CBS News anchor Dan Rather rehearses for election night coverage on Nov. 3, 2000, in New York.

In television news, there are two roles in front of the camera: reporter and anchor.

During four decades at CBS, Dan Rather played both roles. On March 9, 1981, he took over the position of nightly news anchor from Walter Cronkite, one of the most influential faces in network television. Although Rather held that job for 24 years, first and foremost he embraced being a reporter.

Originally published on theconversation.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.