PittsburghAfterDark
06-07-2006, 07:02 AM
The downfall of the dinosaur that brought the comet to Earth is nearly complete.
His disgrace is now absolute and this send off is an unparalleled insult in network news history.
When John Chancellor was moved from the NBC news desk in favor of Tom Brokaw he was given a chair as an NBC commentator and his face was never removed from the network even though he was demoted.??When Huntley/Brinkley was broken up David Brinkley was given NBC Magazine then he moved to ABC to host "This Week".
CBS gave Walter Cronkite a continued contract and for a number of years after his retirement as anchor produced several prime time documentaries.
Long story short every network that demoted a main anchor kept them on board in some fashion or another, even if it was merely symbolic.
Rather is being tossed overboard like the lead weight he is.
I honestly expected CBS News to keep him on 60 Minutes for the sake of image alone.??I'm really surprised at this development given the long history of American television networks not eating their own.
SO LONG, DAN
CAN'T GET CBS TO OFFER HIM A NEW DEAL
By MICHAEL STARR
June 7, 2006 -- DAN Rather could be gone from CBS News by the end of the year.
After months of negotiations, the former anchor - now a "60 Minutes" correspondent - has not been able to make a deal to remain with CBS - and is reportedly bothered that the network where he worked for the last 44 years does not seem to want him anymore.
Rather, whose contract expires at the end of this year, had hoped to finish his career as a full-time correspondent at "60 Minutes."
"But it doesn't seem like [CBS] wants him there" now, says an industry insider.
Rather's fate at CBS News would seem to have been sealed when he was forced out of the anchor desk in March 2005, six months after a famously botched "60 Minutes II" report on George W. Bush's National Guard service.
It's no shock that CBS appears ready to cut its ties to Rather after the fall-out from the National Guard story - a major embarrassment to the network.
But it is surprising that the network and Rather have not been able to figure out a graceful exit for the veteran newsman - and that there is now a hard and fast date for his departure from broadcast TV.
CBS, which wouldn't comment on the status of its contract talks, has been issuing variations of the same statement regarding Rather's future at the network.
"[Rather] is a '60 Minutes' correspondent just like every other '60 Minutes' correspondent, and he is working on stories that will air in the next month or so," a CBS News spokeswoman told The Post. "That's his status."
Rather, 74, was absent from the CBS affiliates meeting in Las Vegas last week, when Katie Couric was introduced as the new "CBS Evening News" anchor - at the same time Anderson Cooper was welcomed as a new "60 Minutes" contributor.
CBS is apparently hoping that Cooper and Couric - who'll also contribute to "60 Minutes" - will attract a younger audience to the broadcast and pump up the numbers among the viewers most coveted by advertisers.
CNN is a possible destination for Rather, if he leaves CBS. He was wooed heavily by CNN back in 1997, and has appeared many times on the network's signature prime-time show, "Larry King Live."
Rather is on vacation and was unavailable for comment yesterday.
His agent also declined to comment.
Link (http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/67097.htm)
His disgrace is now absolute and this send off is an unparalleled insult in network news history.
When John Chancellor was moved from the NBC news desk in favor of Tom Brokaw he was given a chair as an NBC commentator and his face was never removed from the network even though he was demoted.??When Huntley/Brinkley was broken up David Brinkley was given NBC Magazine then he moved to ABC to host "This Week".
CBS gave Walter Cronkite a continued contract and for a number of years after his retirement as anchor produced several prime time documentaries.
Long story short every network that demoted a main anchor kept them on board in some fashion or another, even if it was merely symbolic.
Rather is being tossed overboard like the lead weight he is.
I honestly expected CBS News to keep him on 60 Minutes for the sake of image alone.??I'm really surprised at this development given the long history of American television networks not eating their own.
SO LONG, DAN
CAN'T GET CBS TO OFFER HIM A NEW DEAL
By MICHAEL STARR
June 7, 2006 -- DAN Rather could be gone from CBS News by the end of the year.
After months of negotiations, the former anchor - now a "60 Minutes" correspondent - has not been able to make a deal to remain with CBS - and is reportedly bothered that the network where he worked for the last 44 years does not seem to want him anymore.
Rather, whose contract expires at the end of this year, had hoped to finish his career as a full-time correspondent at "60 Minutes."
"But it doesn't seem like [CBS] wants him there" now, says an industry insider.
Rather's fate at CBS News would seem to have been sealed when he was forced out of the anchor desk in March 2005, six months after a famously botched "60 Minutes II" report on George W. Bush's National Guard service.
It's no shock that CBS appears ready to cut its ties to Rather after the fall-out from the National Guard story - a major embarrassment to the network.
But it is surprising that the network and Rather have not been able to figure out a graceful exit for the veteran newsman - and that there is now a hard and fast date for his departure from broadcast TV.
CBS, which wouldn't comment on the status of its contract talks, has been issuing variations of the same statement regarding Rather's future at the network.
"[Rather] is a '60 Minutes' correspondent just like every other '60 Minutes' correspondent, and he is working on stories that will air in the next month or so," a CBS News spokeswoman told The Post. "That's his status."
Rather, 74, was absent from the CBS affiliates meeting in Las Vegas last week, when Katie Couric was introduced as the new "CBS Evening News" anchor - at the same time Anderson Cooper was welcomed as a new "60 Minutes" contributor.
CBS is apparently hoping that Cooper and Couric - who'll also contribute to "60 Minutes" - will attract a younger audience to the broadcast and pump up the numbers among the viewers most coveted by advertisers.
CNN is a possible destination for Rather, if he leaves CBS. He was wooed heavily by CNN back in 1997, and has appeared many times on the network's signature prime-time show, "Larry King Live."
Rather is on vacation and was unavailable for comment yesterday.
His agent also declined to comment.
Link (http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/67097.htm)