Media & Debates

Key Players

Dan Rather
Dan Rather

Born in 1931, Rather is a journalist best known as the anchor of CBS Evening News, a position he held for twenty four years. He is currently the managing editor and anchor for “Dan Rather Reports” on the cable channel AXS TV.  In all, Rather spent more than four decades with the CBS network, holding the sobering distinction of being the first journalist to report the assassination of President Kennedy. Rather was present at the chaotic 1968 Democratic National Convention, and was assaulted while attempting to interview a delegate who was being accosted by a group of men. In 1981, Rather took over as anchor for CBS Evening News, succeeding Walter Cronkite.

Along with contemporaries Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw, Rather had a dramatic effect on media consumption by providing nightly commentary at a point where television’s role in politics was on the rise. The evening newscasts paved the way for the twenty four hour news cycle that we see today, and anchors like Rather were prominent fixtures in America’s households, providing a nightly recap of events around the world and at home.