Has Dan Rather Gone Off The Rails?
Howard Kurtz at the Washington Post reports that some of Dan Rather's former co-workers are appalled by the lawsuit Rather brought against CBS.
In an extraordinary move that reflects the depth of his resentment toward his former network, Dan Rather sued CBS yesterday, charging that he was made a "scapegoat" for a discredited 2004 story about President Bush's National Guard record because CBS wanted to "pacify the White House."
CBS management "coerced" the veteran news anchor "into publicly apologizing and taking personal blame for alleged journalistic errors in the broadcast," says the $70 million suit, which also names Sumner Redstone, chief executive of the network's then-parent company, Viacom; CBS Chairman Les Moonves; and former CBS News president Andrew Heyward.
Several former colleagues said they were baffled by the move. "I think he's gone off the deep end," said Josh Howard, who was forced to resign as executive producer of "60 Minutes II" after CBS retracted the story. "He seems to be saying he was just the narrator.
"He did every interview. He worked the sources over the phone. He was there in the room with the so-called document experts. He argued over every line in the script. It's laughable."
Rome Hartman, a former executive producer of "CBS Evening News" who now works for the BBC, said: "It's got to be about this lasting sense of hurt and pride. I was flabbergasted. I just don't get it."
As for his chances in court:
Lynne Bernabei, a Washington lawyer who specializes in employment disputes, called Rather's suit "a hard case to prove" but said he might mount a credible argument that CBS had breached the contract by minimizing his airtime. Still, she said, "the fact that he made an on-air admission that he made mistakes makes it hard for him to prove some of the other claims that they misled him."
There are several ways to look at this. Maybe Rather is losing it. The suit could be nothing more than his ego working. Or it could be a coldly calculated publicity stunt. I suspect that he is completely out of touch with reality, personally. If this case ever goes to trial, Rather will lose. But wouldn't the trial itself be fun for the rest of us?
UPDATE: Others: Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, Beldar, A Blog For All, NewsBusters, Bluey Blog, Ed Driscoll, LGF, Libertarian Leanings,
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Blue Crab Boulevard » Rather Pathetic — September 22, 2007 @ 7:35 am
By Rebecca H, September 20, 2007 @ 2:37 pm
Has Dan Rather Gone Off The Rails?
Is this a trick question?
By jpg, September 20, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
Smells like the Joe/Valerie Plame lawsuit. Lots of publicity in the beginning and then it disappeared.
By mockinbird, September 20, 2007 @ 3:34 pm
I think his therapist encouraged him on this as a step forward in working through his grief.