Ever wanted to hear these words?
“Ratings don’t matter, demos don’t matter. You’re working for a channel I own and operate by myself. We don’t have to be concerned about stockholder value, entanglements of large global corporations or their regulatory needs in Washington.”
That wasn’t a dream. That’s what Internet billionaire Mark Cuban told ex-CBS News anchor Dan Rather. Rather’s reaction?
“I do find all of that refreshing and liberating. There are very few in television who can say, ‘I’m not concerned about ratings or demos.’ Don’t get me wrong: I want as many people to watch the program as we can possibly get. We want to be seen. But it’s a totally, completely different environment when the person at the top says the only criterion you’ll be judged by is how often you try – and how often you succeed – to bring good, important journalism to the air.”
Belinda Carlisle was right. Heaven is a place on earth. Rather’s new show on HDNet, the eponymous Dan Rather Reports, starts next Tuesday in case you weren’t aware.
You have to admire Rather for his refusal to just go fishing. Myself, I never warmed to his combination of folksy and uptight – Peter Jennings always seemed to have the edge.
But I still remember the authoritative way Dan delivered the CBS Evening News perched on a milk crate with Tower Bridge lit up behind him. It was approaching midnight, and as we handed out cash to drunks to keep them at bay, Rather looked down the barrel of the lens, before pausing to reassure a guest that the ‘news pixies’ (yes, that’s what he said) would make everything okay. Magical, if a little bit insane. [Miami Herald]