I know the story. I remember very well when Dan Rather was attacked. Living in the greater NY area for years, he was my anchorman of choice for years on the 7 pm news, much clearer in my memories than his predecessor Walter Cronkite.
I even remember vaguely before his anchorman days when Rather was a CBS news correspondent and got beaten by Chicago police during the “cop riot” outside the Democratic Convention in 1968.
Poor Mr. Rather seemed an improbably fated target for assaults to his head.
As far as the famous “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” attack, years after it I heard a different explanation for the supposed question posed by Rather’s attacker.
He was a mentally ill, “tinfoil hat” kind of guy, who thought TV stations were able to penetrate his brain and steal his thoughts.
And he was an older, Jewish immigrant who spoke Yiddish as well as English.
He wanted to know what RF frequency his tormenters were using to tap into his brainwaves for thought-stealing purposes. Thinking Rather part of the cabal of his enemies, he called him a “gonif” as he attacked him, demanding to know the frequency they were using.
“Gonif” is Yiddish for “thief.”
So he was actually accosting Rather saying, “What’s the frequency, gonif?”
Not being that familiar with Yiddish, Rather heard it as “Kenneth” - seems a very plausible mishearing.
I don’t remember the exact provenance of this account.
Do you know how the idea that he was referring to Kenneth Burrows came about?
I know the story. I remember very well when Dan Rather was attacked. Living in the greater NY area for years, he was my anchorman of choice for years on the 7 pm news, much clearer in my memories than his predecessor Walter Cronkite.
I even remember vaguely before his anchorman days when Rather was a CBS news correspondent and got beaten by Chicago police during the “cop riot” outside the Democratic Convention in 1968.
Poor Mr. Rather seemed an improbably fated target for assaults to his head.
As far as the famous “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” attack, years after it I heard a different explanation for the supposed question posed by Rather’s attacker.
He was a mentally ill, “tinfoil hat” kind of guy, who thought TV stations were able to penetrate his brain and steal his thoughts.
And he was an older, Jewish immigrant who spoke Yiddish as well as English.
He wanted to know what RF frequency his tormenters were using to tap into his brainwaves for thought-stealing purposes. Thinking Rather part of the cabal of his enemies, he called him a “gonif” as he attacked him, demanding to know the frequency they were using.
“Gonif” is Yiddish for “thief.”
So he was actually accosting Rather saying, “What’s the frequency, gonif?”
Not being that familiar with Yiddish, Rather heard it as “Kenneth” - seems a very plausible mishearing.
I don’t remember the exact provenance of this account.
Do you know how the idea that he was referring to Kenneth Burrows came about?
Cool story. Thanks.