Dan Rather is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and author who has covered some of the biggest news stories of the last 60 years including the civil rights movement, Kennedy’s assassination, the Vietnam War, Watergate and 9/11.
Older generations may remember Mr. Rather during the decades he spent as news anchor on the CBS Evening News and a correspondent on the news programs 60 Minutes and 48 Hours.
But Mr. Rather is more recently known for expanding his journalism career to include a multimedia production company, News and Guts, which produces nonfiction content about science, technology, history, music, the arts, sports and social justice issues.
And locally, he may be remembered for a 2007 interview with Jerry M. Lewis, Ph.D., an Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Kent State University, about the May 4 shootings.
Either way, Mr. Rather is a lifelong journalist who describes himself as “a reporter who got very lucky … If I didn’t have a front-row seat on history, it was at least a seat on the aisle.”
Mr. Rather is also a prolific writer, having authored several books that have taken a deep dive into topics ranging from the Vietnam War to how his career as a journalist has had an impact on his life and values.
Mr. Rather was born in Wharton, Texas, and grew up in Houston. He dreamed of becoming a reporter so he enrolled in Sam Houston State University, where he studied journalism, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953.
Mr. Rather started his career in print journalism and moved into radio and local television news. In 1962, he joined CBS News. In 1981, Mr. Rather became anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News, a post he held until 2005. He left CBS amid criticism for using suspect documents to question the military record of President George W. Bush during an interview with him.
After leaving CBS, he created Dan Rather Reports, an Emmy Award-winning primetime documentary and news magazine on cable network HDNet.
Mr. Rather’s News and Guts is built on the foundation of 20th century journalism while taking advantage of 21st century digital journalism and social media. The multimedia production company also is developing scripted series, as well as news.
On the News and Guts website, Mr. Rather sends out this invitation to anyone who may want to take a look at some of the work he and his team are producing today: “When I entered journalism, print and radio were king and television was an unchartered landscape. Now a digital world beckons with new opportunities. Please join us on our journey.”
You can find Mr. Rather on Facebook, and Twitter and Instagram.