Dan Rather Apologizes

By Stephen M. Silverman

04/15/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

"CBS Evening News" anchor Dan Rather, 69, publicly apologized Wednesday for being the featured speaker at a Democratic Party fund-raiser co-hosted by his daughter, Robin, that was held on March 21 in Austin, Texas. "I made an embarrassing and regrettable error in judgment by going to this event," Rather said in a statement. "It was a serious mistake, which I acknowledge." Rather's appearance at the gathering, which has been construed as a conflict of interest for a journalist who is meant to appear unbiased in his political leanings, helped raise $20,000 for the Travis County Democratic Party. His daughter, an online marketing research executive and environmentalist, is said to be considering a run for mayor in Austin. CBS spokesman Sandy Genelius, noting that the network has strict ethics guidelines that prohibit its news staff from speaking at political fund-raisers, told The New York Times that no disciplinary action would be taken against Rather.