Rather Calls For Stronger Journalists, Media Shifts
CBS Veteran delivers Mary Alice Davis Distinguished Lecturer key note address
Story By Travis Measley
School of Journalism
University of Texas at Austin
Photos By Jose Castillo
In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.” This is the message that those who care about the state of news needs to portray to the broad public if a free press is to survive in America, and by extension freedom as we know it, is to survive in America. –Dan Rather, University of Texas, October 22, 2009
In a speech delivered on the University of Texas campus on Oct. 22, long-time CBS news anchor Dan Rather gave a call to arms to all journalists across the globe, urging them to stand firm in the fair and accurate reporting of the news, even in a time when the future of what is news and journalism is ominously unknown. The speech – delivered in the Texas Union Ballroom – was part of the Mary Alice Davis Distinguished Lectureship, which aims to bring notable journalists to the university to discuss the role of journalism in a democratic society.
“There is a crisis in American journalism,” Rather said. “Never has the question of the future of news seemed less like of a rhetorical question as it does now.”
Across the country, established newspapers like the Rocky Mountain News are being shut down, circulation numbers are being reduced, newsroom staffs are disappearing and the bottom line of making a profit is rising to the top. Rather highlighted points as to why news in its truest form is falling by the wayside and stressed the importance of saving what he called the “purest form of democracy in the world.”
The free press, Rather said, isn’t just another sector of the American business infrastructure that needs a government bailout. It is the integral piece of the country’s democratic infrastructure, and it is giving signals of its imminent collapse. The news is the beating heart of America, and freedom of democracy resonates with the freedom of the press.
“Aside from ranks and mentality, is there really any reason we should care if newspapers survive?” Rather asked the audience. “And the answer is yes, because newspapers form the very foundation of the news, period.”
In the past, newsrooms and news editors reported with integrity and with guts, he said – without fear of subjugation and retribution for higher powers. The slow death of newspapers and competition has been a blow to the public, Rather said. They no longer trust the media because the media seems to no longer operate with the public interest in mind.
Decreasing quality of newspaper ownership, rapidly changing technology and the negatively evolving way news is thought of by consumers are all reasons Rather cited for the unstable future of the free press.
The development of the Internet as a major news provider has brought both positive and negative effects on the world of news, he said. While now almost everything in the New York Times or Washington Post is available at the click of a button, as the Internet becomes the dominant medium, Rather said he fears the loss of the message of truth.
“The mass extinction of newspapers really is a chance for news as we know it to die out,” he said.
Rather chastised the tactics of most television news outlets today, claiming the move to partisan reporting only harms the consumer, polluting their opinions with subjectivity and a lack of facts. Partisan reporting lacks a passion for journalism and promotes the idea of not upsetting the status quo, even if the truth is lost in the mix.
To some of the journalism students present at the lecture, Rather’s words were both daunting and reassuring. The troubling status of today’s free press has instilled doubt in many young journalists, but Rather’s passion and persistence in the face of change served as a steadying hand.
“To actually seem him speak and hear him speak in person, it was important. I found it interesting to see his take on journalism, especially as a journalist and a journalism student who is constantly worried ‘Am I going to have a place and be viable in the market place’ … it was partly reassuring and partly scary. His call to action was big, and the depth of what needs to be done is scary … I hope it will work,” said first-year Texas graduate journalism student Katie Friel.
As for what can be done to curb the decline and degradation of the free press, Rather put the burden on himself and the rest of the country.
“(The news) can (survive),” he said, “but not without the active involvement of those who have the most to lose if America’s free press fails, and that is you, the American people.”
The preservation of the news is going to take a conscious effort by every consumer, Rather said. It is on them to voice their opinions, to demand the highest of standards and to keep journalism alive.
View the complete address
About Dan Rather
Rather joined CBS News in 1962 as chief of its Southwest bureau in Dallas. In 1963, he was appointed chief of the Southern bureau in New Orleans, responsible for coverage of news events in the South, Southwest, Mexico and Central America. During that time, he reported on racial conflicts in the South and the crusade of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the death of President Kennedy. Rather began his career in journalism in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Later, he was a reporter for United Press International (1950-52), KSAM Radio in Huntsville (1950-53), KTRH Radio in Houston and the Houston Chronicle (1954-55). He became news director of KTRH in 1956 and a reporter for KTRK-TV Houston in 1959. Prior to joining CBS News, Rather was news director at KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston.
He has received virtually every honor in broadcast journalism, including numerous Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and citations from critical, scholarly, professional and charitable organizations. In 1994, Rather was honored by his alma mater, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, which named its journalism and communications building after him. On a more personal note, 1997 also saw the dedication of Dan’s birthplace as part of the Wharton County Historical Museum.
Dan Rather was born Oct. 31, 1931 in Wharton, Texas. In 1953, he received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Sam Houston State Teachers College (now Sam Houston State University), where he spent the following year as a journalism instructor. He also attended the University of Houston and the South Texas School of Law.
About Mary Alice Davis
Named for School of Journalism alumna Mary Alice Davis, who wrote for The Daily Texan in the 1960s, the lectureship was established by her family in 2005 to bring notable journalists to campus to discuss the role of journalism in society.
Davis worked as a columnist and editorial writer for the Austin American-Statesman. Before joining the American-Statesman she spent more than 20 years writing for the House Research Organization (a research organization for the Texas House of Representatives), most recently as editor. Prior to that, she worked as a reporter for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Remembered as a remarkable writer who championed the role of journalism in a democracy, Davis died in 2004 from ovarian cancer.