On June 17, 2006, the New York Times published an article titled "Moving Ahead, Rather Throws Sad Look Back" based on an interview with former Columbia Broadcasting System ("CBS") newsman Dan Rather. Mr. Rather mentions that he has seen the movie "Good Night, and Good Luck" about Edward R. Murrow five times in movies theaters, the last time by himself (one may wonder if Mr. Rather is either complaining that George Clooney hadn't provided him with a DVD or whether he's trying to tell us that he's a common man without a home theater).

In the story Mr. Rather complains about a comment CBS' President and Chief Executive Officer, Leslie Moonves, made after he "stepped down" as CBS News anchor (Mr. Rather "stepped down" after a well-documented and highly material reporting error that caused a great deal of embarrassment to CBS). The comment Mr. Rather found objectionable was that Mr. Moonves had told a media group sometime after the announcement of Mr. Rather's departure that he wanted to move to end the "Voice of God, single anchor" format.

In response to the "Voice of God" comment Mr. Rather shares that he thinks it is "disrespectful." Going back to the Murrow-theme Mr. Rather delivers his punch line: "They talk about wanting a break with the past," he added. "Look at the Murrow film. I don't want to break with that past."

Interestingly enough, in the story Mr. Rather also discusses a job offer he's received from Mark Cuban. Mr. Cuban offers this regarding the potential job opportunity: "All I can tell you is that we have had some conversations to do some very exciting things. Unshackled from the talking head world where earnings per share mean more than finding the truth, the opportunities for HDNet and Dan are unlimited."

We've never watched CBS network news. And we are no experts on the legendary Murrow's career. But we have some experience with the media. And we have seen the film. And we wonder whether we are really getting the "truth" in this article. Does Mr. Rather, who for 44 years flourished as a shackled talking head, really see himself as a Murrow-like character? Maybe if Mr. Rather actually goes to work for Mr. Cuban, Mr. Rather will do a documentary about Internet bandits whose wealth have nothing to do with good-old fashioned American earnings per share.

Or perhaps a more timely topic in light of Mr. Cuban's recent comments on short selling (click here to read Mr. Cuban's blog postings on short selling),and something also defined as a "very exciting" thing would be investigatory research of the recent attention the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers have paid to imposing unnecessary regulations to further hinder the practice of short selling, a practice which provides a fair and necessary regulatory force in the markets.

Click Here To Read The New York Times Dan Rather Article