NEW YORK — Veteran CBS anchor Dan Rather filed a $70-million lawsuit Wednesday against his former employer of 44 years, alleging that executives at the network damaged his reputation and broke the terms of his contract by sidelining him during his final months at CBS News and then forcing him out.
The lawsuit, filed in New York state Supreme Court, comes as a startling postscript to the saga that enveloped the news division three years ago, when a furor erupted over a piece Rather did for the weekday edition of "60 Minutes" alleging that President Bush received preferential treatment during his Vietnam War-era stint in the Texas Air National Guard.
An independent panel concluded that documents cited in the story could not be authenticated.
Dan Rather: A article Thursday in Section A about Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS said the weekday edition of "60 Minutes" was canceled in May 2006. It was canceled in May 2005.
In the ensuing controversy, a producer was fired and three executives were forced to resign. Six months after the broadcast, Rather stepped down from the anchor chair of "CBS Evening News" -- a year shy of his 25th anniversary in that post -- and returned to reporting.
The news that the 75-year-old anchor had sued the organization that had been his home for more than four decades set the industry abuzz.
The expected legal fight will force CBS News to relive one of its most difficult and demoralizing chapters, which left a shadow some network veterans believe still hangs over the newsroom.
The lawsuit also thrusts Rather -- who now anchors a weekly news program for HDNet, a high-definition network available in just a fraction of households -- back into the spotlight. He is scheduled to appear on CNN's "Larry King Live" tonight to discuss the suit.
"Dan Rather's national reputation for excellent, nonpartisan independent journalism was intentionally damaged by CBS, Viacom and their senior executives, who sacrificed independent journalism for corporate financial interests," Martin Gold, Rather's attorney, said in a statement. "A healthy democracy cannot flourish without an independent press. Dan Rather brings this lawsuit to further that principle and to restore his reputation, and if he is successful he intends to donate substantial sums to further these ideals."
The anchor's suit, first reported on the New York Times' website, claims that CBS Corp. and its former parent company, Viacom, broke Rather's contract, committed fraud, tarnished his reputation and restricted his ability to seek work, all in an effort to contain the political fallout over the National Guard story.
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- TV Review - A Grueling 'Day With Dan Rather' on PBS Jan 09, 1990
