Guide Note

Dan Rather is a prominent news broadcaster and former anchor for the CBS Evening News. He currently hosts a television news magazine called Dan Rather Reports on HDNet.

Fast Facts

1. Full Name: Daniel Irvin Rather Jr.
2. Born: October 31, 1931
3. Birth Place: Wharton, Texas
4. Began his career in 1950 working for the Associated Press
5. Host: CBS Evening News (1981-2005)
6. Rather is suing CBS and Viacom for $70 million for breaking the terms of their contract
7. Alumni: Sam Houston State University

Born in Wharton, Texas, his family moved to Houston, Texas. He graduated in 1949 from John H. Reagan High School in Houston. In 1953, he received a B.A. in journalism from Sam Houston State University where he was editor of the school newspaper, The Houstonian.

In 1950, Rather began his career as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Later, he was a reporter for UPI and the Houston Chronicle. In 1959, became a reporter for KTRK-TV in Houston. Rather was promoted to the director of news for KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston.

In early September 1961, Rather reported live from the Galveston Seawall as Hurricane Carla threatened the Texas coastline. This action impressed the network executives at CBS, and they hired him as a CBS News correspondent in 1962. At CBS, Rather covered many prominent news stories including the Kennedy Assassination and Watergate. In 1981, he succeeded Walter Cronkite as the head anchor of CBS Evening News, a position he held until a controversy surrounding his report on President Bush's military record in 2005 forced him out.