In a career in journalism that is now in its fifth decade, Dan Rather has established himself as a crucial figure in broadcast news. Anchor of the CBS Evening News since 1981, Rather has enjoyed a long and sometimes colorful career in broadcasting. Rather has interviewed every U.S. president from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bill Clinton, and international leaders from Nelson Mandela to Boris Yeltsin. In 1990, he was the first American journalist to interview Saddam Hussein after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Rather’s hard-hitting journalistic style has sometimes been as much discussed as the content of his reporting, particularly in the case of well-publicized contretemps with Richard Nixon and George Bush.

Rather began his career in journalism in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. He subsequently worked as a reporter for United Press International, for KSAM Radio in Huntsville, for KTRH Radio in Houston, and at the Houston Chronicle. He became news director of KTRH in 1956 and a reporter for KTRH-TV in Houston in 1959. He was news director at KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston, before joining CBS News in 1962 as chief of the southwest bureau in Dallas.

In 1963, Rather was appointed chief of CBS’s southern bureau in New Orleans, responsible for coverage of news events in the South, Southwest, Mexico, and Central America. He reported extensively on southern racial strife, becoming well acquainted with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Rather broke the news of the death of President John F. Kennedy. A few weeks after the assassination, he became CBS’s White House correspondent.

Rather attracted notice in 1974 for an exchange with Richard Nixon. At a National Association of Broadcasters convention in Houston, Rather was applauded when he stood to ask a question, drawing Nixon’s query, “Are you running for something?” Many saw Rather’s quick retort, “No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?” as an affront to presidential dignity.

A year later, Rather was selected to join the roster of journalists on CBS’s 60 Minutes, and in 1981, after lengthy negotiations with the network, Rather became the successor to Walter Cronkite, anchoring the CBS Evening News. During Rather’s tenure, he has sometimes been associated with striking, even bizarre, moments of news coverage. For one week in September 1986, Rather concluded his nightly broadcast with the solemn, ominous-sounding, single-word sign-off “Courage.” The line, seen as an attempt to respond to or replace audience familiarity with Cronkite’s “And that’s the way it is,” attracted widespread media coverage and more than a little satire. In October 1986, Rather was attacked outside the CBS building by thugs reportedly demanding “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” and he subsequently appeared on the air with a swollen and bruised face. In September 1987, Rather walked off the CBS Evening News set in protest over the network’s decision to allow U.S. Open tennis coverage to cut into the broadcast. His action on this occasion left CBS with a blank screen for more than six minutes. This moment was recalled in an explosive live interview Rather conducted with Vice President George Bush in January 1988. When Rather pressed Bush about his contradictory claims regarding his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal, the vice president responded by asking Rather if he would like to be judged by those minutes resulting from his decision to walk off the air.

Connie Chung joined Rather on the CBS Evening News in a dual anchor format in 1993 amid constant speculation that he did not approve of the appointment. When Chung left the Evening News spot in 1995, he did not seem displeased. Rather also continues to anchor and report for the CBS News broadcast 48 Hours (which premiered in 1988). He was the first network journalist to anchor an evening news broadcast and a prime-time news program at the same time, a practice which has since been adopted by other networks.

Rather’s career reflects the passing of the era in which one anchor, Walter Cronkite, was unproblematically “the most trusted man in America.” Along with Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings, Rather is one of a triumvirate of middle-aged white male anchors who dominate the U.S. national nightly news. The three network news broadcasts continue to be locked in a tightly contested ratings race, and these highly paid anchors are decidedly valuable properties, the “stars” of television news. CBS, cognizant of this state of affairs, offered Rather a new three-year contract in 2002, which he signed.