Dan Rather Drops the Hammer on CBS News and Bari Weiss

Veteran newsman Dan Rather isn't pulling any punches when it comes to the current state of his old home, CBS News.

In a recent interview tied to the wide release of his documentary Rather—which dropped for free on YouTube in celebration of Free Speech Week—the legendary anchor sounded off on the sweeping changes at the Tiffany Network under the direction of Skydance and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.

According to Rather, the current trajectory of the network and its flagship newsmagazine, 60 Minutes, is nothing short of tragic.

"What’s happened at CBS News is sad. It is in many ways a disaster, not just for the people who work at CBS News — and there's still a lot of really good people working there," Rather said.

Pointing the finger at the top brass and political friction, Rather suggested that long-running animosity toward 60 Minutespaved the way for a dangerous corporate consolidation. "Donald Trump has expressed his extreme dislike for 60 Minutes. So now, he's gotten his way. He cleared the way for a consolidation of corporate power, which in turn cleared the way for doing what's been done to 60 Minutes."

"The wreckage of CBS News is everywhere, and continues to this moment," he added bluntly. "I don't see how to stop it."

The stark assessment comes as the 95-year-old journalism icon continues to champion independent media and press freedoms through the Frank Marshall-directed documentary, which features prominent figures like Ronan Farrow, Mark Cuban, and Andy Cohen, alongside archival looks at Rather's storied, multi-decade career.

For a newsroom veteran who spent decades helping build the prestige of the CBS brand, hearing Rather characterize its current era as "wreckage" is a stinging indictment of where network news is heading in the modern era.

H/T USA Today