Dan Rather teaching ‘Truth in the News’ course

Editor's Note:  All this in spite of Rather's shady past with the truth?  Please review Killian documents before reading these posts.  RK)

By Brian Maloney January 4th, 2017

Raising eyebrows among some critics, former CBS anchor Dan Rather is now teaching an online course focused on ethics in journalism. Called “Journalism & Finding the Truth in the News” and offered through Udemy, the class is aimed at both media career aspirants and the general public. “In this course, Dan teaches invaluable foundations on great writing, the essentials of telling a good story, and how to remain calm and captivating on camera — useful skills for anyone fascinated by the power of the news or anyone who wants to contribute to serious journalism,” reads the course description....... The resulting firestorm cost Rather his position, undermined the credibility of CBS News and fueled the fortunes of upstart political bloggers across the country. What do you think?.... To Read More.....

Dan Rather on fake news, the power of truth, and our bright future - By Dominic Fracassa December 10, 2016 Updated: December 10, 2016
“If you want to be a journalist worthy of the name, and you want a friend, you better get a dog.” It’s an old adage, but one that’s stuck with Dan Rather through the nearly seven decades of his career. In the era of fake news, though, the newsman might want to update it: On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a fraud. The importance of a fierce, independent and adversarial press has been thrown into sharp relief as Silicon Valley and the rest of the country have reckoned with the influence of made-up news online about the presidential election and beyond. The breadth and depth of fake news suggests that stemming the tide will be no easy task. But, as Rather sees it, any hope of combatting it will require a fearless media, a public steeped in healthy skepticism and a “sense of public service” among the tech companies like Google and Facebook that play an important role in the way news is consumed. Rather sees fake news — ........To Read More....

Dan Rather is sticking to the 'Truth' of his story about George W. Bush - "We reported a true story," says one of the most illustrious figures in American journalism, "and everybody connected with the story got fired. The process was not perfect but the story was true."  Dan Rather, 84, looks hale and distinguished, as if he's just stepped out from behind an anchor desk into this conference room at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. He sprinkles his erudite speech with that familiar Texan bonhomie: When describing the small teacher's college he attended, he says, "It was so far back in the woods you had to have sunlight shipped in by UPS." When a publicist brings him coffee: "Thank you so much. I'll dance at your wedding." But when it comes to the story that ended his 44-year career at CBS News, including 24 of them as the anchor of the "Evening News," he's loaded for bear......To Read More....

So NOW Dan Rather Demands Truth and Integrity in Journalism Posted at 9:00 pm on January 2, 2017 by Joe Cunningham

 Dan Rather is not pleased with the Wall Street Journal’s Chief Editor, Gerard Baker, for comments he made regarding whether or not journalists should call Donald Trump a liar. Rather took to Facebook to discuss it, using a column by Greg Sargent to back up his claim.  A lie, is a lie, is a lie. Journalism, as I was taught it, is a process of getting as close to some valid version of the truth as is humanly possible. And one of my definitions of news is information that the powerful don't want you to know............There is, of course, the obvious hilarity of Dan Rather being the guy to say this. The man who ran with the laughably fake Killian documents, even after it came out that they were laughably fake. Rather to this day maintains that the story the documents told – that George W. Bush’s military service consisted of disobeyed orders and that commanding officers were under pressure from higher up to keep his record officially clean – is true… even if the documents themselves aren’t (although Rather also maintains that no one has ever conclusively proven they were forgeries). So, when Dan Rather demands truth in journalism, I take it about as seriously as I would if Stephen Glass made the same demands. As far as what he’s upset over, it should really be a non-issue..........To Read More....