Dan Rather facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dan Rather
Rather in 2017
Born	Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (1931-10-31) October 31, 1931 (age 93) Wharton, Texas, U.S.
Education	Sam Houston State University (BA)
Occupation	Journalist news presenter reporter and correspondent
Years active	1950–present
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Jean Goebel ​ ​ (m. 1957; died 2024)​
Children	2

Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (born October 31, 1931) is a famous American journalist and former TV news anchor. He started his career in Texas. He became well-known after his reporting helped save many lives during Hurricane Carla in September 1961. In his first national broadcast, he helped about 350,000 people safely leave the area.

Dan Rather reported on many important events in modern history. These include the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, the 9/11 events, and the Iraq War.

In November 1963, Rather reported from Dallas when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Because of his strong reporting, he was promoted at CBS News. He became the White House reporter in 1964. He also worked as a foreign reporter in London and Vietnam. Later, he returned to cover the White House, including President Richard Nixon's trip to China and the Watergate scandal.

In 1981, Rather became the main news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He held this job for 24 years. He was one of the "Big Three" evening news anchors in the U.S. from the 1980s to the early 2000s. The other two were Peter Jennings at ABC News and Tom Brokaw at NBC News. He also often worked on CBS's weekly news show, 60 Minutes.

Rather left the anchor desk in 2005. This happened after a news report he presented about President George W. Bush's military service. The documents used in the report were later questioned. He continued to work with CBS until 2006, when he left the network.

After leaving CBS, Rather hosted Dan Rather Reports on AXS TV. This was a news show similar to 60 Minutes. He also hosts The Big Interview with Dan Rather, where he talks with musicians and entertainers. In 2018, he hosted an online newscast called The News with Dan Rather. Since 2021, he has been writing a newsletter called "Steady."

In April 2024, Rather was interviewed on Sunday Morning. This was his first time back on CBS News since 2006.

Dan Rather's Early Life

Rather's boyhood home being restored at the Wharton County Museum

Dan Rather was born on October 31, 1931, in Wharton County, Texas. His father was a ditch digger and pipe layer. His mother's name was Byrl Veda Page. When Dan was a child, his family moved to Houston. He went to Lovett Elementary School and Hamilton Middle School there. He finished high school in 1950 at John H. Reagan High School.

In 1953, Rather earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State Teachers College. This college is in Huntsville, Texas. He was the editor of the school newspaper, The Houstonian. He also played football games for a local radio station while in college. After college, he briefly studied law.

In 1954, Rather joined the United States Marine Corps. However, he was soon discharged. It was found that he had rheumatic fever as a child, which he had not mentioned.

Starting His Journalism Career

Rather began his journalism journey in 1950. He worked as a reporter for the Associated Press in Huntsville, Texas. Later, he reported for United Press from 1950 to 1952. He also worked for several radio stations in Texas and the Houston Chronicle newspaper.

He was a play-by-play announcer for the University of Houston football team for four seasons. He also announced baseball games for the Houston Buffs.

In 1959, Rather started his television career. He was a reporter for KTRK-TV in Houston. This station is an ABC affiliate. Later, he became the news director for KHOU-TV, a CBS station in Houston.

Reporting on Hurricane Carla

In September 1961, Rather covered Hurricane Carla for KHOU-TV. He broadcast from the National Weather Center in Galveston. He showed the first radar image of a hurricane on TV. He came up with the idea of putting a clear map over the radar screen. This helped people see how big Hurricane Carla was.

Because of his clear reporting, more than 350,000 people left the area. This was the largest evacuation known at that time. Their actions are believed to have saved thousands of lives. Rather's live coverage of Carla was also shown by national TV stations.

In February 1962, Rather moved to New York City to work for CBS. His first reports for CBS included covering a plane crash and a hospital incident. Soon after, Rather became the chief of CBS's news office in Dallas. In August 1963, he became the chief of the Southern office in New Orleans. He was in charge of news in the South, Southwest, Mexico, and Central America.

Dan Rather at CBS News

Rather speaking about his experiences in journalism in Afghanistan in July 2011.

From JFK to Watergate

Dan Rather was in Dallas in November 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated. He was one of the first people to see the Zapruder film. This film showed the assassination. He was also the first to describe it on television.

Rather's reporting during the time after Kennedy's death impressed CBS News. In 1964, he was chosen to be the network's White House reporter. He covered events following the assassination. In 1965, he worked as a foreign reporter in London. In 1966, he reported from Vietnam.

He returned to be the White House reporter during Richard Nixon's presidency. He was one of the journalists who went with Nixon to China. He also covered the Watergate scandal and the steps to remove President Nixon from office.

Becoming the CBS Evening News Anchor

Rather (right) with president Ronald Reagan in 1982

After President Nixon left office in 1974, Rather became a main reporter for the show CBS Reports. In 1975, he joined 60 Minutes, a popular Sunday night news show. His success there helped him become the next anchor of The CBS Evening News.

Rather took over from Walter Cronkite as news anchor. His first broadcast was on March 9, 1981. Rather had a different style of reporting the news. For many years, he ended the show by saying: "That's part of our world tonight."

Rather also had other roles while he was anchor. In 1988, he became the host of 48 Hours. In 1999, he joined 60 Minutes II as a reporter.

For a short time from 1993 to 1995, Rather co-anchored the evening news with Connie Chung. After she left, Rather went back to doing the newscast alone.

By 2005, CBS Evening News had fewer viewers than NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight. It still had about 5.5 million viewers each night.

Killian Documents Controversy

On September 8, 2004, Rather reported on 60 Minutes Wednesday about President George W. Bush's military service. The report used documents that were said to be from Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian. Soon after, people questioned if the documents were real. Many thought they looked like they were made with modern computer fonts.

Rather and CBS first defended the story. They said experts had confirmed the documents were real. But later, CBS said that their source for the documents had misled them.

On September 20, 2004, CBS said the story was not accurate. Rather stated that if he had known then what he knew later, he would not have aired the story with those documents. After an investigation, CBS let go of some staff members. Rather's retirement from the anchor desk was believed to be sped up by this event.

Leaving CBS News

Rather retired as the anchor of the CBS Evening News in 2005. His last broadcast was on March 9, 2005. He had been the anchor for 24 years, which is the longest time for anyone in American television history. He continued to work as a reporter for 60 Minutes for a short while.

After retiring, Rather spoke about what he saw as a lack of courage in American journalists. He said that reporters need to "speak truth to power."

In June 2006, CBS News announced that Rather would leave the network after 44 years.

Lawsuit After Leaving CBS

On September 19, 2007, Rather filed a lawsuit against CBS and its former parent company. He said that they made him a "scapegoat" in the Killian story. A CBS spokesman said the lawsuit was "without merit." In September 2009, a New York court dismissed Rather's lawsuit. New York's highest court also refused to bring it back in January 2010.

After CBS: New Projects

Rather speaking with Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV and Sergeant Maj. Beam at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan, in July 2011

After leaving CBS, Rather joined Mark Cuban's cable network AXS TV. He hosted and produced a weekly news show called Dan Rather Reports from 2006 to 2013.

Since 2013, Rather has hosted The Big Interview with Dan Rather on AXS TV. On this show, he has in-depth interviews with famous people in music and entertainment. He has also produced special documentaries for the network.

Rather often appears on other news shows, like those on MSNBC and CNN. He has also written for The Huffington Post.

In 2012, Rather published his autobiography called Rather Outspoken: My Life in the News.

In 2015, Rather started his own production company, News and Guts Media. Through this company, he produces The Big Interview and other projects.

Also in 2015, Rather started posting actively on Facebook. His posts were longer than typical social media posts, but they became very popular. He now has millions of followers. He writes about current events, journalism, and childhood memories.

In 2016, SiriusXM Radio started a new weekly show called Dan Rather's America.

In 2017, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin created a special online project about Dan Rather's long career. It includes many documents, interviews, and video clips.

In 2018, Rather launched a weekly newscast called The News with Dan Rather on The Young Turks YouTube channel.

Dan Rather's Personal Life

Rather at South by Southwest 2007; discussing media, the internet, and asking the "hard questions".

Dan Rather was married to Jean Goebel for 67 years. She passed away in November 2024. They had a son and a daughter. They lived in New York City and Austin, Texas. Their daughter, Robin, works to protect the environment in Austin. Their son, Dan, is a lawyer in New York City.

Sam Houston State University named its mass communications building after Rather in 1994. This building houses the student newspaper and radio/TV stations. In 2007, Rather received an honorary degree from Siena College for his work in journalism.

Rather continues to speak out about how politics and big companies can influence journalism. He believes that journalists need to be brave and report the truth.

Books by Dan Rather

• The Palace Guard, with Gary Paul Gates, 1974.
• The Camera Never Blinks: Adventures of a TV Journalist, with Mickey Herskowitz, 1977.
• I Remember, with Peter Wyden, 1991.
• The Camera Never Blinks Twice: The Further Adventures of a Television Journalist, with Mickey Herskowitz, 1994.
• The American Dream: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation, 2001.
• What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism, with Elliot Kirschner, 2017.
• What Unites Us: The Graphic Novel, with Elliot Kirschner, illustrated by Tim Foley, 2021.

Awards and Honors

Rather at the 64th Annual Peabody Awards

Dan Rather has won many awards for his journalism. These include several Emmy Awards and Peabody Awards. He has also received honorary degrees from universities.

In 2004, Rather was added to the Television Hall of Fame. In 2001, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. In 2023, he was inducted into the SXSW Hall of Fame.

"Ratherisms"

Dan Rather is known for his colorful and unique sayings during live broadcasts. These are sometimes called "Ratherisms" or "Texanisms." Here are a few examples:

• "This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-O."
• "This thing is as tight as the rusted lugnuts on a '55 Ford."

See also

In Spanish: Dan Rather para niños

• New Yorkers in journalism