Former CBS News veteran Dan Rather tore into the brazen MAGA slant of his beloved 60 Minutes program.
“It pains me to write this, but the president and the corporate billionaires who curry his favor have eviscerated the best news program in the world,” Rather, 94, wrote in a scathing Substack essay on Thursday titled, “Tick, Tick, Boom.”
Rather, who hosted 60 Minutes from 1975–1981 and briefly again from 2005 until he left the network in 2006, eviscerated the new Bari Weiss-led news program. In the last month, Weiss, 42, has fired numerous top producers and correspondents, with even more stepping down.
“For anyone who watches the next season of 60 Minutes this fall, understand this: It is not the 60 Minutes we have all come to trust and respect. It will be a diminished, Trump-approved version," he declared.
“Going forward, every interview, every story, every shot should come with an asterisk superimposed on the screen right next to the CBS eye: ‘This story was approved by Donald Trump,’” he continued.
While Rather acknowledges that Trump won’t directly “sanction” stories, “the higher-ups know what Trump wants to see, and especially what he doesn’t.”
“The president is no doubt thrilled at the demise of a journalistic nemesis that continually called his bluff,” he said.
On Monday, longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley clashed with Weiss, 42, and her newly appointed executive producer, Nick Bilton, in a closed-door staff meeting. The next day, Pelley, 68, was fired. Before he left, the news anchor accused Weiss of “murdering” 60 Minutes.
“I agree and would add that it was premeditated,” Rather wrote in his post. “No objective-minded person would destroy something that has been the most successful news program in television history for almost six decades, made tons of money, and is the gold standard for broadcast journalism.”
Rather snarkily points out that Paramount’s press release boasting of 60 Minutes' record-breaking achievements from just two weeks ago states that it was executive-produced by Tanya Simon, who has since been fired.
Alongside Pelley, Weiss has fired two other veteran correspondents—Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega—as well as its 30-year executive producer, among others. Anderson Cooper also left the show of his own volition in May. Each warned of the show’s brooding dark undercurrent in their departures.
Rather has been highly critical of CBS since his departure in 2006. When the Larry and David Ellison-owned network settled a $16 million lawsuit with President Donald Trump, the former CBS Evening News anchor said he was "disappointed” but “not surprised."
He now calls it a “bogus suit.” (Former CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, who called out the settlement as a “big, fat bribe,” was ousted by the network just days later.)
In his essay, Rather called out the new ownership directly.
“Ellison and his father Larry are huge Trump supporters who have bent over backward to make and keep him happy,” he wrote.
“I’m left saddened by the knowledge that this American institution is being killed,” Rather concluded in his essay, adding optimistically, “Although it can’t be duplicated, I’m hopeful that efforts to build something like it may succeed.”
CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
