Dan Rather resigns as anchor, to stay on as correspondent

November 22, 2004

has announced that he will retire on March 9th, 2005 as anchor of CBS Evening News. He will continue to be a correspondent for both of the 60 Minutes shows.

It is reported that Rather's leaving has nothing to do with a report in 2004 regarding US President Bush's National Guard service that was widely reported to be factually false. A CBS panel is looking into that report.

Others believe that Rather is stepping down due to this report and investigation. Howard Kurtz, a reporter for the, states that "It's pretty clear that Dan Rather faced a very unpalatable choice... His contract had at least two more years to run. [Should he] step down now before the outside investigative report, commissioned by CBS News expected in the next few weeks about his botching -- and the network's botching -- of that story about President Bush's National Guard service? Rather [decided] today that it would be better for him to step down on his own terms."

Dan Rather, 74, has been the anchor for CBS Evening News for 24 years, succeeding. Rather is the third most watched anchor on United States television.