Former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather appeared on the Today show on Tuesday to discuss his new book “What Unites Us” and the state of the media.
Savannah Guthrie asked Rather about a recent poll that showed that nearly half of Americans think the media makes up stories.
“The media itself is under fire. What do you think the media needs to do better to enhance its own credibility? And what do people need to understand about the value of the press?” she asked.
“We need to do a better job, we need to do our job. Our job is to bear witness, to be honest brokers of information, to be as accurate and fair as we possibly can,” Rather said.
“I think most of the public understands that we’re under attack by very powerful people, including the president, for their own partisan, political, and ideological reasons. They’re basically saying believe us, believe only your president and believe only those in power. Don’t believe those out in the press.” he concluded.
Rather’s 44-year career at CBS came to an abrupt end in 2004 after it was revealed that his story that President George W. Bush went AWOL while serving in the Texas Air National Guard was based on forged documents– something that he refuses to this day to acknowledge.
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