ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 5, 1997 TAG: 9702050055
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: HAL BOEDEKER KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
Dan Rather wants your respect.
What? He has it already?
Try convincing him. He doesn't talk as if he knows it. At 65, after nearly 16 years as anchor of ``The CBS Evening News,'' he speaks with the unquenchable ambition of an overachieving student.
``What I enjoy most is being out front on a world-class story,'' he says. ``I know I can do better work. If I can just learn a little more. Professionally, I want to earn people's respect. When I walk down the street, I'd like people to say, `There's the best reporter of his generation.'''
He landed the exclusive interview with Bill Cosby in which the entertainer revealed an old affair and talked about his son's recent murder. It ran on Sunday's ``60 Minutes.''
Rather also is trying to draw attention to ``The CBS Evening News,'' which languishes in third place in the ratings.
``Give us a look,'' Rather urges. ``We're a hard-news program, not a show. We have the most experienced correspondents. We cover the world.''
That's not simply boasting. The Tyndall Report, a newsletter that monitors the three evening network newscasts, agrees that CBS is the leader on foreign coverage.
Top-rated ``NBC Nightly News'' has adopted a more direct, populist tone, put Tom Brokaw on his feet and made a deliberate effort to look like a modern newscast, publisher Andrew Tyndall says. ABC's ``World News Tonight,'' once the undisputed ratings leader, has changed its format and cut back on foreign coverage, he says. ``It's a work in progress,'' he says.
Tyndall prefers the CBS approach. ``Granted, it is more old-fashioned,'' he says. ``It doesn't look cutting-edge, but sometimes being old-fashioned is OK. I'm not sure that's the endorsement Dan is looking for, but it's the one I'll give.''
The more traditional newscast has usually been the ratings leader, but CBS' strategy to return to ratings supremacy is a long shot, Tyndall says.
``Rather is a polarizing influence,'' he says. ``He was No. 1 for most of the early '80s, so it's not impossible. The real problem CBS has is not with Rather, but with the affiliates.''
CBS doesn't have as strong a lineup of affiliates as NBC and ABC, but hard-charging Rather seems determined to make up for it with visits to stations and upbeat talk about CBS.
He's a master of public relations as well. He gave recent interviews to Larry King and TV Guide, and he discussed the Cosby interview with everyone from The New York Times to ``Entertainment Tonight.''
Is he trying to remind everyone he's still here? ``No, I don't feel a necessity to do that,'' he says. There's no pattern to the press coverage, he adds. ``I enjoy doing King, Letterman. Is there a campaign under way? No.''
Rather also made the news last week when it was announced that the CBS anchor had identified the man who more than a decade ago knocked Rather down, kicked him and asked, ``Kenneth, what's the frequency?'' The man was sent to prison for the 1994 shooting death of an NBC technician.
Then there's the TV Guide article, with an unnamed ``rival network veteran'' complaining that ``Dan has a screw loose'' and ``has to keep proving himself as a good journalist.''
``I'm always intrigued that people who say those kind of things don't want to be named,'' Rather says. ``It's cowardly. It tells me a lot who this person is. I've never been a reporter who can stay cooped up. If you're a reporter, you have to go cover a story.''
There's intense speculation that Diane Sawyer, Bryant Gumbel or someone else will replace him as anchor at CBS.
``I'm at peace about that,'' Rather says. ``As long as I have my health, I want to report. I intend to keep doing the anchor job as long as they want. It could be a good while longer.''
Rather has always seemed larger than life compared with Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings. He's more controversial too. But he doesn't fear that he's driving viewers away from CBS.
``There was a time when I thought about that,'' he says. No more. ``I know I am what I am.''
Does he ever think he has to curb his style? ``No. I once did, but what finally prevailed is, `To thine own self be true.' You've got to be yourself.''
Probably the only way for CBS to win back viewers is to remain a traditional newscast, he says. ``Our job is to always move forward, but not to lose core news values. The struggle for any anchor is not to be overwhelmed by entertainment values.''
LENGTH: Medium: 84 linesby CNB