DAN RATHER. Born in Wharton, Texas, U.S.A., 31 October 1931. Educated at Sam Houston State College at Huntsville, Texas, B.A. in Journalism, 1953; attended University of Houston and South Texas School of Law. Married: Jean Goebel; children: Dawn Robin and Daniel Martin. Journalism instructor at Sam Houston State College; worked for United Press International; worked for the Houston Chronicle; news writer, reporter, and news director, CBS radio affiliate KTRH in Houston, mid-late 1950s; director of news and public affairs, CBS television affiliate KHOU in Houston, late 1950s to 1961; chief, CBS's southwestern bureau in Dallas, 1961-64; CBS White House Correspondent, 1963; chief of CBS London bureau, 1965-66; war correspondent, Vietnam, 1966; returned to position as CBS White House correspondent, 1966-74; anchor-correspondent for CBS Reports, 1974-75; correspondent and co-editor, 60 Minutes, 1975-81; anchor, Dan Rather Reporting, CBS Radio Network since 1977; anchor and managing editor, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather since 1981; anchor, 48 Hours since 1988; anchored numerous CBS news specials. Recipient: of Texas Associated Press Broadcasters' awards for spot news coverage, 1956, 1959; numerous Emmy Awards. Address: CBS News, 524 West 57th St., New York, New York 10019, U.S.A.

TELEVISION

1974-75 CBS Reports
1975-81 60 Minutes
1981-2005 CBS Evening News With Dan Rather
1988- 48 Hours

PUBLICATIONS

The Camera Never Blinks: Adventures of a TV Journalist, with Mickey Herskowitz. New York: Morrow, 1977.

The Camera Never Blinks Twice: Further Adventures of a Television Journalist. New York: Morrow, 1994.

In a career in journalism that is now in its fifth decade, Dan Rather has established himself as a crucial figure in broadcast news. Anchor of the CBS Evening News from 1981 through 2005, Rather has enjoyed a long and sometimes colorful career in broadcasting. Rather has interviewed every United States President from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bill Clinton, and international leaders from Nelson Mandela to Boris Yeltsin. In 1990 he was the first American journalist to interview Saddam Hussein after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Rather's hard-hitting journalistic style has sometimes been as much discussed as the content of his reporting, particularly in the case of well-publicized contretemps with Richard Nixon and George Bush.

Rather began his career in journalism in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. He subsequently worked as a reporter for United Press International, for KSAM Radio in Huntsville, for KTRH Radio in Houston, and at the Houston Chronicle. He became news director of KTRH in 1956 and a reporter for KTRH-TV Houston in 1959. He was news director at KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston before joining CBS News in 1962 as chief of the Southwest bureau in Dallas.

In 1963, Rather was appointed chief of CBS' Southern bureau in New Orleans, responsible for coverage of news events in the South, Southwest, Mexico and Central America. He reported extensively on Southern racial strife, becoming well acquainted with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On 22 November 1963 in Dallas, Rather broke the news of the death of President John F. Kennedy. A few weeks after the assassination, he became CBS' White House correspondent.

Rather attracted notice in 1974 for an exchange with Richard Nixon. At a National Association of Broadcasters convention in Houston, Rather was applauded when he stood to ask a question, drawing Nixon's query, "Are you running for something?" Many saw Rather's quick retort, "No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?" as an affront to Presidential dignity.

A year later, Rather was selected to join the roster of journalists on CBS' 60 Minutes, and in 1981, after lengthy negotiations with the network, Rather became the successor to Walter Cronkite, anchoring the CBS Evening News. During Rather's tenure, he has sometimes been associated with striking, even bizarre, moments of news coverage. For one week in September 1986 Rather concluded his nightly broadcast with the solemn, ominous-sounding, single-word sign-off "Courage." The line, seen as an attempt to respond to or replace audience familiarity with Cronkite's "And that's the way it is," attracted widespread media coverage and not a little satire. In October 1986 Rather was attacked outside the CBS Building by thugs reportedly demanding "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" and Rather subsequently appeared on air with a swollen and bruised face. In September 1987 Rather walked off the CBS Evening News set in protest over the network's decision to allow U.S. Open tennis coverage to cut into the broadcast. His action on this occasion left CBS with a blank screen for more than six minutes. This moment was recalled in an explosive live interview Rather conducted with then Vice-President George Bush in January 1988. When Rather pressed Bush about his contradictory claims regarding his involvement in the Iran Contra Scandal, the vice president responded by asking Rather if he would like to be judged by those minutes resulting from his decision to walk off the air.

Connie Chung joined Rather on the CBS Evening News in a dual anchor format in 1993 amid constant speculation that he did not approve of the appointment. When Chung left the Evening News spot in 1995, he did not seem displeased. Rather also continues to anchor and report for the CBS News broadcast 48 Hours (which premiered in 1988). He was the first network journalist to anchor an evening news broadcast and a primetime news program at the same time, a practice which has since been adopted by on other networks.

Rather's career reflects the passing of the era in which Walter Cronkite was unproblematically "the most trusted man in America" with little or no close competition. Along with Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings, Rather is one of a triumvirate of middle-aged white male anchors who dominate the U.S. national nightly news. The three network news broadcasts continue to be locked in a tightly contested ratings race, and these highly paid anchors are decidedly valuable properties, the "stars" of television news.

-Diane Negra