Dan Rather

Broadcast journalist Dan Rather built one of the longest - and most fascinating - careers in the history of American television news. Born in Texas, he graduated with a degree in journalism from Sam Houston State. In the 1950s, Rather spent time working for multiple print news organizations, including the Associated Press. He also worked for a time broadcasting college football and minor league baseball on local radio. He moved into television in 1959, working for KTRK in Houston. He emerged on the national scene for the first time when he covered the destruction of Hurricane Carla for CBS in 1961. Rather was working for the network in Dallas at the time of President John Kennedy's assassination. His coverage of the national tragedy led to his being promoted to CBS's White House correspondent. His work for the network soon spread beyond just Washington. His subsequent reporting from Vietnam continued to raise his profile. He was famously attacked on the floor of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago while covering the event. Rather also led CBS's coverage of the Watergate story during Richard Nixon's presidency. While Walter Cronkite was the network's nightly news anchor, Rather began handling weekend anchoring duties in 1970. He later began a stint hosting the news magazine "60 Minutes" (CBS, 1968-) that lasted for six years. In 1981, he took over the desk of "CBS Evening News" after Cronkite retired. His time as anchor was marked by ratings fluctuations and various challenges. He was attacked by a deranged viewer in 1986 and walked off of a live broadcast in 1987. During his time as anchor, Rather worked on other news programs for CBS, including "48 Hours" (CBS, 1988-) and "60 Minutes II" (CBS, 1999-2005). It was a story on the later that eventually led to his leaving the network. In 2004, he reported on a series of memos, referred to as the "Killian Documents," that called into question President George W. Bush's National Guard service. After the findings were contested, the story ultimately had to be retracted and multiple staffers in the news division were fired. Rather retired from anchoring the "CBS Evening News" in March 2005. He continued working for the network on a limited basis before leaving for good in 2006. After exiting CBS, he began a partnership with billionaire Mark Cuban's broadcasting company, hosting "Dan Rather Reports" (HDNet/AXS-TV, 2006-13) and "The Big Interview" (AXS-TV, 2013-). He also offered a radio show entitled "Dan Rather's America" on satellite provider Sirius. A strong advocate of social media, Rather hosted a weekly news program, "The News with Dan Rather," that appeared on the YouTube.com channel, The Young Turks.