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Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather is set to be interviewed April 25 on CBS Sunday Morning 18 years after his controversial exit from the network.
The episode logline reads, “Lee Cowan talks with former CBS News anchor Dan Rather about his work at CBS and his life in news.”
The 92-year-old journalist exited under a cloud. A 60 Minutes II report in 2004 made allegations that President George W. Bush went AWOL during part of his time in the Texas Air National Guard.
The Bush administration disputed the authenticity of the documents cited in the story. CBS investigated and found that the piece disregarded “fundamental journalistic principles.” The documents were not proved to be forgeries, casting doubts on the entire incident.
Rather was removed from the anchor desk in 2005 before being fired the subsequent year. Producer Mary Mapes and three news executives were also let go from CBS for their involvement.
The controversy was dramatized in the 2015 film Truth starring Cate Blanchett as Mapes and Robert Redford as Rather. The Associated Press claimed CBS refused to run advertising for the movie, which was based off of Mapes’ memoir, Truth and Duty.
“It’s astounding how little truth there is in Truth,” CBS spokesman Gil Schwartz said to AP prior to the film’s opening. “There are, in fact, too many distortions, evasions and baseless conspiracy theories to enumerate them all. The film tries to turn gross errors of journalism and judgment into acts of heroism and martyrdom.”
Rather disagreed, and still maintains that the story was correct, albeit with some procedural errors along the way.
CBS Sunday Morning airs Sundays at 9 a.m. ET on CBS.
