NEW YORK, Nov 23 (AFP) - Veteran CBS anchor Dan Rather, who came under fire recently for a report on President George W. Bush`s military service, said Tuesday he would step down in March as presenter of the US network`s evening news.
Rather, who has been presenting the CBS Evening News for 24 years, will continue to work full-time as a correspondent for the CBS flagship news magazine "60 Minutes," as well as on other assignments for the news division.
"I have been lucky and blessed over these years to have what is, to me, the best job in the world and to have it at CBS News," Rather said in a statement.
"Along the way, I`ve had the honor of working with some of the most talented, dedicated professionals in the world, and I`m appreciative of the opportunity to continue doing so in the years ahead," Rather said.
CBS News President Andrew Heyward paid tribute to Rather`s dedication and "legendary" reporting skills. There was no announcement regarding a successor.
Rather, 73, covered president John Kennedy`s assassination and the Vietnam War. He interviewed president Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal, and Saddam Hussein before the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
But in September, he was forced to apologise on prime time television for using dubious documents to back a "60 Minutes" report that cast doubts on President Bush`s Vietnam era military service.
Tuesday`s statement made no mention of that story, with Rather saying he had agreed with CBS executives last summer that he would step down after the presidential election in November.
"I have always been and remain a hard news investigative reporter at heart," Rather said. "I now look forward to pouring my heart into that kind of reporting full time."
The square-jawed, grey-haired Texan has hosted the CBS Evening News since 1981 when he inherited the program from famed television journalist Walter Cronkite.
Rather`s departure underlines a transition period for network news with NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw, 66, due to deliver his last broadcast next week.
That will eventually leave only Peter Jennings of ABC of the "big three" network anchors who have become living room fixtures over the past two decades.
In announcing his departure now, Rather may be looking to pre-empt the findings of an independent review panel commissioned by CBS to examine the "60 Minutes" story on Bush.
The television network acknowledged being misled over the authenticity of documents it used to back up allegations that political pressure had been exerted to "sugar coat" Bush`s service record in the Texas Air National Guard more than 30 years ago.
The two-person review panel -- made up of former US attorney general Dick Thornburgh and former top Associated Press executive Louis Boccardi -- is expected to submit its findings next month.
11/23/2004 18:16 GMT - AFP