In an interview on Wednesday’s NBC Today, disgraced ex-CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather told co-host Matt Lauer that he still would have reported the fraudulent story that ended his broadcast network career: “What I wouldn't do differently is back off the story. The story was true. Because it was true, undeniable facts about how President Bush got into the air National Guard to avoid service in Vietnam, and the fact that after getting in he disappeared, those were facts and that was true.”
Rather railed against investigations that proved the story to be false: “Because it was true, those who wanted to discredit the story had to attack the process by which we got to the truth and they’ve successfully attacked us on that. So among the things I would do is, number one, I would realize that we had to have a much better defense in the blogosphere.”
He then took a shot at his former employer: “And number two, quite frankly, CBS News, in a break from tradition, did not back its reporting and that was a surprise and a disappointment to me.”
He only briefly acknowledged: “I have a lot of the responsibilities in this myself.”
Lauer sympathetically followed up: “Yeah, and as someone who had such a storied career up to that moment, what was it like for you to live in the eye of that have storm where you were being so severely questioned?”
Rather lamented: “Well, it wasn't pleasant. This is was the darkest period of my professional career....And it was a dark period and when one was in the vortex of this, you have the sense that the world is spinning and sort of spinning out of control and nothing you can do can pull you out of that.”
He declared: “...we had made mistakes in the process of developing the story and as a consequence had left ourselves vulnerable. And the story became the mistakes we made in getting to the truth, not to the truth.”
Rather was on to promote the new film, Truth, about the 2004 scandal. Lauer began the softball interview by wondering: “I have to start by asking you, did you ever dream that one day someone would make a movie of your life, or an aspect of it, and Robert Redford would play you?”
Rather gushed: “No, Matt. I think I thought it was more likely I would become the Pope of Rome or the Dalai Lama than to have the great Robert Redford, one of the greatest actors of this or any other generation play you on the big screen. I’m still trying to get my head around it.”
In an interview with Redford on Monday, Lauer allowed the liberal actor to dismiss the scandal as nothing more than a “technicality” and a “small glitch.”
With neither Redford nor Rather did Lauer bother to mention CBS denouncing the film. In a recent statement, the network explained: “It's astounding how little truth there is in Truth. 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.”
Perhaps Lauer was afraid to challenge Rather given ex-NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams leaving the anchor desk under similar circumstances.
Here is a full transcript of Lauer’s October 14 interview with Rather:
8:41 AM ET
MATT LAUER: As the anchor of the CBS Evening News, Dan Rather spent decades bringing the day's important events to millions of viewers but his career there was cut short when one story he reported for 60 Minutes came under fire for failures in reporting protocol. That report, about then-President George W. Bush's National Guard service, is the subject of a new film. It's called Truth. Robert Redford stars as Dan Rather. Dan, good morning. It’s always nice to see you.
DAN RATHER: Good to see you.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Dan Rather Speaks the “Truth”; News Anchor Opens Up About Scandal & New Film]
LAUER: I want to get to the serious nature of this in a second, but I have to start by asking you, did you ever dream that one day someone would make a movie of your life, or an aspect of it, and Robert Redford would play you?
RATHER: No, Matt. I think I thought it was more likely I would become the Pope of Rome or the Dalai Lama than to have the great Robert Redford, one of the greatest actors of this or any other generation play you on the big screen. I’m still trying to get my head around it.
LAUER: In the introduction I gave the back story, Dan, of what this was all about, this report on George W. Bush's National Guard service, documents that it was based on that were called into question. It was a very troubling time in your career and the history of CBS News. Reputations were shattered. People lost their job. Why did you want it to come to the big screen?
RATHER: Well, first of all, I had very little to do with it coming to the big screen and I was surprised when someone optioned it for the big screen, they optioned Mary Mapes’s book about this. And I didn't believe a movie would ever get made. But I do think the movie is resonant today. Look, it’s less about me and Mary Mapes and even George W. Bush. What it's about is what's happened to the news – why it's happened, how it's happened, and why people should care.
LAUER: And that's a really good point. So if you were to look back, it's been about a decade now.
RATHER: Right.
LAUER: If you were to look back, what would you do differently in that same circumstance?
RATHER: Well, I would do a lot of things differently. What I wouldn't do differently is back off the story. The story was true. Because it was true, undeniable facts about how President Bush got into the air National Guard to avoid service in Vietnam, and the fact that after getting in he disappeared, those were facts and that was true. Because it was true, those who wanted to discredit the story had to attack the process by which we got to the truth and they’ve successfully attacked us on that. So among the things I would do is, number one, I would realize that we had to have a much better defense in the blogosphere. And number two, quite frankly, CBS News, in a break from tradition, did not back its reporting and that was a surprise and a disappointment to me. But I have a lot of the responsibilities in this myself.
LAUER: Yeah, and as someone who had such a storied career up to that moment, what was it like for you to live in the eye of that have storm where you were being so severely questioned?
RATHER: Well, it wasn't pleasant. This is was the darkest period of my professional career. I’d much rather a movie be made about my coverage of civil rights or Watergate or the Vietnam war, but life’s not like that. And it was a dark period and when one was in the vortex of this, you have the sense that the world is spinning and sort of spinning out of control and nothing you can do can pull you out of that. So what I try to do is recognize that, yes, we had made mistakes in the process of developing the story and as a consequence had left ourselves vulnerable. And the story became the mistakes we made in getting to the truth, not to the truth.
LAUER: You mentioned a second ago changes in the news business. You've been out of that anchor chair for about ten years. Do you miss it?
RATHER: Of course I miss it, but I've moved on. I’ve long ago made my peace with my time at CBS and I try to be now into gratitude, modesty, humility, and I’ve moved on. I do investigative reporting for Axis TV, do a program called The Big Interview. I'm into the new world of – the digital world, work for Mashable, still doing the kind of stories that I like to do. And I'm really excited about moving forward. This is well in the past, as I say. I think the story resonates today, but I'm constantly moving forward and trying, to you know, keep up with Mashable, BuzzFeed, Vice.
LAUER: Than help me, because I'm having trouble.
RATHER: Snapshot [sic], all those things. And I think it's an exciting time in journalism. I'm an optimist by experience and by nature. Yes, I've had my difficulties, made my mistakes, but I'm excited every morning when my feet hit the floor, I want to look for a story.
LAUER: It’s always good to see you, Dan.
RATHER: Thank you, Matt.
LAUER: It’s a pleasure.
RATHER: Thank you, my friend.
LAUER: And the movie Truth opens Friday.
