Dan Rather Amends Complaint, Claims CBS Killed His Other Opportunities

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Huffington Post via Hollywood Reporter   |   May 7, 2008 07:14 AM


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The Hollywood Reporter's Paul J. Gough reports that Dan Rather has amended his complaint against CBS, this time alleging that the network cut off his opportunities for employment at other networks by labeling him "too hot to handle." From THR:

Dan Rather fired another round against his former network Tuesday, charging in an amended lawsuit that CBS News labeled the anchor "too hot to handle" and prevented him from being hired by other networks following his acrimonious departure.


Rather was rebuffed in an earlier attempt when many of his claims were knocked down by a New York state judge. But the judge also allowed Rather to resubmit his claims.


In the latest filing, Rather claimed that CNN, ABC, NBC and other networks met to talk about possible employment but that all eventually declined for reasons that included, in the lawsuit's words, that Rather had "too much baggage." It said he lost other business opportunities as well. He later signed with HDNet.


"Mr. Rather's exposure is dramatically limited and, accordingly, his reputation and standing in his trade and profession have not recovered from the damage caused by the defendants' conduct," the lawsuit said.

Read the entire article here, or review the amended complaint, embedded below via DocStoc:


Dan Rather Complaint - Get more documents

Note: An earlier version of this post, and the Hollywood Reporter story it linked to, claimed that Rather filed a new lawsuit. Since the Hollywood Reporter has corrected their story to say that Rather has amended his complaint, so too has the Huffington Post updated this post.

 
 

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When THIS lawsuit doesn't fly, Dan will then accuse CBS of stealing the straws that he is trying to grasp.

Don't go away mad Dan, just go away.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:40 PM on 05/08/2008

It was wrong how you were done, Dan. Fight back. Jack Webb they ruined and everything he said turned out to be true. I am sure everything in that report was true about Bush.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:20 PM on 05/08/2008

I'm sure with your lengthy Resume that most of us don't have that you will come out on Top, Dan. I do admire you, however, for standing up for Justice in the form of a lawsuit...The way crime is going these days by both individuals and corporations, there should be more of them...But only Celebrities and the wealthy can seem to find Legal Counsel when it is both Trivial and Necessary. The rest of US just get to have our rights violated on a daily basis without any recourse or remedy. So embrace your own Celebrity status, Dan, at least it has brought you one thing in this short life: An Attorney to take your case.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:11 PM on 05/07/2008

To all you Dan bashers: Rather is doing a great job on the HDNet channel. I enjoy his investigative journalism and I applaud Mark Cuban for proving Mr. Dan Rather with a forum, albeit very small one, to keep in touch with those followers of his work who care. To the small minded haters: even if Dan was too gullible and was foolishly and hastily "tricked" into that GWB story, I still believe that "there is not smoke without fire"!.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:27 PM on 05/07/2008

Dan, what's the frequency??

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:15 PM on 05/07/2008

Also, regarding your "funny" comment relating to Rather being beaten up on the street...here's a follow-up:

In 1997, a TV critic writing in the New York Daily News solved the mystery, and published a photo of the alleged assailant, William Tager. Rather confirmed the story: "There's no doubt in my mind that this is the person." "William Tager's identity as the man who attacked Mr. Rather was established in the course of an investigation by my office", said New York District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau[40]. Tager also admitted assaulting Rather. Tager is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for killing NBC stagehand Campbell Montgomery outside The Today Show studio in 1994.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:44 PM on 05/07/2008

So, you left out the best part? What the devil did this guy mean with the "what's the frequency?"

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:48 PM on 05/07/2008

The man is crazy. Who knows what he meant by anything he said...or, for that matter why he would murder a stagehand at the same studio.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:30 PM on 05/07/2008

Good lord...got anything a tad more current?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:32 PM on 05/07/2008

Poor danny. It's hell to lie and get caught isn't it.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:44 PM on 05/07/2008

I think he'll be proven correct in his reporting about G.W. hiding out.

Whether you like Rather or not, it's difficult to understand how so many have no idea where our President was during his stretch in the National Guard...while avoiding service in Vietnam.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:33 PM on 05/07/2008

Sure. Which is why additional evidence has come out since then, correct? CORRECT?

The guy has no case. He cannot even file his complaint correctly.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:54 PM on 05/07/2008

5/7/08
11:34am
Portland, OR

WAY TO GO, DAN.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:34 PM on 05/07/2008

Yeah, right! LOL! ;-)

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:49 PM on 05/07/2008

5/7/08
8:30pm
Portland, OR

Why is this laughable?

Yeah, right--what?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:30 PM on 05/07/2008

Broadcasting executives are notoriously vindictive, in their dealings with discarded employees.

Even if Rather loses this case... even if the whole shebang gets thrown out of court (don't worry, it won't)... from now on, media execs as a group will either back off a bit on the whole ruination thing, or they'll be more calculating in not leaving fingerprints when they do. I tend to think the former; not because I'm an optimist, but because I know these guys. They're lazy. And they're paranoid.

This lawsuit puts the fear of God in these guys, no matter what they say in public. So... thanks, Dan!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:25 PM on 05/07/2008

Dan, like Hillary, just don't know when to exit, stage left.

Hey, boobs! The show's over...

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:20 PM on 05/07/2008

Not don't, but doesn't.
(Boob ;-))

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:25 PM on 05/07/2008

Yeah, it couldn't have been Dan's geezer-status, non-existent ratings, horrible cowboy reputation and the buzzards circling around his dead credibility carcass, it was CBS that prevented a 50 year "legend" from scoring, say, even a 5am Saturday morning roundup show on ABC. Has it occurred to anyone that if a conspiracy existed perhaps it was the Bush's and not CBS. No matter. If Dan really cared about reporting the news, he would be traveling the globe unveiling human atrocities, global warming, or worthwhile charity opportunity stories. But no, the Bitter Train still hasn't left the station, it's just burning through gas, idling it's way to an empty tank. Sad.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:58 PM on 05/07/2008

Did Gunga Dan piss away all those millions he made throughout the years or what?

Retire you goon.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:19 PM on 05/07/2008

Poor Dan. The network forced him to produce "fake but accurate" documents.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:59 PM on 05/07/2008

Jeeze Dan.

You are now THIRTEEN years older than Walter Cronkite was, when you forced him into retirement, and stole the anchor chair.

Accept your fate as Karmic justice, and let it go.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:13 PM on 05/07/2008

YEAH!!!

How could someone 76 years old possibly write or report the news. All authors should just up and die when they get old...what could their age or experience possibly contribute??

Then again...we have another old coot who wants to run the entire country and he's 72.

Duh.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:36 PM on 05/07/2008

I'm not saying that he's too old, quite the contrary in fact.

Cronkite obviously wasn't too old to report the news at 65. Yet Dan helped force him into retirement, by demanding that CBS give him the anchor chair.

At least Walter Cronkite was able to retire with his journalistic integrity intact.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:00 AM on 05/08/2008

Personally, I think Rather's reputation has improved. He's now able to speak freely about the corporate influence on journalism. He should go on the lecture circuit, make a ton of money badmouthing corporately owned media and let big media kill itself.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:47 AM on 05/07/2008

hey dannyblather...............just go away...never to be heard from again...

you lying sack of...............................

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:40 PM on 05/07/2008

As an independent progressive who HATES Bushco, I'm sorry, but I just don't get this.

Anybody able to look impartially at events would have to conclude that, along with Mary Mapes, Rather committed an unpardonable journalistic sin. I WISH they had the goods on Bush's service record, but in fact they didn't.

Therefore, to go with the story during a presidential election was about as irresponsible as journalism can get.

So CBS (love 'em or hate 'em) fired his ass. And they really had no way to cover for him, because he (along with Mapes) had dug his own grave, looking like some 527 maniacs trying their own version of swiftboating.

You can do that if you're a blogger - but not if you're sitting in the big chair at Black Rock.

And these other "news" organizations (again, love 'em or hate 'em) were just being smart business people by taking a pass on the now radioactive Rather.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:00 AM on 05/07/2008

Was Bush lying about WMD?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:38 PM on 05/07/2008

Sure he was.

But that fact has nothing to do with Dan wrecking his own career and legacy by gross journalistic malpractice.

As for Bush, history will judge him (and historians already are) most harshly for his own failed presidency.

But let's not conflate the two in search of an indefensible partisan posture...otay?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:48 PM on 05/07/2008

Dan Rather was a voice of reason. Not this corporate media talking heads we have know. He was not a paid propaganda pusher. He was real and truthful. Not this trashy truthiness we have today.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:56 AM on 05/07/2008

Wait...So he not currently the voice of reason...because was is past tence...So what is he today.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:58 PM on 05/07/2008

so fakers can't get a big time job, sad.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:54 AM on 05/07/2008

the fakers were those who were in charge at cbs.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:48 AM on 05/07/2008

apprently including Dan Rather himself

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:57 PM on 05/07/2008
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