Dan Rather Resigning

Peter Jennings must be feeling pretty lonely about now.

On Tuesday, a week before Tom Brokaw exits NBC Nightly News, Dan Rather annouced he is stepping down from his CBS Evening News anchor seat.

The 73-year-old Rather, whose job was targeted by conservative critics in the wake of a discredited report on President George W. Bush's National Guard service, will bow out on March 9--the 24th anniversary of his ascendance to the anchor desk as Walter Cronkite's replacement.

He isn't disappearing entirely, however; Rather says he will remain at CBS News working on segments for the network's 60 Minutes franchise.

"I have been lucky and blessed over these years to have what is, to me, the best job in the world and to have it at CBS News," Rather said in a statement. "Along the way, I've had the honor of working with some of the most talented, dedicated professionals in the world, and I'm appreciative of the opportunity to continue doing so in the years ahead.

"I have always said that I'd know when the time was right to step away from the anchor chair. This past summer, CBS and I began to discuss this matter in earnest--and we decided that the close of the election cycle would be an appropriate time. I have always been and remain a 'hard news' investigative reporter at heart. I now look forward to pouring my heart into that kind of reporting full time."

Neither Rather nor CBS News mentioned the 60 Minutes Wednesday report that aired in September and cast doubt on President Bush's tenure in the National Guard. The report was based on supposedly forged documents, leading to a push among conservatives to force out Rather, who refused to budge.

An embarrassed CBS News subsequently announced it was conducting an independent review. The results of the investigation are expected in the coming weeks.

The Eye didn't immediately point to any Rather replacements. In-house newsies John Roberts and Scott Pelley have been rumored as possible successors, but, with the network still smarting from September's Rathergate, it will likely take a long look at outside candidates, too.

The lack of a successor is in stark contrast to NBC, which had been grooming Brian Williams for years to take over for Brokaw. Brokaw announced in April that he would depart on Dec. 1.

With Rather and Brokaw on the outs, the landscape of the broadcast networks' nightly news will be radically reshaped. The troika of Rather, Brokaw and ABC's Jennings has been in place for more than two decades. Jennings has not given any indication he plans to follow the lead of his peers and pull the plug.

Each has had his share of ratings successes. Rather dominated during the '80s after he grabbed the reins from Cronkite in 1981, then Jennings (who took over at ABC News in 1983) held sway with viewers, and Brokaw (on duty since 1982) is the current champ. Rather's newscast now consistently ranks third.

"Dan's 24 years at the CBS Evening News is the longest run of any evening news anchor in history and is a singular achievement in broadcast journalism," says CBS chairman Leslie Moonves. "He has been an eyewitness to the most important events for more than 40 years and played a crucial role in keeping the American public informed about those events and their larger significance. We congratulate him on all he has accomplished and look forward to the future."

Rather cut his teeth as a wire reporter and radio correspondent for local stations in his native Texas before joining CBS News in 1962 as the Dallas bureau chief. He rose to national prominence a year later for his on-scene coverage of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. He later served as the net's White House correspondent.

Aside from his anchor duties, the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning Rather has contributed to 60 Minutes Wednesday since its launch (as 60 Minutes II) in 1999 and anchored 48 Hours from 1988 through 2002. He also hosts Dan Rather Reporting on CBS News Radio.

The always folksy, sometimes cryptic Rather famously walked off the Evening News set in 1987, mid-broadcast, to protest CBS' decision to preempt the news with a tennis match. He also secured a place in pop-culture following a 1986 incident in which he said a man came up to him on a New York street and queried, "Kenneth, what's the frequency?"

The anecdote fueled dozens of late-night punchlines and inspired the R.E.M. tune "What's the Frequency, Kenneth" on the 1994 album Monster.

In a moment of self-parody, Rather donned shades and joined the band at Madison Square Garden for a tuneless (on Rather's part) rendition of the song for the Late Show with David Letterman.