Dan Rather and Judith Regan may not be paranoid. But if their allegations against two of the world's largest media conglomerates are true, somebody was out to get them.

Both the folksy former CBS News anchor and the flamboyant superstar publisher have recently filed high-stakes lawsuits in Manhattan Supreme Court that should delight conspiracy theorists. Indeed, the two cases bear some uncanny resemblances to each other (see table).

Rather jumped in first by accusing CBS in September of forcing him out of the company after the “Rathergate” controversy over a “60 Minutes” expose of George W. Bush's Air National Guard service during the Vietnam War.

“[T]he defendants sacrificed Mr. Rather's journalistic integrity by falsely blaming him for alleged errors in the Broadcast,” he said in a complaint for breach of contract and fraud.

Now Regan, who a year ago lost her job running her own imprint at HarperCollins amid the “Regangate” controversy over the O.J. Simpson book “If I Did It,” is alleging her former employer engaged in a “deliberate smear campaign” to destroy her credibility and reputation.

According to Regan's complaint, top executives at News Corp., the parent company of HarperCollins, set out to preeemptively discredit her because they feared she would dish dirt to federal investigators about ex-boyfriend Bernard Kerik, a protege of Republican presidential nomination frontrunner Rudy Giuliani.

“This smear campaign was necessary to advance News Corp.'s political agenda, which has long centered on protecting Rudy Giuliani's presidential ambitions,” the suit says.

Regan is seeking $100 million in damages, compared to Rather's relatively modest $70 million. She's also a little less direct than the newsman in pointing the finger at the top brass.

Whereas Rather specifically alleges that Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone wanted him out of CBS to "curry favor with the Bush administration," Regan doesn't name the News Corp. senior executive who allegedly "attempted to influence any information that Regan might be asked to give regarding Kerik."

As for News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch, Regan appears to commend him for being "the only one in the entire company who acknowledged, from the beginning, he knew about the Simpson project and approved it."

CBS has filed a motion to dismiss Rather's suit, calling it "a regrettable attempt by plaintiff Dan Rather to remain in the public eye, and to settle old scores and perceived slights."

"Rather's allegations bear no resemblance to reality," the company says. "CBS and its executives are not now, and never have been, out to get Dan Rather."

By Matthew Heller
11/15/07