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A
study in the arrogance and egotism of reporter
Dan Rather
It
appears that CBS news stalwart Dan Rather
might finally be on the road to recovery.
Rather, infamous for his arrogance and egotism,
made headlines most recently with his Wednesday,
Sept. 8, 2004 "60 Minutes" gaffe
when he narrated a story about President
George W. Bush's National Guard record.
The
story should have undergone at least a minimal
fact-checking session, something any good
journalist would demand, but he didn't,
and it ultimately cost Rather his job. Now,
according to a New York Online News story,
Rather has admitted that the many attacks he
has endured which questioned his credibility
actually got to him. Well, well, well, apparently
somebody does have a conscience!
In
an interview with the Online News Rather
said the following: "No rhinoceros
has a hide so thick that some well-placed,
hard-thrown, pointed spear can't get under
it." This quote, reminiscent of his
famous "Ratherisms," could seriously
be considered as the first step to recovery
in a career that has at times had many people
collectively scratching their heads and
wondering "Is he for real?" As
a journalist, I have to say that Rather's
way of doing things has always left me at
a loss for words, and that isn't a good
thing. Let's take a trip down memory lane,
shall we?
Dateline
— June 2, 1988: This date marks what
was definitely one of Rather's more scandalous
debacles. In Rather's stunning "expose"
on Vietnam, "CBS Reports: The Wall
Within," which CBS was touting
as the "rebirth of the TV documentary,"
stands as a beautiful example of when
fact checking would have done an anchor
good.
In
"Wall," Rather interviewed several
Vietnam "veterans" who described
countless unspeakable acts and atrocities
they committed during their tour of duty.
The horrors described included the skinning
of humans, the torching of villages and
the killing of civilians, all of which had
Rather nodding in awestruck numbness, yet
were later totally debunked when evidence
came out that most of the "vets"
interviewed hadn't even seen a battle, and
had instead served in many less-than-heroic
positions. Strike one.
Dateline
— 1980: After "60 Minutes"
was sued by California doctor Carl Galloway
for saying that he took part in an insurance
fraud, several reporters undertook an interview
with the ever-elusive Rather, something
the newsman usually doesn't do because he
is above us, right? Rather was finally ambushed
by a reporter outside the CBS building,
and smiling with his trademark Texas grin
said the following: "Get the microphone
right up, will you? F*** you. You got it?"
Rather later said he didn't know it was
a reporter who he was talking to and was
forced to apologize by CBS. Gee, Dan, whoddathunk
it was a reporter that approached you and
stuck a microphone in your face? Strike
two, and please Dan, stop lying...I thought
you were a good Christian, as you have so
often vocalized.
Dateline
— Sept. 11, 1987: Here, in one of
the worst televised temper-tantrums ever,
Rather walked off the set for six minutes
after a tennis match went long and interrupted
his uninterruptible newscast. I think this
act speaks for itself and demonstrates the
complete arrogance that Rather has shown
over the years. Strike three, you're
out!
These
three examples only represent a minute fraction
of all of the times that Rather has either
misspoken, didn't check facts or just plain
acted like an ass. For a complete list of
Rather's gaffes, check RatherBiased.com.
In the meantime, just find some solace in
knowing that one of America's most bigheaded
newsmen is finally admitting the error of
his ways.
Gerry
Wachovsky is a senior broadcast journalism
major at CSULB and the diversions editor
of the Online Forty-Niner.
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