began his career in Texas, where he worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, the United Press, and several Texas radio stations before moving to television at KHOU-TV in Houston. In 1962, he joined CBS News, gaining national attention for his coverage of Hurricane Carla and his reporting from the scene of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963. As a White House correspondent and later as a foreign correspondent, Rather covered key events like the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. As anchor of "CBS Evening News" from 1981 to 2005, Rather was the longest-serving anchor in the program’s history.
After leaving CBS in 2006, Rather founded "News and Guts," an independent production company that focuses on investigative journalism and digital media. Over his career, he has authored several books, including The American Dream: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation and What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism. Rather has received numerous awards, such as the Peabody Award for his investigative reporting, multiple Emmy Awards, and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2012, Rather was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, and in 2014, he received the Texas Medal of Arts Award for his contributions to journalism.