Dan Rather talks election, race relations at Manhattanville
Speaking to a crowded room of more than 100 people in Manhattanville College”™s Reid Castle, renowned former CBS News anchor and “60 Minutes” correspondent Dan Rather spoke candidly on an array of topics ranging from the upcoming presidential election and the challenge of race relations to the state of journalism and his controversial departure from “CBS Evening News.”
- Dan Rather speaks to a room of more than 100 people June 24 as part of the Castle Conversations lecture series at Manhattanville College. Photo courtesy Sirin Samman Photography
2016: Follow the money
Rather prefaced his comments on the 2016 election with the admission that he has no advanced knowledge of whom the Democrats or Republicans will nominate, but, “If you must bet the rent money today,” Hillary Clinton would be “the proper bet” for the Democrats, he said.
He picked former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida”™s U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as the likely lead contenders in a GOP field of candidates he expects will reach between 16 and 18 hopefuls ”” now up to 14 with the recent presidential bids announced by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and billionaire Donald Trump.
He cautioned the audience not to get lost in the media circus that begins well in advance of the general election, which is still more than a year away.
“Overnight is a long time in politics, a week is forever,” he said.
Rather said the real focus of this election should not be on who is running, but who is donating.
“This will be a $5 billion presidential campaign,” he said. “The last presidential campaign was roughly $3 billion and therefore the simple question for us, for every citizen to ask, is who is giving how much to whom ”” expecting to get what?”
When asked for his thoughts on the unexpected popularity of Bernie Sanders, Rather said the U.S. senator from Vermont brought something special to table.
“What he has is integrity,” he said.
Yet he noted that while Sanders”™s populist platform has hit a nerve with segments of the electorate, even causing Clinton to adjust her own message, he was skeptical of whether Sanders will resonate outside of New Hampshire and his home turf of Vermont.
On the media
With more than 60 years of experience under his belt, Rather was critical of what he called “the politicization, corporatization and trivialization of the news” due to the combined effects of media consolidation among a handful of conglomerates and the increasing coziness between government and corporate interests.
“The standards in journalism have been diminished,” he said. “Entertainment values have come to overwhelm news values.
“Much of the news that you get is for the benefit of these large corporations and big government, not for the benefit of news consumers,” he said.
Quoting the iconic newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, Rather emphasized the importance of the Fourth Estate.
“Our republic and its press will rise or fall together,” he said. “The power to mold the future of the republic will be in the hands of the journalists of future generations.”
In response to a question regarding the rise in popularity of political satirists like Jon Stewart and John Oliver as news sources for younger generations, Rather responded, “We need more of them not less,” and lauded their ability to synthesize and translate the issues for younger audiences.
However, he cautioned that while he admired both men, “they are not nor do they claim to be” substitutes for high-quality news with integrity and deep-digging investigative reporting.
Emotions run high
When it came to discussing race relations in light of the killings in Charleston, S.C., and riots in Ferguson, Mo., Rather began by reminding the room of mostly middle-aged Westchester residents that the American experiment is still very much “a new thing” that has been doubted from its inception because of its dedication to a “multiethnic, multireligious and mutltiracial” society.
Recalling his experiences covering of the Birmingham, Ala., church bombing in 1963, Rather said progress had been made yet emphasized the importance of the work to be done.
“We are deep into our experiment and in many ways it has been an amazing success story,” he said. “It is my opinion, but not only my opinion, that when the history of our beloved United States of America is written, the last line is going to have to do with whether we solved our problems of race or didn”™t we.”
As an aside to his coverage during the civil rights movement, when asked who outside his family he admires most, Rather cited the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who he said was a “uniquely courageous person.”
“Flawed yes, but aren”™t we all. He lived moment to moment on the razor”™s edge of death from assassination,” he said.
Rather also spoke highly of Mother Teresa, who he witnessed organizing fellow nuns into sunrise search parties that would go out to the “skyscraper” trash heaps in Calcutta, India, to retrieve discarded infants, both alive and dead.
Tough questions
Fielding questions from the audience, Rather, now 83 years old with hearing difficulties, was quick in his responses to questions regarding the suspension of Brian Williams from “NBC Nightly News” as well as his own departure from CBS.
In regard to Williams”™ suspension from “NBC Nightly News” for his misrepresentations of events during his coverage of the Iraq War in 2003, Rather acknowledged Williams as a friend and defended him, saying, “I think it is time to give it a rest with Brian.”
“It is below minuscule, microscopic in the great scheme of things which we should be concerned about,” he said.
Regarding his departure from “CBS Evening News” after 24 years following controversy over his investigation into President George W. Bush”™s National Guard service and yearlong disappearance, Rather was equally frank.
“It is not for me to judge what was fair or unfair,” he responded when asked if he thought he was treated fairly by CBS.
“We reported a true story,” he said. “The facts were true. They have never been denied by President Bush or any members of his family.”
He noted that a movie coming out this fall, “Truth,” starring Robert Redford and Kate Blanchet, will address the controversy and he is “very interested to see what they do with the story.”