In 1974 Rader began his television career working in the newsroom at WMAL-TV (ABC) during the final days of Watergate and the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
In 1975 Rader was hired by news director Tony Burton as the assignment editor at WVEC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Norfolk, Virginia.
He devoted extensive coverage to NASCAR becoming one of the first local sportscasters outside of Florida to annually spend a week covering the season-opening Daytona 500.
During his coverage of Super Bowl XVII in 1983, he broadcast the first live newscast in Hampton Roads television history from Costa Mesa, California.
Rader also worked with the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, Seton Youth Shelters, Virginia Beach SPCA, and Horizons Hampton Roads.