Dan Rather Biography

American journalist Dan Rather was born in 1931 in Wharton County, Texas, into a working class family. After graduating from high school in Houston, Rather went on to study journalism at Sam Houston State University, serving as editor of the school newspaper. After graduating, Rather begin his career as a reporter for the Associated Press, based in Huntsville.

From the AP, Dan Rather wen ton to serve as a reporter for United Press, the Houston Chronicle, and various radio stations. After gaining additional experience with local television stations, Rather left Texas for New York, to see if he could break into the business in the big city. Although he landed a major network gig with CBS News, the station instead made him bureau chief of their Southwest division, sending Rather back to Texas.

But the assignment in Dallas ending up becoming the turning point for Dan Rather’s career, when he ended up inadvertently covering the assassination of then president John F. Kennedy. His skillful reporting during the mourning period that followed led to a position as the network’s White House correspondent. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, Dan Rather boasts a career that spans four decades, the bulk of which consisted of his anchoring the CBS Evening News and 60 Minutes. Considered one of the “big three” news anchors in the nation (along with Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings), Rather left the CBS network in 2006 to host his own Dan Rather Reports, with which he remained until 2013. His career features numerous award recognitions, including multiple Peabody Awards

Today, Dan Rather hosts and produces his own hour-long series for AXS TV; The Big Interview features Rather interviewing some of the biggest names in entertainment. Rather also frequently appears as a commentator on CNN, The Rachel Maddow Show, and other news programs. Most recently, Dan Rather launched his own production company. News and Guts Media now serves as producer of The Big Interview and will be producing other material in the years to come.