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Rather’s Reprise

Jul 10, 2006  •  Post A Comment

Former “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather is set to announce his return to the news desk.

Mr. Rather will host a weekly, hour-long news program called “Dan Rather Presents” on entrepreneur Mark Cuban’s HDNet, a network source confirmed Monday. The announcement will come this week at the Television Critics Association’s semiannual press tour in Pasadena, Calif. The series will launch in October.

Mr. Cuban described the program to The Washington Post as “an opportunity to do news in what I like to call ‘fearless mode,’ what Dan calls ‘with guts’: Go out there and find the stories we think will have impact.”

Mr. Rather, 74, stepped down as “CBS Evening News” anchor in 2005 after airing a discredited story on President Bush’s military service. He continued to contribute stories to “60 Minutes,” then severed ties with the network last month, five months before his contract was to expire.

Last year, another broadcast news veteran, former “Nightline” anchor Ted Koppel, signed with Discovery Channel for a series of investigative news specials. The first of Mr. Koppel’s programs will debut in September.