Dan Rather Closes Gate - Page 2

But after further investigation, CBS could no longer vouch for the authenticity of the documents. Rather apologized for the report: "I want to say personally and directly, I'm sorry."

"We should have been more rigorous in trying to establish the validity of the documents," says Rather, adding, "First and foremost is that four people lost their jobs over it. And I never have them far from my mind. I regret every nanosecond when I let anybody at CBS News down, and even more, when I let the audience down. It's painful to me."

An independent panel looked into the matter and concluded mistakes were made in the competitive "rush to be first on the story," but found no political bias.

"I suppose, on one level, there's a continuity between this story and Dan's experience. Because the story of Dan's journalistic career is one of pursuit of a story. And this was pursuit of a story," says Stringer, former president of CBS News, and now chairman and CEO of Sony Corp of America.

"You could say that playing it safe would have had Dan always be an anchor man, and never get attached to dangerous stories. But he's inclined to be lightning."

"I have my weaknesses," admits Rather. "I've made my mistakes, but the one mistake I've tried hard not to make is to say, 'OK. I know which way the wind is blowing, and I'm gonna tailor my reporting to fit that.' Ain't gonna do that. Haven't. Don't. Won't."

"Time has a way of introducing wisdom to someone's legacy and history," says Stringer. "You'll remember Dan for all those images of Dan on the front lines of every major story since the Civil Rights crisis - and being committed to the telling of those stories. That legacy will be a window into broadcast journalism that will become more valuable as time passes."

That's probably true, but the hubris that made the events that came to be known as "Rathergate" possible will be remembered as well, as will its status as a watershed event in the mainstreaming of the blogosphere.

Article Author: Eric Olsen

Career media professional Eric Olsen is honored to be the founder and former publisher of Blogcritics.org, and former publisher of Technorati.com, which both rule. He is now editor, co-founder, and CEO of The Morton Report.

Visit Eric Olsen's author page — Eric Olsen's Blog