Dan Rather leaves CBS in bitter end to 44 yrs

NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) Newsman Dan Rather has left CBS News in a bitter departure clouded by a reporting scandal over President George W Bush's military record, ending 44 years as reporter, anchor and the face of the network.

His career spanned highlights of recent US history, from President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination to the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Rather said his departure yesterday came after ''a protracted struggle'' with CBS executives who, he said, had ''not lived up to their obligation to allow me to do substantive work there'' since he stepped down as anchor in March 2005.

''Of all the famous names associated with CBS News, the biggest and brightest on the marquee are (Edward R.) Murrow, (Walter) Cronkite and Rather,'' CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus said of the man who was CBS's news anchor for 24 years and was known for his tough reporting and odd phrases.

CBS News said it would air a prime-time special to mark Rather's career in the fall but that it could not reach a deal to renew his contract, which was to expire in November.

Rather, 74, said he was leaving with a desire to return to ''regular, meaningful reporting,'' adding that CBS had offered him ''a future with only an office but no assignments.'' ''It just isn't in me to sit around doing nothing,'' he said.

''So I will do the work I love elsewhere, and I look forward to sharing details about that soon.'' Some said the departure of Rather, whose reputation was tarnished in 2004 by a subsequently discredited report on Bush's military record, was an unceremonious end.

''You never expect someone who's been the face of the network for so long to just be given an office which is essentially a closet ...

and then not to be given air time and then to have it leaked to the press that he's being booted,'' said New Yorker media critic Ken Auletta. ''It's jarring.'' Rather stepped down as anchor last March and has since worked for ''60 Minutes.'' The Los Angeles Times quoted him on Friday saying he was rebuffed when he offered to help cover Hurricane Katrina, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rather was one of the big three network anchors who dominated television news for two decades Rather on CBS, Peter Jennings on ABC and Tom Brokaw on NBC. Jennings died of lung cancer last August, less than a year after both Brokaw and Rather stepped down as anchors.

''Too much is made of anchors and their personalities,'' Rather said, adding more attention should be paid to the role of a free press and the ''corporatization'' of news.

Rather came to prominence at CBS for his 1961 coverage of Hurricane Carla in Texas, where he tied himself to a tree so he could keep reporting from the eye of the storm, and won a national reputation during the Kennedy assassination.

In 1980 he slipped into Afghanistan in disguise following the Soviet invasion, earning himself the nickname ''Gunga Dan.'' Then in 1981 he replaced broadcast legend Walter Cronkite, known as ''the most trusted man in America,'' as CBS anchor.

His broadcasts were known for his quirky ''Ratherisms.'' On election night 2000, contested by Al Gore and Bush, Rather said: ''This race is tight like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach.'' He was a lightning rod for conservatives who accused him of liberal bias after heated exchanges with Republicans. During a combative 1974 exchange with Nixon, the president was prompted to ask, ''Are you running for something?'' to which Rather shot back, ''No, sir ... are you?'' Reuters SY GC0947