Rather's exit a necessary step

Dan Rather has done it all. Early in his CBS News career, he covered the assassination of President Kennedy. Then came the White House assignment followed by stints in London, Vietnam and a return to the Beltway as the CBS Washington correspondent. In 1981, he succeeded broadcast veteran Walter Cronkite as anchor of "CBS Evening News."

His career has included exclusive interviews with presidents and world leaders, including a one-on-one interview with Saddam Hussein in Baghdad in February 2003.

Then came the undoing of his career: Prior to the 2004 election, CBS reported that President Bush had received preferential treatment to get into the National Guard and stay in the United States during the Vietnam War and had failed to satisfy the requirements of his service. The report turned out to be based on allegedly forged documents. Rather and the network stubbornly stuck by the story until other news sources had discredited it. Backed into a corner, Rather issued a humiliating apology.

It was too little too late, considering Rather and the network had violated the trust of its viewers by broadcasting information that had not been verified. While an independent investigation of the matter is forthcoming, Rather must surely comprehend that this breach of journalistic ethics is not neatly confined to CBS News. It blackened the eyes of all journalists.

It was no rookie mistake. Because Rather is a seasoned veteran, his action — or inaction — reinforced the notion that the American media are driven by an agenda. It further damaged the credibility of all news organizations, which have battled a guilt-by-association stigma from the likes of Jayson Blair, who plagiarized articles published in the New York Times. To impugn all journalists for such misdeeds is to paint with a broad brush. The vast majority of American journalists deserve the trust of their readers, listeners and viewers.

Yet, Rather made no mention of the debacle over the National Guard story in announcing his retirement. Some media critics opined that Rather should have resigned following the scandal over the Bush documents. It was a shameful episode for the network and for Rather personally.

The top-rated network news program in the 1980s, Rather's report has, in recent years, run a distant third after NBC's Tom Brokaw and ABC's Peter Jennings. But unlike Brokaw, who will bow out gracefully and on top in about a week, Rather will work until March 9, 2005, the 24th anniversary of his start as CBS anchor. And unlike the affable and credible Brokaw, who will leave viewers wanting more, Rather's retirement will be considered by many to be long overdue.