About
"I think one reason that a lot of people get into journalism is the opportunity to feel that you lead a purposeful life, in some small way. And if you're lucky and God smiles, at least you'll have a few opportunities to feel that you're contributing to something that's larger than just yourself and your own self interests. I can think of no other craft or profession or practice or anything in which I would have had more joy."
In his nearly eight-hour interview, Dan Rather talks at length about growing up in Houston, TX and his early years as a radio and television journalist in the local market. He describes in detail his work at KHOU-TV, where his dramatic continuous coverage of Hurricane Carla garnered national recognition and brought him to the attention of CBS News. In addition, he explains the challenges and lessons he learned from covering monumental moments in the Civil Rights Movement and the assassination of President Kennedy, and why CBS News, due to logistics, did not broadcast live television's first on-air murder -- that of Lee Harvey Oswald. He concludes with recollections on covering the war in Vietnam, the Nixon White House, and 9/11, and also speaks of his work on 60 Minutes and on succeeding Walter Cronkite as anchor of CBS Evening News. Don Carleton conducted the two-part interview on April 7 and November 7, 2005 in New York, NY.
Highlights
Dan Rather on the news profession and what it means to him "to live a purposeful life"
Dan Rather on covering 9/11
On the craft of reporting "you have to love the news"
On changing America's view on the Vietnam War
Dan Rather on his training grounds in becoming a journalist
On his tete-a-tete with Nixon at the 1974 Houston press conference
On the addictive nature of journalism
Dan Rather on being naive about how to look and sound on television when he first started, on not needing an "announcer" voice
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his early childhood, education, and influences
On his childhood dream of wanting to be a reporter; on starting his career in radio
Chapter 2
On his early work at KRRH radio in Texas;
On how he got a break to write his first newscast; eventually becoming Director of News and Public Affairs for KTRH in 1956
On what he learned in radio working there for six years, his training grounds for becoming a journalist; on the impact early television made on him
Chapter 3
On the gradual transition from radio to television
On working for KTRK in Houston on "The Coaches Show", his first foray on television; on being naive about how to look and sound on television; on not needing an "announcer" voice
On what a reporter's job is; on hitchhiking to the 1956 Democratic convention; on what made him want to do television news
Chapter 4
On how he became interested in television news; on his first on-air audition
On his first job as news director and host in 1960 at KHOU-TV in Houston, TX (a CBS affiliate); on learning from that job more about the craft of reporting "you have to love the news"
On decisions about building the news program at KHOU; being a "breaking news" station whose slogan became "when the news breaks out, we break in"; on shooting film himself and also conducting interviews
Chapter 5
On the early process of filming the news in 1960 while at a CBS affiliate in TX; "shoot film and get out" as the slogan for the start-up news organization
On covering "Hurricane Carla" in Texas while developing the news program there; on being sent overseas for the first time and meeting President Eisenhower in 1960
Chapter 6
On covering Hurricane Carla
On how news television was transmitted in the early 1960s via telephone lines and microwaves
Chapter 7
On the first time television carried an image of a live hurricane; Walter Cronkite's reference to him as being up to his ass in water moccasins
On the impact the hurricane coverage in Galveston had on his career
On the importance of his profession; on why he loves being a journalist
On being offered a job at CBS News after his reporting on the Hurricane in Texas
Chapter 8
On joining CBS News; on his screen-test for the station; on meeting legendary newsman Charles Collingwood who became his mentor
On how Charles Collingwood helped him greatly when Rather went to Laos and was having trouble gaining access
On moving to Dallas to cover the Civil Rights movement in the mid-1960s
Chapter 9
On the riots when James Meredith entered the University of Mississippi
On being threatened with violence while covering the Civil Rights Movement and his own views on Civil Rights at the time
On being in Dallas, Texas in 1962-3
On the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated
Chapter 10
On reporting on President Lyndon Johnson
On his path to reporting from Vietnam
On his experience reporting on the India-Pakistani Way and how it shaped him as a foreign correspondent
On reporting from Vietnam
Chapter 11
On the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated (continued); on how the assassination and its aftermath changed television news; on why the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald was not broadcast on CBS
On seeing the Zapruder film just a day or two after the assassination; on how he reported on the footage for CBS, and on losing out on the rights to Life magazine; on the emotional impact of the assassination; on conspiracy theories about the assassination
Chapter 12
On how covering the war in Vietnam changed him
On CBS executive Fred Friendly
On covering the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago
Chapter 13
On the Nixon administration's relationship with the press
On Nixon's 1974 press conference in Houston
Chapter 14
On 60 Minutes
On the path to succeeding Walter Cronkite as anchor of CBS Evening News
Chapter 15
On preparing to be Walter Cronkite's successor as anchor of CBS Evening News
On his style and image as an anchor
On working with Tom Bettag and the blank screen that aired on CBS Evening News during the 1986 U.S. Open
Chapter 16
On the blank screen that aired on CBS Evening News during the 1986 U.S. Open
On interviewing Saddam Hussein
On covering 9/11/01
On retiring from CBS Evening News
On the controversial story about President Bush's military service
On his legacy and the craft of journalism
On the future of television news
Shows
60 Minutes
Dan Rather on 60 Minutes
CBS Evening News with Dan Rather
Dan Rather on becoming the CBS Evening News anchor and succeeding Walter Cronkite
Dan Rather on succeeding Walter Cronkite as anchor of CBS Evening News
Dan Rather on retiring from CBS Evening News
Dan Rather on the blank screen that aired on CBS Evening News during the 1986 U.S. Open
CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite
Dan Rather on becoming the CBS Evening News anchor and succeeding Walter Cronkite
CBS Reports
Dan Rather on CBS Reports
Topics
9/11
Dan Rather on covering 9/11
Characters & Catchphrases
Dan Rather on his sign-off, "And that's a part of our world"
Civil Rights Movement
Dan Rather on covering the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1960s
Dan Rather on reporting in Mississippi when James Meredith entered the University of Mississippi
George W. Bush
Dan Rather on the controversial story about President George Bush Jr's military service
Gulf War
Dan Rather on his first interview with Saddam Hussein
Historic Events and Social Change
Dan Rather on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and on how the news that the president had passed away came to his newsroom
Dan Rather on how the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and its aftermath changed television news, by giving TV news credibility which it had previously lacked
Dan Rather on why the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald was not broadcast on CBS
Dan Rather on how he came to view the Zapruder film just a day or two after the assassination of President Kennedy, and on the experience of watching the footage at the time
Dan Rather on how he reported on the Zapruder film for CBS, after viewing it just a day or two after President Kennedy's assassination
Dan Rather on losing out on the rights to the Zapruder film to Life magazine
Dan Rather on the emotional impact of the Kennedy assassination and how he dealt with it on the day, and on conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination
JFK Assassination and Funeral
Dan Rather on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and on how the news that the president had passed away came to his newsroom
Dan Rather on how the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and its aftermath changed television news, by giving TV news credibility which it had previously lacked
Dan Rather on why the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald was not broadcast on CBS
Dan Rather on how he came to view the Zapruder film just a day or two after the assassination of President Kennedy, and on the experience of watching the footage at the time
Dan Rather on how he reported on the Zapruder film for CBS, after viewing it just a day or two after President Kennedy's assassination
Dan Rather on losing out on the rights to the Zapruder film to Life magazine
Dan Rather on the emotional impact of the Kennedy assassination and how he dealt with it on the day, and on conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination
Dan Rather on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated
Lyndon B. Johnson
Dan Rather on reporting on President Johnson
Dan Rather on covering the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and Lyndon Johnson
Pop Culture
Dan Rather on his sign-off, "And that's a part of our world"
Richard M. Nixon
Dan Rather on Nixon's relationship with television
Dan Rather on Nixon's 1974 press conference in Houston
Technological Innovation
Dan Rather on how news television was transmitted in the early 1960s via telephone lines and microwaves
Dan Rather on the changing media landscape in the early 1980s
Dan Rather on the future of television news
Vietnam War
Dan Rather on reporting on the Vietnam War
War on Terror
Dan Rather on his second interview with Saddam Hussein
Professions
Anchor
Dan Rather on what he learned about being in front of a camera as a newsman from Calvin Jones after his first audition
Dan Rather on filling Walter Cronkite's anchor role
Correspondent
Dan Rather on writing a 15 minute newscast in record time while at KTRH Radio in Texas
Dan Rather on what a reporter's job really is
Dan Rather on the type of reporting done on 60 Minutes
Journalists & News Producers
Dan Rather on the emotional impact of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and how he dealt with it as he reported on the events that day
Dan Rather on the news profession and what it means to him "to live a purposeful life"
Dan Rather on being a young reporter trying to get his Civil Rights news feed out while in the Deep South
Dan Rather on journalism
Genres
News and Documentary
Dan Rather on building the first CBS affiliate news station in Houston: on "breaking news"
Dan Rather how Charles Collingwood helped him greatly in learning how to cover news in Vietnam and Laos
Dan Rather on how news material was gathered and fed out during the Civil Rights Movement
Dan Rather on the type of reporting done on 60 Minutes
People
Tom Bettag
Dan Rather on working with Tom Bettag and the blank screen that aired on CBS Evening News during the 1986 U.S. Open
Charles Collingwood
Dan Rather on meeting legendary newsman Charles Collingwood when he first arrived at CBS News; on how he became a mentor for Rather
Dan Rather on how Charles Collingwood helped him greatly when Rather went to Laos and was having trouble gaining access
Dan Rather on how Charles Collingwood helped him prepare for a meeting with CBS head William S. Paley
Walter Cronkite
Dan Rather on Walter Cronkite's quote about him being up to his ass in water moccassins, while Rather was covering Hurricane Carla in 1960
Dan Rather on anchor Walter Cronkite and Rather's path to Vietnam
Dan Rather on an incident that occurred while talking to Walter Cronkite during the 1968 DNC
Dan Rather on Walter Cronkite's retirement
Fred Friendly
Dan Rather on news executive Fred Friendly and Rather's path to Vietnam
Dan Rather on his memories of Fred Friendly
Don Hewitt
Dan Rather on 60 Minutes and Don Hewitt
Dan Rather on working with Don Hewitt on 60 Minutes
Saddam Hussein
Dan Rather on interviewing Saddam Hussein
Lyndon B. Johnson
Dan Rather on reporting on President Johnson
Dan Rather on covering the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and Lyndon Johnson
John F. Kennedy
Dan Rather on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated
Bill Leonard
Dan Rather on CBS executive Bill Leonard and Rather's path to Vietnam
Roger Mudd
Dan Rather on talks to co-anchor CBS Evening News with Roger Mudd and being Walter Cronkite's successor
Richard M. Nixon
Dan Rather on Nixon's relationship with the media
William S. Paley
Dan Rather on William Paley selling CBS
Harry Reasoner
Dan Rather on writer Harry Reasoner and Rather's path to Vietnam
Morley Safer
Dan Rather on 60 Minutes and Mike Wallace
Van Gordon Sauter
Dan Rather on changes that CBS President Van Gordon Sauter brought to the network
Frank Stanton
Dan Rather on how Frank Stanton supposedly encouraged Lyndon Johnson to buy a television station in Austin, Texas
Laurence A. Tisch
Dan Rather on CBS CEO Larry Tisch
Mike Wallace
Dan Rather on working on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace