News
Page 4
Street Roots • Aug. 21-27, 2015
Ahead o f a new
about his life, in
he is played by
Redford, D an Rather
reveals the true story
his controversial
from C B S and blasts
media fo r fa ilin g to
truth to power.
PHOTO BY KEITH BEDFORD/REUTERS
BY ADAM SENNOTT
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R ITE R
A fter more than 60 years in journalism,
ZA former CBS News anchor Dan Rather
X
JLstill believes that a free and
independent press is the “red beating heart
of freedom and democracy.” But news
organizations aren’t living up to that
standard, he says. Nor are they working
hard enough to “give voice to the voiceless.”
Currently anchoring AXS TV’s, “The Big
Interview,” Rather is also about to come to
a movie theatre near you. Or at least the
story of his contentious breakup with CBS
News in 2006 will be. Slated for a peak
awards-season slot in October, “Truth” will
star Robert Redford as Rather and Cate
Blanchett as his CBS producer Mary Mapes.
The movie examines CBS’s controversial
report alleging that President Bush, running
for reelection at the time, had relied on
preferential treatment to avoid fighting in
the Vietnam War.
The ensuing scandal saw Rather step
down and Mapes fired. The veteran reporter
— who has stared down Nixon, Fidel Castro,
Saddam Hussein, and Yasser Arafat —
blames the rise of corporate interests in
journalism for a slip in standards at his old
employer.
Rather believes that news organizations
need to provide better coverage of “the
hungry, the homeless, the heartsick, the
masses of people that are voiceless.”
Providing that voice has “been a constant
motivator” throughout his career. But even
from his position of power, he has not
always been successful in increasing
coverage of the homeless and impoverished.
“There’s not nearly enough of it, and what
there, is, is not nearly of high enough
quality,” Rather says. “I think it’s important
to note that I do not exclude myself from
that criticism.”
Most reporters today lack the courage
and the determination needed to provide
high quality coverage, Rather says. News
organizations are frequently unwilling to
invest in the high degree of investigative
reporting that is necessary for such
coverage.
.
“The business structure of journalism
works strongly against it,” Rather says.
“Finding the financing for deep-digging
investigative reporting, and first-class
international reporting... it’s very difficult.
And even if you are able to get the financing
for it (it’s difficult) to find anybody who will
distribute i t
“Much of that has just evaporated.”
While the media looks away from issues
of poverty and homelessness, entertainment
coverage is booming. “You could find
financing very easily to do something on the
Kardashians or anything having to do with
Hollywood and celebrity coverage,” Rather
says. “And you could find widespread
distribution for it.”
The shift in news from serious issues to
fluff is, Rather believes, a threat to the very
foundation of American life. When
journalists and news organizations feel more
pressure to make money than provide a
public service, he says, “It’s is very
dangerous in a society such as ours, which is
a constitutional republic based on the
principles of freedom and democracy... it
can be lethal.
“Journalism at its best matters;
journalism at its best is important,” Rather
continues. “But to do that kind of journalism
consistently on a (regular) basis requires an
ethos that journalism is a public service, not
in the service of powerful corporations, and
not in the service of government.”
One of the results of news organizations’
unwillingness to invest in high quality
investigative journalism has been a greater
reliance on freelance journalists to cover
international events and wars.
“Even the best of news organizations
have become far too much news packagers,
rather than news gatherers,” Rather says. ’
“It’s much less expensive to say, ‘look we’ll
close those bureaus and we’ll buy freelance
coverage... it’s less expensive, and you stay
out of trouble.”
Increasing corporate interests in
journalism have also played a large part in
the diminishing of quality news coverage.
“Very big business is in bed with very big
government, for their mutual benefit, not to
the benefit of news consumers, and not as a
public service.
“The sense of public service is what’s
been drained out of a bunch of journalism of
the last 25 to 30 years.”
Rather looks back to his days filing
reports from the frontline in Vietnam and is
disappointed that news organizations have
become a lot less willing to challenge those
in power.
“There’s more reluctance to question the
powerful, to speak truth to power. There’s
less of that now than there was, say, a
quarter of a century or more ago,” he says.
“So much of what is called news now is:
put four people in a room and get them to
shout at one another,” Rather adds. “Instead
of sending reporters to Afghanistan, or to
Yemen, o r to Somalia... it’s much easier to
just put four people in a room to shout at
one another about what’s happening.
“And by the way, all too often those
people in the room shouting at one another
have never been to those places.”
See RATHER, page 5