What IS The Frequency, Kenneth?
"What's the frequency, Kenneth?" is your Benzedrine, uh-huh
I was brain-dead, locked out, numb, not up to speed
I thought I'd pegged you an idiot's dream
Tunnel vision from the outsider's screen
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh
(REM, What's the Frequency, Kenneth?)
The REM song What's the Frequency, Kenneth? refers, of course, to the bizarre 1986 incident where Dan Rather was assaulted by a man. Years later, the attacker was identified as William Tager, a pretty thoroughly loony guy. Well, Rather is back in the news, only this time it is him with a tenuous grip on reality. He's suing his former employer, CBS, for $70 million.
The 75-year-old Rather, whose final months were clouded by controversy over the report, says the complaint stems from "CBS' intentional mishandling" of the aftermath of the story.
The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, also names CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves, Viacom Inc. Chairman Sumner Redstone, and former CBS News President Andrew Heyward.
Rather, the former anchorman of the "CBS Evening News," is seeking $20 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.
CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said: "These complaints are old news, and this lawsuit is without merit."
Rather narrated the September 2004 report that claimed President Bush skirted some of his duties during his National Guard service and that a commander felt pressured to sugarcoat Bush's record. He maintains the story was true.
But an independent review for the network determined the story was neither fair nor accurate. CBS fired three news executives and a producer for airing it.
Notice how they skip completely over the forged documents? Oh well, Danny boy just won't go away, will he? He never did understand the frequency.
UPDATE: Charles over at LGF would beg to differ with the Wikipedia entry, BTW. He did show them to be forgeries pretty darn early on.
UPDATE: Best take yet by Mark Steyn. Not directly on Rather, per se, but you'll understand. Every headline can be improved by adding "Dan Rather" to it.
By Sam L., Wednesday, 19 September , 2007 @ 10:37 pm
Barkeep, I’ll have a double shot of Schadenfreude. Here’s $100; keep the change.
I WANT to see old Danny boy try to prove the validity of those documents, and CBS to show (belatedly) how they can’t possibly be real.
Let’s you and him fight; I’ll sit here in my comfy chair and admire ya’ll’s efforts. Might even hold up some numbers to rate for style, too.