 years and made his name as a reporter covering the Nixon White House. His nearly quarter-century at the helm of the ''CBS Evening News'' is the longest at the helm of any network evening broadcast.

posted November 23, 2004 03:00 PM            

I would caution you not to get too tied to that particular dream though. Dan's audience has been deserting him in droves.

Rumor is that Rather may step "all the way down" to...gasp, cough, CNN.

Perhaps the President will be able to find him a seat at White House briefings next to Helen Thomas....in the back row
http://www.ratherbiased.com/news/

posted November 23, 2004 09:33 PM            

Rather used the forged documents in spite of information from their authenticator that they could not authenticate them. Turns out they were forged on a computer using a word processor and Microsoft Word....a format that didn't exist at the time they were supposed to have been generated.