Mixed Media: In Rather v. CBS outcome, there are no winners

All Dan Rather wanted to do was save American journalism from the corrupting influences of business and government. Too bad he tried to hitch that noble cause to his own lost cause.

With his $70 million lawsuit, Rather sought to prove that his corporate bosses at CBS and Viacom (VIA) were under the thumb of politicians in Washington. Since filing it, he's been on a one-man crusade against the "self-censorship" of big media organizations and the creeping timidity of the journalists who work there. His message to his beleaguered colleagues: Courage.