The Philadelphia Inquirer

Dan Rather has found his patron saint, and his name is Mark Cuban.

To Rather, the fiery Dallas Mavericks owner and cofounder of HDNet belongs in the same galaxy as legendary CBS founder William S. Paley and CNN visionary Ted Turner.

“Hard news needs backers that don’t back down,” says the exiled CBS anchor. “It needs owners and operators who understand what news is and isn’t, and back up their people and back them all the way.”

Rather, 74, signed a three-year deal with HDNet to develop and host a weekly documentary series for the high-definition network. The official announcement comes Tuesday.

The weekly “Dan Rather Reports” will debut in October. A full-time staff of 10 to 20 will be based in New York.

After 44 years at CBS, Rather says he has nothing to prove. Don’t believe it. He still feels the sting of Memogate, which cost him the “CBS Evening News” anchor job after a record 24 years.

Equally painful was his back-door exit from the network three weeks ago, a full five months before the completion of his contract.

“Journalism has given me everything I’ve got, including my dream,” Rather says, his voice quavering. “I think I still have something to give back.

“I spent a fair amount of my life with something to prove – that I might not be the smartest guy in the room, but I could become a legitimate, world-class reporter, with heart and guts.

“I’m humbled and honored to have this kind of opportunity, at this stage of my career. I will give Mark Cuban hard work, loyalty, and the most fearless, high-quality journalism possible.”

Cuban, a rebellious billionaire who turns 48 this month, says he and Rather share similar DNA.

“We’re both motivated and intense. I think he was tired of the corporate world, and he realized I certainly didn’t operate that way, and I was more open-minded than the organization he worked for before.”

HDNet, which launched in 2001, reaches about 3 million homes. It’s available on DirectTV and Dish satellite networks.

Because HDNet is not publicly traded and not at the mercy of shareholders, the network has few editorial constraints, according to Cuban.

“We don’t have to take precautions. This is my money. To me, the more icons we take on and the more conventional wisdom we overturn, the happier I am.

“If I have to make a choice between losing an advertiser and doing the right thing, I’ll say goodbye to the advertiser.”

Rather labels Cuban “a pioneer and a maverick, small M. From infancy, we Texans are taught to have a special place for pioneers and mavericks.”

Rather says he has worked up more than 50 story ideas, including return trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. He wants to do pieces on the Sudan and Katrina – he pitched both ideas to “60 Minutes,” but was turned down.

All Rather cares about now, he says, is “news that matters. There’s a place for “celebrity of the week’ or “murder case of the day,’ ” he says, but not on his watch.

Speaking of watching, some might see Rather’s move from a mainstream broadcast network to a high-tech start-up as a demotion. He’s not one of them.

“I see this as a step forward. High-def is growing. Its day is coming, and it’s coming in a hurry.” Content-wise, “I don’t have to worship at the shrine of ratings and demographics.”

Cuban says Rather reached out to him in March through a mutual acquaintance after seeing “Good Night, and Good Luck,” about revered CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow. Cuban’s company produced the film.

The two met in New York about a month later, Cuban says.

“I had no expectations. I’m always looking for marquee content for HDNet. Obviously, things were not going well for him at CBS. He said he had a lot to prove. When you have a chance to talk to Dan Rather, you take it.”

At the time, Rather’s first priority was working out a new deal with CBS, Cuban says, but when it became painfully obvious that he wasn’t wanted there, conversations heated up.

Like many others, Cuban says CBS mistreated Rather in the end. “You don’t take somebody who’s done what he’s done and basically make him a scapegoat. It’s not right. Particularly over one incident.”

For his part, Rather says CBS is in his rear-view mirror.

“I’m looking forward. I’m following what my mother taught me: “About yesterday, no tears. About tomorrow, no fears.’

“I have no illusions about this job. In some ways, I’m going into the wilderness, to build something from the ground up in the new world.

“Is it a risk? Of course, it is. But I’m a risk taker, for better or for worse. I couldn’t be more excited.”