Reuters reports that CBS' Dan Rather will resign in March as the CBS network's top news anchor:
"I have decided to leave the CBS Evening News on March 9, 2005," Rather said in a statement issued by CBS.
The Reuter's article noted the RatherGate story that stained the credibility of both Rather and CBS:
But in an enormous blow to its credibility, CBS News in September said it had been deliberately misled over the authenticity of documents it aired in a story challenging Bush's military service."Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in a report," CBS News said in a statement at that time.
Rather, who reported the story, was forced to apologize on national television.
According to the CBS report about Rather's departure, he is only leaving the "CBS Evening News:"
Rather will continue to work full-time at CBS News as a correspondent for both editions of 60 Minutes, as well as on other assignments for the news division.
CBS deserves little credit for acknowledging that Rather came under fire for his bias against President Bush:
Rather, 73, has come under fire for his 60 Minutes report on President Bush's service in the National Guard during the Vietnam War. The report relied on documents that cast Mr. Bush's service in a negative light. Critics charged that the documents were forgeries, and CBS News was unable to vouch for their authenticity. An independent panel is now investigating the matter.
CBS's response to Rather's shoddy attempt to influence the presidential election has been and continues to be woefully inadequate.
Rather said the decision to "retire" was not influenced by the National Guard story:
He said the purpose of announcing his decision now - prior to the release of a report on the story by an outside panel - was to separate the two events.
Rather's denial that his decision to retire is related to RatherGate and the comment about separating the announcement of rather's retirement from the release of the report suggests that the "independent" investigation may finally be nearing completion.
Any credibility CBS hoped to gain by the departure of Rather is more than lost by the unfathomable decision permitting Rather to continue to work for 60 Minutes. What possible rationale can there be top allow the completely discredited Rather to continue to be associated with anything CBS?
UPDATE: The New York Times reports that the "independent" investigation into RatherGate may be drawing to a close:
The inquiry's two panelists, Louis D. Boccardi, the former chief executive of The Associated Press, and Dick Thornburgh, a former United States attorney general, have interviewed dozens of people - from the highest echelons of CBS News to its rank and file, as well as outside it - and are expected to submit their report to senior network executives early next month. Among the central questions they are examining is why Mr. Rather, who anchored the segment, and Mary Mapes, the producer who shepherded it, were so convinced of the authenticity of four memorandums purportedly drawn from the personal files of Mr. Bush's Vietnam-era squadron commander.
At Power Line, Hindrocket posts that the way the Times poses the question assumes that Rather and Mapes were the victims of a hoax, not perpetrators of a hoax. I agree with Hindrocket that it is difficult to believe that they actually thought the documents were genuine.
At Wizbang, Paul posts that he will refrain from I'm joining mountains of bloggers, including yours truly, calling for Rather to leave 60 Minutes as well because Paul is sure Rather will only stay at 60 Minutes long enough to make it look like it was his decision to leave there as well.
Ninme posts that CBS' decision to allow Rather to remain on 60 Minutes is not exactly a ringing endorsement for journalistic honesty and transparency.
At Blogs For Bush, Matt Margolis rounds up some of the blogosphere's reaction.
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