Rather at last summer’s TV critics’ press tour.Photo: Getty Images
Dan Rather insists it’s not about Katie Couric — it’s about Edward R. Murrow. After Les Moonves decried the ex–CBS anchor’s indictment of Katie-era CBS (specifically, his use of the words “dumbing it down” and “tarting it up”) as “sexist” yesterday, Rather issued a clarification through his new employer, HDNet. As nobody gets HDNet, here’s what he said: “This is not about Katie Couric. Never has been … This is not about gender, this is about leadership at the very top of CBS. Les Moonves talked about ‘blowing up’ CBS News and [de-emphasizing] the landmark journalistic work of Edward R. Murrow.” And so, in one fell swoop, Rather’s comment turned from beating up on a newbie to standing up for a mentor. Neat trick, if it works.
More From Rather [TV Newser]
