Rather: "I'd Probably Just Sit Here And Drink" If I Had To Read CNN's News

This morning on "Morning Joe," Dan Rather responded to the New York Times report that CBS may outsource its newsgathering operation to CNN (since denied by both parties).

Rather stressed that he did not support the plan but used the opportunity to knock Viacom and CBS executives in explaining how "the home of the most celebrated news division in broadcasting" may now be considering farming out its reporting to a cable news network:

Things are changing. With Sumner Redstone and Les Moonves, they're facing a situation for the network as a whole. Ratings are down, the stock is down, and I can understand — while I don't agree with it — I can understand someone saying, "Listen we've got to make some cost-savings here."

Joe Scarborough also asked whether Rather would be nervous trusting news reported by "somebody in another building, in another part of the city, with other managers," to which Rather respoded: "I'd probably do what Merle Haggard suggested. I'd probably just sit here and drink."

Watch:

From MSNBC, 4/8

Watch the full interview below:

Comments

[longnow]

Hmmmmmm, WOW!, Oh yeah!!, uhhaa, how cool! I agree...I completely agree, yeah,
Ohhhhhh, No, don't do that, neuroplasticity, ha ha ha

Dan handles himself well. WOW! I agree completely.

[GeoNorth]

CNN news reporting has gotten progressively worse in the last few months. There is way too much sensational reporting. Sure, it's an important story when a few older men hold hundreds of women and children in a compound, abuse and rape and justify it with religion. To run the story over and over and over and pretend indignation, it demeans the story. I'm sick to death of stories about missing or murdered pretty blonde women. They are sad stories that they drag on for months. It's a sickness. Meanwhile, coverage of the real issues gets put on the back burner because those stories aren't "sexy".

and CNN Headline news in the morning with Robin Meade. enough. I don't give a shit that she went to a concert. I don't care that she went to a tropical island. It's all too fluffy for these ugly times.

how about a news service that gives the public what they need rather than what they want?

[johnnyhempseed]

Gee Dan,Me and John Barleycorn were just commiserating about the state of the news.We decided that we should just shoot our TV sets and share that Hookah with the White horseman.After all it will help the Afghani people with thier record harvest! Isn't it a bitch when you get fired for a "forged " (reprinted) truth .Enjoy your fishin' we miss you. peas in and out

[VictorLudorum]

Mr Rather are yoiu still adamant that US Press must not let itself free from UK then rather you take the blame for sitting silent while [us youth that has activated itself parralel to rueter and bbc kids by now ] the mainland usa gets robbed of new movements and trends....­..........­..........­..........­..........­......the roilling stones album cover theft by Andy Warhol from Lakeland Community College Design Class 1982/3 was the whole dillemma of Kings Crossing..­..........­..........­...

[nastyvirus]

You see, folks, this is why you should stay away from LSD.

[ObamaEdwards]

LOL LOL LOL

[PatCroft]

It is funny how both the Network and Cable have destroyed there base with the crap that they do. Once-upon -a-time I used to watch network news nightly, religiously, and then I switched to cable and now I have simply turned it off and traded it in for radio.

The promise with cable as you will remember is that it would be free of commercials. Now cable is about 50 % commercials. Network stuff is much the same. Anyway these guys did not want to do news anyway. Or at least do news without their spin.

The solution to all this viewing junk is to start mandating these corporate CEO's in making them watch their own stuff. Then and only then we might see some improvement.

[NDUBB]

CNN has become nothing more than a ratings whore.
They sell sex.
They sell scandal.
They race-bait.
Corporate enterprise hard at work.
It's amazing pundants like David Gergen are still working there.

That said, the statement is coming from Dan Rather and we seen some bones fly out his closet in the past.

[NDUBB]

My bad on the double post...

[NDUBB]

CNN is nothing more than a ratings whore.
They sell sex.
They sell scandal.
They race-bait.
Corporate enterprise hard at work.

I'm amazed that some of the pundents like David Gergen haven't left.

That said, the comment does come from Dan Rather and we all know how many bones have flown out his closet.

[strifeknot]

CNN doesn't even gather or report news anymore. If CBS starts using CNN for its source of info, the CBS anchor would be reading celebrity gossip. Which would actually be quite suitable for Couric.

[kae]

CNN is worse than Faux. At least Faux is obviously unfair and unbalanced. Cheers Dan!

[NoSillyName]

Love you, Dan. CBS really gave you the shaft after all your years of good work. Couric isn't fit to shine your boots.

[rain39]

Dan Rather's long form, in depth news show on HDnet is nothing short of brilliant! If you all aren't catching it, it is your loss! He is on site, all over the world, interviewing, interviewing the main players and the people about issues we all care about. Look for it if you have HD!

[NoSillyName]

Wish I could see it. Currently only have NBC, CBS, & PBS. Poor and media deprived. Sad. GO DAN! A REAL REPORTER! One of the few remaining , to our detriment.

[ObamaEdwards]

Hey, rain39, thanks for the tip. I did not know that. I'll check it out. I am dying for some real news reporting!

[robjh1]

Ha! I was contemplating drinking if Dan Rather hadn't quit or asked to leave CBS.

www.andwearenotsaved.blogspot.com

[LivingStardust]

What a coincidence, Dan. I have to drink to watch CNN. I'd have to shoot up if I was forced to read that crap.

[widollar]

The news game in America has changed dramatically for the worse! Ever since Fox News was able to bend the fragile minds of the middle class of America into them believing Fox News is "Fair and Balanced," the real news stopped happening in America. Its all about pretty shallow air heads reading the teleprompters and looking concerned! Fake news is what is selling today's advertisers.

[DoninJoisey]

Absolutely true. Newspapers, too. There is virtually no investigative journalism any more. Flip channels and you see the same sound bites over and over.

I find it incredible that to this day, there remains a gap in the records of Bush's National Guard service.
How convenient. My personal theory is that Rove was behind the planting of the documents that sank Rather. That nobody picked up the trail of finding out the truth about Bush's servce - is a discredit to the "news" organizations in this country.

Fox has become "the Ministry of Truth" from George Orwell's 1984. The others are entertainment of otehr spins. I watch CSPAN a lot.

[maca]

Exactly. Forging government documents is a VERY serious crime. Doesn't it seem like the bush administration would have pulled out all the stops to find out who did it and publicly crucify them? Instead, the story simply dies along with Rather's career at CBS. Mission accomplished.

[zigzag1]

Just when the hell did reports on American Idol, and the multitude of sucky reality shows become news?

[MinerSam]

CNN is to hurnalism what painting by numbers is to Art, and having seen the managers of the Networks in C-SPAN makes one wonder who they slept with the get their jobs.

[nastyvirus]

Hurnalism: The reporting of facts and figures related to the growing population of hernia patients in the US.