DAN RATHER HAS ACTOR GIVE
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Last week Dan Rather interviewed Saddam Hussein on his CBS nightly news program. The voice people heard "translating" Saddam was that of Steve Winfield, an American actor "with a particular flair for foreign accents" (Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2003, p. E1).
Winfield used a phony Arab accent during his "translation" of Saddam. One former TV executive, who asked not to be named, called it "bizarre" (ibid., p. E15).
Richard Wald, a professor at Columbia School of Journalism, said:
"It would have been better if they [CBS] had simply told the viewers. It's nicer to be straight with the audience" (ibid.).
But, on the other hand, Dan Rather hasn't really been straight with the audience for a long time. That's one reason so many people are turning to Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh.