SHORT TAKES : No Takers on Dan Rather Chat

Amateur footage of CBS anchorman Dan Rather talking to sailors in the boiler room of the carrier Independence was offered to other networks, but there were no takers.

“I thought it was shabby,” NBC foreign editor David Miller said of the tape’s quality.

Rather was among network correspondents on the aircraft carrier Monday as it steamed in the Gulf of Oman.

The rules of the press pool required CBS to share the footage that a sailor took of Rather as he explored the ship and interviewed crewmen.

Some of the footage was fuzzy and taken in poor light.

As Rather held the microphone, one grinning young sailor blurted out, “Hi, Mom and Dad.”