AOL News invited Dan Rather to respond to the controversy following his remarks about the state of television news.
Let me put one thing to rest right away: CBS Corp. Chief Executive Les Moonves' charge that my "dumbing it down, tarting it up" comments about the CBS Evening News were "sexist," presumably because of my use of the "T word" in describing a newscast anchored by a woman. Nice try at misdirection from the issue at hand -- the parlous state of news, particularly television news -- but no cigar; I've used that phrase dozens of times in the past (such as documented here, here, and here) to describe the disturbing trend in news toward shallow, celebrity-obsessed coverage, in contexts where it clearly had nothing to do with gender.
Now that we've settled that, how about we have a real conversation in this country about the real issue: Our nation and our world face enormous challenges, many being of the life-or-death variety. Nuclear proliferation. Climate change. The health-care crisis. The growing gap between rich and poor. The ways that the war on terrorism has changed how we understand and interpret our Constitution and our bedrock values as a free and democratic society. There are debates about these and other pressing issues before us but, for the most part, they have been limited to our political elites, and these folks tend to already have a dog in the fight.
In fewer than nine months, the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations will likely be locked up. In less than a year-and-a-half, we will be going to the polls to choose a new president. Yet the rank-and-file American voter is not being drawn into the central debates of our time. And the information he or she gets about the presidential campaign is largely limited to the political horse race.
Why? One of the big reasons is the absurdly disproportionate coverage that news organizations give to celebrity "news" and other tales of scandal and prurience. They hope for a short-term ratings and demographics fix, while the long-term, important problems -- the ones that actually have a bearing on our lives -- get pushed out of broadcasts and the ever-shrinking "news hole" in print publications.
We can talk about that, we can debate whether this is good for our country and what we should do about it -- or we can turn this into another celebrity story involving two anchors and a network CEO.
Reader Comments ( Page 5 of 29)
61. After we went into Iraq for wmd. I have little respect for our news broadcasting. I do not think the press in our country is really honest.
Mildred Kish at 8:01PM on Jun 13th 2007
62. I have to agree with Rather. The fact that hard news has been replaced with pablum is a sad commentary on our country. A generation of this and we will be in a position to possibly lose the democratic society that used to be the envy of the world.
Bruce Currivan at 7:26PM on Jun 13th 2007
63. Katie Couric can't seem to settle on a broadcasting style - - or get energy into her speech.As a woman, I was hoping for a better choice.
lee Hutchins at 9:16AM on Jun 14th 2007
64. Dan is so right. The decision of the networks to treat news as if it were entertainment is one of the greatest obstacles to having an infomred public. Katie may be a sweetie-pie, but she belongs on a morning chat show. She is not a news anchor.
Sarah at 7:32PM on Jun 13th 2007
65. I was never a fan of Dan Rather, and sometimes his comments might be sour grapes, however, in this instance he is not 100% wrong. Katy Couric made a move that was not in her favor. She is adorable, and fun to listen to on the morning show, but not that good on the news. The best newscaster out there now is Charlie Gibson. He is easy to listen to and you feel that he is being honest with the news, not slanted. I rarely watched Dan Rather, and he always whistled when he spoke. I was surprised that after all the years, something wasn't done about that.
F Gross at 7:35PM on Jun 13th 2007
66. I thnk Dan should just shut his mouth and staed retired....He has no business talking about what is going on any more he does not work there.
He can't get the fasts rite the he shoud just SHUT HIS MOUTH
Marie at 7:35PM on Jun 13th 2007
67. Mr. Rather:
In an effort to bolster your claim that your remarks were not either sexist or personal to Ms. Couric, you cite previous instances where you used the same language. Because of those instances, you just may be able to convince me that your words were not a personal attack on Ms. Couric. However, as a supposed highly experienced professional communicator, you simply can't be serious when you claim that your use of the word "tarting" is not sexist, and therefore, offensive to Ms. Couric and others. Please, Mr. Rather. Look the word up in the dictionary. And, have the professional and personal integrity and grace to admit that you were wrong to say what you did.
Beth at 7:36PM on Jun 13th 2007
68. The issue about "tarting" is not settled. Tart is either going to be a word the goes in the direction of sour or sweet (unripe fruit or a bakery sweet) or which goes in the direction of "a tart" (derogatory remark referring to females) I know which generation used that phrase and how it was used. It doesn't matter what hes says about where he has used "tarting it up" before -- or how. He is making an offensive remark. As a woman, it is particularly offensive to me.
kk at 7:36PM on Jun 13th 2007
69. I like Katie Couric she's cute that's more than I can say for Dan Rather.
Rather is the one who reported a totally ficticious story about Bush as a great scoop.
Jeff Marzano
Jeff Marzano at 7:44PM on Jun 13th 2007
70. I don't look forward to the daily newscasts. The attention given to celebrities and boring and uninteresting selected news items convinced me that I could do better by searching online. The Iraq war and even the illegal invasion of our country is no longer considered news. Only Lou Dobbs seems to be aware of the threat to our country and the overload on our medical facilities and our educational institutions. Our congress, president, and entire government seems to have deserted their Constitutional responsibilities. They are as unreliable as getting a rebate.
B. McNamara at 7:42PM on Jun 13th 2007
71. Since I'm about the same age as Dan, I wholeheartedly share his opinions about the deterioration of the news, both local and national.
This trend to reporting only about so-called celebrities is running rampant. In my day news reporters were picked because of their ability, not because they looked like movie stars. Thank God for Ted Turner and Cable TV. Go get 'em Dan.
Jim Gough
Jim Gough at 7:49PM on Jun 13th 2007
72. The news is dumb because the average american is dumb. We are entering a new semi-literate age.
pkuykendall at 7:48PM on Jun 13th 2007
73. I'd rather hear a critique of the news media from Dan Rather than OJ Simpson! Unfortunately, these days real journalism has given way to jingoism. All you have to do is watch Fox News to see that we are back to the Spanish American War and the age of 'yellow.' Real muckrackers and real reporters are asked to resign as soon as they fail to verify information and sources. . .you go Dan! I've always believed you were banished by the Nixonians of our age! At least Dan never reported only the news the White House wanted heard or seen!
Cathy at 7:53PM on Jun 13th 2007
74. Dan or Katie? I feel each one has their own respective way of delivering the world's news. It's news that we are watching and listening to. Here's my true conception: "The audience is the person who's watching and this person wishes to be considered as if they are in presence of the person doing the reporting." I admit, when watching Katie, I seem to pick up a small degree of intensity one being,-- she's really trying to fill the hot chair. If she would only relax a bit and just concentrate on her own style of reporting, I think then she'll be fine. She's presenting to me that she is being looked at with a microscope! I loved Dan Rather, because he appeared genuine, and professional, but when he first started; he had shoes to fill too! I watched him for many years. Each one of them are different persons and no two people are exactly alike. They both are talented individuals and each one has his, and her way they will express themselves. Katie will soon realize that she is an original and that's when she's develop her very natural style. She will attract her audience's attention and keep them focused and coming back for many years. Good luck to them both!
Winnie.
Winnie S. at 7:54PM on Jun 13th 2007
75. I agree completely with Dan Rather. I grew up watching Murrow, then Cronkite, and finally Rather. I am now lost without national news coverage of those broadcast greats. I am all for women in high positions, but this one is not up to par with any of the current competition. We need some dignity and real news back at CBS.
J R Speck at 7:54PM on Jun 13th 2007