Dan Rather 'signs off' after 24 years

NEW YORK -- Dan Rather echoed a word he once used every night to sign off the "CBS Evening News" -- courage -- in anchoring the program for the final time Wednesday after 24 years.\nIn a brief statement at the end of the broadcast, Rather paid tribute to Sept. 11 terrorist victims, tsunami survivors, American military forces, the oppressed, those in failing health and fellow journalists in dangerous places.\n"And, to each of you," he said. "Courage."\nHe seemed to savor each word of his signoff: "For the 'CBS Evening News,' Dan Rather reporting. Good night."\nRather's reporting career spanned from the Kennedy assassination to this winter's tsunami, and he's been the public face of CBS's legendary news division since replacing Walter Cronkite March 9, 1981.\nHis first newscast included a story about English girls imitating the hairstyle of Prince Charles' bride-to-be, Diana. The lead story Wednesday was oil prices causing a bad day on Wall Street.\nHe's the second of the three men who dominated network news for more than two decades to step down in four months. NBC's Tom Brokaw exited in November, leaving ABC's Peter Jennings remaining at "World News Tonight."\nBob Schieffer is Rather's temporary replacement starting Thursday. CBS expects to name a permanent anchor team to succeed Rather in the coming months.\nRather, 73, is returning to full-time reporting for CBS's "60 Minutes" broadcasts.\nHe flashed a steadfast defiance in reminding viewers of the phrase "courage." He was mocked by some for using that to end his broadcasts and then gave up on the idea.\nHis exit comes at a low ebb for his career. Rather took much of the public blame for a discredited "60 Minutes" story last fall about President Bush's military service, and he was a distant third in the ratings behind NBC's Brian Williams and Jennings.\nHe was a target of conservatives who accused the media of bias for more than three decades, since his coverage of the Nixon White House during the Watergate era, and many have exulted in his recent misfortunes.\nBut he had his supporters, too.\nMarian MacNeil of Windsor, Calif., said she watched Rather regularly and admired him. \n"I feel terrible the way he's being treated now," MacNeil said. "I think they're smearing a good reputation and overshadowing his 50 years. I hope he's able to rise above this."\nMeanwhile, a CBS affiliate in northern Michigan that had said it would let its viewers decide whether it should run Wednesday's prime-time CBS tribute to Rather backed off those plans. The station in Cadillac, Mich., said Wednesday its poll had been grossly misinterpreted.\n"We were simply trying to maintain the great tradition of local viewer input that is the foundation of our modern-day broadcasting system," said William E. Kring, the station's general manager. "It was never our intent to embarrass Mr. Rather or the CBS network."\nBoth Jennings and Williams planned to pay tribute to Rather on their broadcasts.