Dan Rather

Background

Dan Rather is an American journalist who is well-known for his years as an anchorman for C.B.S. news. Born in Wharton County, Texas, on October 31, 1931, he and his family relocated to Houston during his childhood years. He graduated from John H. Reagan High School in 1950, where he immediately started his career in journalism. During his time at Sam Houston State University, he worked as an editor for “The Houstonian,” the school’s newspaper, and for KSAM-FM radio where he covered high school and Sam Houston State University football games. He also worked as a reporter for the “Associated Press” and the “United Press” until 1952, as well as several Texas radio stations and the “Houston Chronicle” between 1954 and 1955. Rather graduated with his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Sam Houston State University in 1953. The journalist graduate also attended South Texas College of Law for a short time.

His broadcasting career continued with ABC’s KTRK-TV in 1959 and was thereafter promoted to the news director of C.B.S.’s KHOU-TV. By 1961, he became widely recognized for his coverage of Hurricane Carla for KHOU-TV and is credited for showing the first radar image of a hurricane on television, which showed viewers the size of the hurricane. His report on the radar image led to the evacuation of over 350,000 people. In 1962, Rather moved to New York for a six-month trial at C.B.S., where his first reports included coverage of the American Airlines Flight 1 crash in Jamaica Bay and the suffocation of children at a hospital in Binghamton, New York. Rather was soon appointed as chief of C.B.S.’s Southwest bureau in Dallas, and in 1963, as the chief of the Southern bureau in New Orleans where he was responsible for news coverage in the South, Southwest, Mexico, and Central America. In 1964, Rather was selected for C.B.S.’s White House correspondent position following his impressive reporting of president J.F. Kennedy’s assassination and mourning period. Rather became the C.B.S. Evening News anchor in 1981 and retired in 2005 after 24 years.

Retirement hasn’t stopped Rather from continuing to do what he loves. He joined the AXS-TV network where he produced and hosted his own show called “Dan Rather Reports” from 2006 until 2013. Within the same year of ending “Dan Rather Reports,” he began his series “The Big Interview with Dan Rather,” where he conducted in-depth interviews with influential figures in the music and entertainment industry. He’s also produced numerous documentaries under the title “Dan Rather Presents” and discussed various topics. In 2012, he published his autobiography called “Rather Outspoken: My Life in the News.” In 2015, he established his own production company called News and Guts Media, where he produced several of his projects. In 2018, he collaborated with The Young Turks, a news commentary YouTube channel, and launched a Monday evening 30-minute newscast called “The News with Dan Rather.” Throughout his career, he has earned numerous Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and honorary degrees from universities. This hardworking journalist hasn’t only been about his career, though. He married Jean Goebel in 1957 and has two children, a daughter named Robin and a son named Dan. Robin is an environmentalist and community activist in Austin, Texas, and Dan is an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. The family has two homes in Austin and New York City.