Ep. 422 — Dan Rather

The Axe Files with David Axelrod

CNN

News

4.6 • 7.7K Ratings

🗓️ 10 December 2020

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As a young reporter, Dan Rather was no stranger to getting the story by any means necessary, whether that meant sneaking off to use the office phone at Lyndon B. Johnson’s ranch or chaining himself to a tree during Hurricane Carla. The legendary broadcaster joined David to talk about his storied career, why covering civil rights changed him personally and professionally, how he learned to steel himself while covering earth-shattering and often emotional historic moments and how he still finds joy in his work after seven decades in journalism.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Music
0:06.0	And now, from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN Audio, the Axe Files, with your host David Axelrod.
0:20.0	I sat down this week with Dan Rather.
0:22.0	By any measure, an iconic figure in the history of broadcast journalism,
0:27.0	his own rich story and the remarkable history he's covered over nearly 70 years as a journalist could fill 10 podcasts.
0:34.0	And the amazing thing is he's still at it today, a huge presence on social media.
0:39.0	He still does shows on cable and podcasts and writes books, including his most recent What Unites Us,
0:46.0	which is a welcome tonic in these divisive and turbulent times and inspiring work.
0:51.0	So here's my conversation with Dan Rather.
0:54.0	Music
1:00.0	Dan Rather, what a pleasure to be with you.
1:05.0	Seven, you're in your seventh decade here as a practicing journalist.
1:10.0	That is an extraordinary thing and you have an amazing perspective on how the media has changed, how the country has changed, how it's not.
1:19.0	I want to get into all of that, but first I want to ask you a little bit about your journey from Wharton, Texas to this moment and the lessons that you've learned there.
1:31.0	So first of all, welcome.
1:33.0	Thank you very much, David Dennis. Good to see you. Good to be with you.
1:36.0	And I really appreciate this opportunity to visit with you. Thank you.
1:40.0	So tell me about that. You were born in East Texas.
1:43.0	You quickly moved to Houston, but in the midst of the Depression,
1:48.0	and tell me what what life was like for you, what you're, you're, tell me about your folks.
1:55.0	And, and how young Dan Rather got along.
2:02.0	Well, I was born in Wharton, Texas, which is not so much in East Texas. He's owned the Texas coast.
	...

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