Dan Departs: “CBS Wanted To Move On”

USA Today’s Peter Johnson: “Dan Rather‘s troubles with CBS News began in 2004 with Memogate, the scandal that stemmed from his 60 Minutes report on President Bush’s military service.

But 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft says Rather’s CBS career, which came to its official close Tuesday, ended much like those of two other CBS News legends, Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite: CBS wanted to move on and, news icons or not, they had to go.

‘The past two years have been extremely difficult for Dan and uncomfortable for everyone at CBS News,’ Kroft says. ‘But he has handled the adversity with his customary grace and leaves with his head held high. This has much less to do with the National Guard story than management’s decision that it was time to make a change and move in a different direction.’