Its an exciting day tomorrow for myself, Dan Rather and HDNet. At 8pm EST Dan Rather returns to TV with the premiere of Dan Rather Reports on HDNet . I can’t wait to see it. Like every one else, I will be watching it for the first time.
When Dan and I first met going on a year ago, we had no idea of we would hit it off. All i knew of Dan was what I saw on the CBS News and on 60 Minutes. I didnt have any preconcieved notions of what he would be like, I was curious to find out more. To say we hit it off during the first meeting would be an understatement. Beyond realizing that I was sitting with a man who had been in and around every major news event of the 2nd half ot the 20th century, Dan was a living encyclopedia of those events and more. It didn’t take me long to realize this man has forgotten more about history then I would ever know.
As we talked more, he quickly moved away from what he had done, to what he wanted to do. He wanted to do news. Not read a teleprompter. Not review and present stories others have written. He wanted to get out and do the work himself. What became clear to me was that this wasn’t a TV Icon looking for a last hurrrah. This is a man with the heart , spirit and energy of a 25 year old that was out to prove that doing news the old fashioned way wasn’t a bad thing. It was a good thing. It was a reason the movie Good NIght and Good Luck did so well we agreed. We absolutely were on the same page.
We agreed that news had devolved to segments of “find the missing blonde” or whatever story of the moment that in the past would have been tabloid fodder, but was now the center of attention for cable and network news.
We also agreed that the time was right to change all of that. To find the stories that people might care about, without regard to what ratings might be or what advertisers might be scared off. As Dan says “to let the work speak for itself”
For the past few months Dan has been all over the globe. Putting together a team. Researching stories. Interviewing. Doing News. Being a journalist.
I only know the topic Dan will be covering tomorrow night. I haven’t seen the show yet, and I haven’t asked to see the show. Im excited to watch it on HDNet just like everyone else.
Hopefully lots of you will watch it and let me know what you think.
If you dont get HDNet, you can get information here Or you can just call your cable or satellite provider and ask for it. All you need is an HDTV and a desire to experience what we hope will be a big step forward in news.
Oh , and 1 more thing. Its shot 100pct in 1080i, with enhanced audio, so not only will the content be great, it will be News like you have NEVER see it before.
Dan has been on a non stop roadshow talking to media around the country the last few days, and I wanted to read the results.