Disgraced Dan Rather reflects on exit: 'Real news' is what someone in power 'doesn't want

In his first appearance on since he left the network 18 years ago , Rather said he missed it. reporter Lee Cowan said that how and why he left "still stings." "In the heart of every reporter worthy of their name, Lee, there's a message that , real is what somebody somewhere particularly somebody in power doesn't want you to know. That's ," Rather said. Cowan claimed, "And that's what got him into trouble." DISGRACED ANCHOR DAN RATHER RIPPED FOR LETS GO BRANDON TAKE SIT DOWN Rathers exit came after he reported on what would be seen as discredited documents about former President George Bushs military career. Cowan asked the former host if it was the low point of his career. "Of course, it was the lowest point. I gave everything I had. They had smarter, better, more talented people, but they didn't have anybody who worked any harder than I did," Rather said. Cowan said Rather had taken him under his wing when he first joined the network. Cowan said Rather "found a new, younger audience" on social media after his exit, in addition to doing some of his own reports around the world. "You either get engaged and you get engaged on the new terms, or you're out of the game," Rather said. "I wanted to stay in the game." CONSERVATIVES LIGHT UP DAN RATHER FOR COMPARING DESANTIS POLICY TO JIM CROW NOW A FULL BLOW CARICATURE A documentary on Rather's life and career as a journalist, "Rather," is set to hit Netflix in May. Just ahead of thenPresident Bush's reelection, Rather ran a " 60 Minutes " special citing dubious memos disparaging Bushs behavior while he served in the National Guard in the 1970s allegedly written by his commanding officer at the time. Critics charged that these documents were forged as part of a naked attempt to make Bush look bad two months before the 2004 election. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP After initially defending the memos, Rather and eventually acknowledged the authenticity of the documents was never verified and shouldn't have been used, Digital reported. Rather apologized for the scandal ahead of a investigation into the allegations of journalistic malpractice. He stepped down from his role as anchor of " Evening News" months after the scandal.