NEW YORK (AP) – Dan Rather echoed a word he once used every night to sign off the “CBS Evening News” – courage – in anchoring the program for the final time after 24 years on Wednesday.

In a brief statement at the end of the show, Rather paid tribute to Sept. 11 terrorist victims, tsunami survivors, American military forces, the oppressed, those in failing health and fellow journalists in dangerous places. “And, to each of you,” he said. “Courage.”

He seemed to savor each word of his signoff: “For the “CBS Evening News,’ Dan Rather reporting. Good night.”

Rather’s reporting career spanned from the Kennedy assassination to this winter’s tsunami, and he’s been the public face of CBS’s legendary news division since replacing Walter Cronkite on March 9, 1981.

He’s the second of the three men who dominated network news for more than two decades to step down in four months. NBC’s Tom Brokaw exited in November, leaving ABC’s Peter Jennings remaining at “World News Tonight.”

Bob Schieffer is Rather’s temporary replacement starting Thursday.

Rather, 73, is returning to full-time reporting for CBS’s “60 Minutes” broadcasts.

He flashed a steadfast defiance in reminding viewers of the phrase “courage.” He was mocked by some for using that to end his broadcasts and then gave up on the idea.

His exit comes at an ebb for his career. Rather took much of the public blame for a discredited “60 Minutes” story last fall about President Bush’s military service, and he’s a distant third in the ratings behind NBC’s Brian Williams and Jennings.

Both Jennings and Williams planned to pay tribute to Rather on their broadcasts Wednesday evening.

Rather was a target of conservatives who accuse the media of bias for more than three decades, since his coverage of the Nixon White House during the Watergate era, and many have exulted in his recent misfortunes.

But he had his supporters, too.

Marian MacNeil of Windsor, Calif., said she watched Rather regularly and admired him. “I feel terrible the way he’s being treated now,” MacNeil said. “I think they’re smearing a good reputation and overshadowing his 50 years. I hope he’s able to rise above this.”

Meanwhile, a CBS affiliate in northern Michigan that had said it would let its viewers decide whether it should run Wednesday’s prime-time CBS tribute to Rather backed off those plans. The station in Cadillac, Mich., said Wednesday its poll had been grossly misinterpreted.

“We were simply trying to maintain the great tradition of local viewer input that is the foundation of our modern day broadcasting system,” said William E. Kring, the station’s general manager. “It was never our intent to embarrass Mr. Rather or the CBS network.”

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