Dan Rather, who anchored the CBS Evening News for a record 24 years, kicks off the 2013-14 Drew Forum on Nov. 12, 2013, at Drew University in Madison.
The Emmy-award-winning journalist will speak about domestic and global issues confronting the United States.
Future series guests will include Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein (Jan. 29, 2014), former CNN chairman and Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson ( Feb. 26, 2014) and Barbara Walters (April 3, 2014), co-host of The View on ABC.
Dan Rather caught the attention of network executives at CBS News while covering Hurricane Carla for an affiliate station in Houston. His coverage of President Kennedy’s assassination led to his promotion to White House correspondent.
He assumed the anchor chair from Walter Cronkite in 1981 and stayed there until 2005.
A controversial figure who infuriated conservatives, Dan Rather had some legendary exchanges with Presidents Nixon and the first President Bush.
His reports about the discovery of documents purportedly critical of President George W. Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard blew up amid questions about the authenticity of the documents.
The anchor later sued CBS, unsuccessfully, contending the network made him a scapegoat in the matter. He left CBS in 2006 and now hosts hosts Dan Rather Reports for HD Net.
A subscription to all four talks costs $107 plus handling. Tickets to the Dan Rather and Barbara Walters appearances can be purchased separately, for $32 each, from the box office at 973-408-3917.
Dan Rather’s talk starts at 8 pm in the Simon Forum and Athletic Center. Parking will be at nearby Giralda Farms, on campus, with a shuttle bus to the forum venue.
Below are more details from Drew University.
FROM DREW UNIVERSITY:
Veteran Journalists Dan Rather, Barbara Walters to Speak at the Drew Forum
MADISON, N.J. – Former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather will kick off the 2012-13 Drew Forum lecture series on November 12 with insights into current issues facing the United States both at home and abroad.
The series will also feature appearances by Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein (January 29, 2014), former CNN chairman Walter Isaacson (February 26, 2014) and Barbara Walters, current co-host of the ABC talk show The View (April 3, 2014).
Rather has been a broadcast journalist for over 40 years. He joined CBS in 1962 and made his mark the following year by reporting on the President Kennedy’s assassination. From 1981 until 2005 Rather anchored the CBS Evening News. His latest venture is the show Dan Rather Reports on HDNet.
Klein, a columnist for The Washington Post and Bloomberg, oversees “Wonkblog” at the Post. He is also a regular contributor and analyst for MSNBC. In 2011, Ezra Klein’s Wonkblog was the most widely read blog at The Washington Post and GQ Magazine named him one of the 50 most powerful people in Washington D.C.
Issacson is president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, an educational and policy studies group in Washington, D.C. Previously he was the chairman and CEO of CNN and the editor of Time magazine. He has also authored several biographies.
Walters, a pioneer among women journalists, began her career in television on NBC’s Today Show. She later jumped to ABC, where she spent 25 years as co-host and chief correspondent of the ABC news magazine 20/20. Since then she has hosted a number of the network’s news specials. She can currently be seen on her hit show The View, which she co-founded in 1997.
The Drew Forum, established in 1994, is the region’s leading public lecture venue. Past speakers have included American statesmen, foreign heads of state, nationally known journalists and noted historians. The lecture series is presented with support from the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and from former New Jersey governor Thomas H. Kean, who was president of Drew University from 1990 to 2005.
The Rather event will begin at 8 p.m. in the Simon Forum and Athletic Center on the Drew campus in Madison. Parking will be at nearby Giralda Farms. A shuttle bus will transport ticketholders to the forum event venue.
Series subscriptions to the 2013-14 Drew Forum series are $107 plus handling and include admission to all four events. Single-event tickets, available for the Rather and Walters event only, are $32 each, plus handling. Subscription and ticket purchases can be made through the Drew University Box Office at 973.408.3917. For more information about the Drew Forum, please visit www.drew.edu/community/forum.
