What does CBS need now more than ever?
Viewers!
With the exit of Dan Rather from the Evening news, CBS will be hard pressed to stay third in the ratings especially with the two other networks vying for the spot at the bottom. I doubt that Bob Schieffer will draw the loyal audience that Dan Rather did for 24 years.It takes a lot of courage to get into a pissing contest with a President or Vice President, or to arrogantly stand behind a story based on alleged forged documents.
That kind of courage was something Dan Rather never lacked. From his refusal to pay a New York City cab driver, to shooting up heroin in order to accurately report on the drug, Dan’s career as a newsman has been courageous indeed. I am not sure that his courage did much for his credibility but you could always count on Dan to bring you the story, whether it was true or not. That definitely takes courage.
It takes a lot of courage to end your newscast with the word courage for no apparent reason. I think Dan Rather epitomized courage in journalism. Some of his more courageous reporting included: The JFK Assassination, The Viet Nam War (in it’s entirety), The Democratic National Convention, where he was punched in the face by one of Mayor Daley’s bodyguards. His undercover work with the mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan should have won Gunga Dan a Peabody Award, not to mention the Hussein interviews.
It takes a lot of courage to walk off of the set for six minutes during a national news broadcast because of a tennis game.Dan’s reporting often reminded me of a tree surgeon climbing out on a limb and sawing it off behind him but he never failed to ride the falling limb to the ground. If that doesn’t take courage I don’t know what does.
Copyright © 2005 Quaid Davis. All rights reserved.
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