TV newsman Dan Rather, who stepped down as CBS anchorman in the wake of a discredited report, on Wednesday night said the press "ought to be doing a better job."

"American journalism is in need of a spine transplant," Rather told about 600 people at the Star Forum at Cherry Hill High School West.

The newsman proposed "Rather's rules," saying reporters should "ask more questions, especially the tough ones." He said the media should offer less sensationalism and "more real analysis." It should also pay more attention to international events, he said.

Rather said media improvement was needed for society's well-being.

"American journalism at its best is a public trust and is deeply bound up in our system of checks and balances," he said.

He anchored The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather for 24 years, but stepped down in March after a furor over a report on President Bush's military service during the Vietnam War era.

The story, which aired on 60 Minutes Wednesday during the 2004 presidential campaign, was based on alleged memos from Bush's commander in the Texas Air National Guard. However, CBS could not authenticate the documents.

Rather, who has said his departure from the anchor desk was unrelated to the National Guard story, did not mention the report in his speech.

"I've said pretty much all I have to say about this subject," he said in response to a question. "The public wants to move on."

CBS fired four employees over the story and an independent review criticized Rather for "errors of credulity and over-enthusiasm." Rather says his departure from the anchor desk was voluntary.

Rather was the final speaker in the Star Forum's 13-year run. Other speakers included Roger Ebert, Bill Clinton, Goldie Hawn and Desmond Tutu.

Organizers cited financial demands and limited audience support. The Star Forum is a school-district enterprise that's funded through ticket sales and subscriptions.

Reach Jim Walsh at (856) 486-2646 or jwalsh@courierpostonline.com

Commentary:
If every reporter who lied to us had to step down we wouldn't have any reporters left. Every reporter in Washington LIED to us about Whitewater and WMD. Any moron knows those were not mistakes; they were calculated attempts to destroy President Clinton and make Bush into a near god-like figure. In both scandals the media carried the water for the GOP, lied for them around the clock and pushed their agenda blindly. How many reporters questioned the facts behind Whitewater? None. How many questioned the facts behind WMD? None. If Bush had a single fact, the UN inspectors would have been able to verify it on DAY ONE, but the media blindly allowed Bush to lie to us. News is about the "story" not about the truth. That's the problem. We need to get rid of all the reporters, editors and publishers who lied to us about Whitewater and WMD.

The sad thing about the Rather affair is mistakes will always happen and that's to be expected. Rather made ONE mistake about Bush (while Bush made thousands of mistakes that were excused by the media). One mistake should never end a career and being 100% wrong should never be considered acceptable (Bush was less right than a coin toss -50%).. Rather should have been brought down a long time ago - after he lied to us about Whitewater and WMD. Who cares about one document.