Dan Rather has gone digital. Dan Rather has gone boutique. Returning to television with “Dan Rather Reports,” his new weekly magazine, he will now be available in just the four million satellite and cable homes reached by media mogul Mark Cuban’s high-definition channel HDNet.
By contrast, “The CBS Evening News,” which Rather anchored for 24 years, reaches virtually all the nation’s 111 million TV homes, and it’s watched by more than seven million viewers nightly.
“We are broadcasting to a tiny audience,” Rather readily acknowledges.
Even so, his new venture is commanding attention beyond the relative handful who will catch its premiere Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST.
Why not? Rather, who in June left CBS News after 44 years, is beginning a new chapter at age 75. From scratch. Lickety-split. And defying everyone who figured – whether with regret or glee – that he was finished.