Dan Can't Hold A Conversation

No newsflash, Dan Rather is out at CBS.  Plenty of post-mortems are being done.  But even if Rather hadn't handled NationalGuardGate ineffectively, he would still be gone.  Whether you're in an old media like broadcast or a new media like the blogosphere, it's all about having a conversation.  Two-way exchange is something Rather never learned.

Katie (Couric), on the other hand, got it that she was to tune into and talk with her viewers.  Her body language, extreme make-overs, and unique hybrid of gravitas and lite all have been strategically orchestrated to have a conversation with us who view "Today."  Media analysts such as myself are waiting to observe what kind of strategy she puts in-place for the evening news.

What could Rather have done differently? 

He could have let us in.  He never did.  Otherwise he wouldn't have embarked on such bizarre antics as delivering the news standing up or closing it with "Peace."  We would have told him, no way Jose. 

He could have tried to be likable, instead of so godlike.  Maybe he was trying to maintain the awesomeness of the Cronkite era but Cronkite pulled off his authoritative delivery of information with likability.  Anderson Cooper maybe overdoes the likability but best to err on too much than too little.

Rather's raw ambitious stood between him and us.  There was no way he or we could get past it to connect.  Rather has been described as a Macbeth type, done in by his ambition.  In this media age when every nuance is out there, Rather should have softened and humanized that piece of himself.

Am I sad to see Dan Rather go?  As a presentation coach, speechwriter and marketing communications pro, I sense that there were times in his career when he could have done a 180 on Dan Rather.  He didn't.  He was holding on too tight to whom he had dreamed about becoming.  That Dan Rather was in his head and didn't play well on the tube.