Editing Dan Rather (section)

=== ''CBS Evening News'' anchor ===
[[File:Dan Rather and Ronald Reagan 1982.jpg|thumb|right|Rather (right) with president [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1982]]
After President Nixon's resignation in 1974, Rather became chief correspondent for the documentary series ''CBS Reports''. In December 1975, he became a correspondent of the long-running Sunday night news show ''[[60 Minutes]]—''at the time the program was moved from a Sunday afternoon time-slot to primetime. Success there helped Rather pull ahead of longtime correspondent [[Roger Mudd]], who was in line to succeed [[Walter Cronkite]] as anchor and Managing Editor of ''The'' ''[[CBS Evening News]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=CBS Will Replace Walter Cronkite With Dan Rather |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1980/2/15/cbs-will-replace-walter-cronkite-with/ |website=thecrimson.com |publisher=The Harvard Crimson, Inc |access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Good evening. President Reagan, still training his spotlight on the economy, today signed a package of budget cuts that he will send to Congress tomorrow. Lesley Stahl has the story.|Rather's first lines in his debut as anchor of ''The [[CBS Evening News]]''|title=|source=}}

Rather succeeded to the news anchor position after Cronkite's retirement, making his first broadcast on March 9, 1981. Rather had a significantly different style of reporting the news. In contrast to the [[wikt:avuncular|avuncular]] Cronkite, who ended his newscast with "That's the way it is," Rather searched to find a broadcast ending more suitable to his tastes. For one week in September 1986, with CBS the target of potentially hostile new ownership, Rather tried ending his broadcasts with the word "courage",<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rathers-curtain-closer-courage/ Rather's Curtain Closer: 'Courage'] CBS News. March 8, 2005.</ref> and was roundly ridiculed for it. For nearly two decades, Rather ended the show with: "That's part of our world tonight."<ref name="dolph"/>

Rather also held other positions during his time as anchor. In January 1988, he became host of the newly created ''[[48 Hours (TV series)|48 Hours]],'' and in January 1999, Rather joined the new ''[[60 Minutes II]]'' as a correspondent.<ref name="dolph">{{cite web |title=60 Minutes II {{!}} Dan Rather |url=https://danratherjournalist.org/investigative-journalist/60-minutes-ii |website=danratherjournalist.org |publisher=The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin |access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref>

Ratings for the ''Evening News'' with Rather at the helm fluctuated wildly, at a time when more alternatives to TV news were developing. After a dip to second place, Rather regained the top spot in 1985 until 1989, when he ceded the ratings peak to rival [[Peter Jennings]] at ''[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC's]] World News Tonight''. By 1992, however, the ''Evening News'' had fallen to third place of the three major networks. It rose in rankings in 2005, when [[Bob Schieffer]] became the interim anchor between Rather and [[Katie Couric]]. It briefly moved ahead of ''ABC World News Tonight'' in the wake of the death of Peter Jennings, but remained behind ''[[NBC Nightly News]]''. Rather was a frequent collaborator with CBS News producer [[Susan Zirinsky]], a leading member of the news division's staff.<ref>Auletta, Ken (March 7, 2005), [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/03/07/sign-off "Sign-Off: The long and complicated career of Dan Rather"], ''The New Yorker''.</ref>

In 1987, new CBS owner [[Laurence Tisch]] oversaw layoffs of hundreds of CBS News employees, in a major shake-up of the network.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-16-me-tisch16-story.html|title=Laurence Tisch, 80; Billionaire Had Rocky Time at CBS Helm|agency=Associated Press|date=November 16, 2003|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=June 29, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> Among those to go were correspondents such as [[David A. Andelman|David Andelman]], [[Fred Graham (correspondent)|Fred Graham]], [[Morton Dean]], and [[Ike Pappas]]. Fewer videotape crews were dispatched to cover stories, and numerous bureaus were closed. Critics cited the cutbacks as a major factor in CBS News' fall into third place in the ratings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=columbiabroa |title=Columbia Broadcasting System – The Museum of Broadcast Communications |publisher=Museum.tv |access-date=June 4, 2012 |archive-date=May 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527111432/http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=columbiabroa |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Dan Rather (8157881123).jpg|thumb|right|Rather during an interview with [[Extra (American TV program)|Extra]] at the 2002 [[Peabody Awards]]]]
[[File:Dan Rather Peabody.jpg|thumb|Rather at the 2005 [[Peabody Awards]]]]
For a short time from 1993 to 1995, Rather co-anchored the evening news with [[Connie Chung]]. Chung had been a Washington, DC correspondent for CBS News, and anchored short news updates on the West Coast during her time as a newscaster for KNXT (now [[KCBS-TV]]) in Los Angeles. On joining the ''CBS Evening News'', she reported "pop news" stories. In one widely cited case, she aggressively pursued [[Tonya Harding]], who was accused of a plot to injure fellow Olympic ice skater [[Nancy Kerrigan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/olympics1998/history/timeline/articles/time_021794.htm |title=Picture This: Kerrigan, Harding Meet by Accident |work=Washingtonpost.com |date=February 17, 1994 |access-date=June 4, 2012}}</ref> After Chung left the network, Rather went back to doing the newscast alone.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McFarland |first1=Melanie |title=What Rather and Chung teach us: How not to end a career |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/ae/tv/article/What-Rather-and-Chung-teach-us-How-not-to-end-a-1206819.php |website=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |date=June 22, 2006 |publisher=Hearst Communications |access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref>
By the 2005–06 season, the end of Rather's time as anchor, ''CBS Evening News'' lagged behind ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'' and ''[[ABC World News Tonight]]'' in the ratings. But it still drew approximately 5.5&nbsp;million viewers a night.<ref>{{cite web |title=Network Evening News Ratings |url=https://www.journalism.org/numbers/network-evening-news-ratings/ |website=journalism.org |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=August 16, 2019 |archive-date=August 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816211713/https://www.journalism.org/numbers/network-evening-news-ratings/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Criticism of Rather reached a fever pitch after ''[[60 Minutes II]]'' ran his 2004 report about [[George W. Bush military service controversy|President Bush's military record]]. Numerous [[Killian documents controversy|critics questioned the authenticity of the documents]] upon which the report was based. Rather subsequently admitted on the air that the documents' authenticity could not be proven.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/04/dan-rather-will-not-go-away-quietly/51152/ |title=Dan Rather Will Not Go Away Quietly |publisher=The Atlantic Wire |date=April 16, 2012 |access-date=June 4, 2012 |archive-date=April 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413211643/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/04/dan-rather-will-not-go-away-quietly/51152/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the aftermath, CBS fired several members of CBS News staff but temporarily retained Rather, until his contract was up for renewal the following year, whereupon he was completely ousted.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=Jarrett |title=CBS Ousts 4 For Bush Guard Story |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-ousts-4-for-bush-guard-story-10-01-2005/ |website=cbsnews.com |date=January 10, 2005 |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc. |access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref>