First of all, it should be stated that Dan Rather may be regarded as one of the fathers of the contemporary news anchor school. Along with such stars of journalism as Larry King, Tom Ellis, Tom Griffith, Anderson Cooper and others is regarded as the professional journalist, who is completely dedicated to his job. As Herskowitz (1995) emphasizes, he started his journalism career in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Later he worked as a reporter for several radio stations, reported for the United press (1950-1952). The executives of the CBS hired him in 1962 when they were deeply impressed by his manner of reporting, which was imitated by lots of other journalists. Since 1960s he is a journalist for the CBS news group.
The “Dead Air” event happened on September 11, 1987. Originally, he was severely criticized for it; nevertheless, all the events happened because of his passionate devotion to journalism and high level of respect to the guest, whom he had to interview. The background of the event is the following: Dan Rather was preparing for the evening remote news broadcast from Miami. It was the broadcast, dedicated to Pope John Paul’s II U.S. tour. Nevertheless, the broadcasting schedule was subjected to changes without proper notification, as U.S. open tennis match had to be broadcasted at the time, which was defined for the news. Dan Rather wished to discuss this incident with the sport department, as he disliked that the news broadcast was shortened for such a reason, nevertheless, the sport department representatives appeared to be adamant, and Rather was very upset. Therefore, he left the studio, and nobody could find him. Suddenly the tennis match ended sooner than it was expected, and the news broadcast started without Dan Rather. More than 100 affiliates of the CBS group broadcasted nearly six minutes of the dead air. Surely, Dan Rather apologized for this incident.
As for the criticism, it should be stated that it was numerous, and the most ardent Rather’s opponent was Walter Cronkite. He was calling for Rather’s firing, as “There’s no excuse for it”. Later, in one of the interviews, Cronkite would state the following: “I certainly think he (Rather) should be remembered for his career successes. We all know how unfortunate it is that his last days were sullied by this problem. But that will dim over time, I think.” (Biography Base, 2009). Later, in 2005 he remembered the “dead air” again. Rather (1999) states that it happened “after the heavily publicized scandal tied to discredited reports on George W. Bush’s Texas Air National Guard service”.
Nevertheless, Dan Rather had never permitted himself to speak ill of Cronkite. He clearly realized that this was the professional envy, and any excuses or disputes would only harm. Originally, this positions Rather as a talented journalist, who perfectly felt the moods of the surrounding people and could find the root of any problem. These are the features of an intelligent person, and self-confident man, who aims to achieve and maintain his career success without mentioning some minor “obstacles” represented by opponents and envious personalities.
Bibliography
Biography Base. Dan Rather Biography. 2009. Web.
Herskowitz, M. Camera Never Blinks Twice: The Further Adventures of a Television Journalist. Quill (Harper) 1995
Knowledgerush.com Dan Rather. Web.
Rather, D. Deadlines and datelines. Morrow Publishing 1999.