Veteran US news anchor Dan Rather is reportedly considering quitting CBS and taking up blogging.
The TV reporter was forced to retract a story questioning George Bush’s military service during the 2004 Presidential campaign after bloggers mobilised online to unpick its authenticity, signalling Mr Rather’s retirement from the Evening News anchor desk after 24 years.
But Mr Rather is now mulling starting his own journal, according to conversations held with software developer and blog guru Dave Winer.
“He said that his employer discourages it,” Mr Winer wrote after speaking with the newsman last week. “He said that large companies like to control what’s said about them, and that CBS is part of a large company (Viacom). He added [that] he may leave CBS and, if he does, may start blogging.”
CBS News bosses said Mr Rather had not approached them regarding the possibility of blogging. Via the Public Eye blog, established in the wake of the Rathergate episode to encourage newsroom transparency, senior vice president of standards Linda Mason said they “neither encourage nor discourage” staff blogging.
Under a company
policy published in November, staff must have CBS’ permission to keep personal blogs. Public Eye said it was “open to the prospect of Rather posting here”.