RSS FeedAny news reporter over the age of 30 felt a profound sense of loss recently when the news of Walter Cronkite's death broke.
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Like most outstanding television journalists of his era, Cronkite started his career as a print reporter during World War II. As a front line reporter for United Press International, he was present during the D-Day invasion of Normandy and accompanied a glider crew on a mission.
“I fell in love with the newspaper business during the war,” Cronkite told an interviewer in 1967.
Following the war, Cronkite got in on the ground floor of television news by becoming a reporter for CBS News at a time when the viability of television news was questioned.
In 1962 he became the “anchor” of the newscast, a term invented specifically for him.
It will be hard for younger readers to imagine a time when there were only three sources for TV news: CBS, NBC and ABC. There was no CNN, BBC World News, Fox News or PBS News Hour, no satellite TV and very little live coverage. Largely due to Cronkite's impeccable impartiality and professionalism, CBS emerged as the gold standard for news broadcasting.
He was present at all the seminal events of the latter part of the twentieth century. He is well remembered for his coverage of the assassination of JFK, an event which emotionally shattered our country. Cronkite calmly reported the event, but his voice broke briefly, betraying his emotions at the death of our young president.
Former TV newsman Roger Mudd said, “The country was deeply shaken and we needed Walter's calm voice during that period.”
Former colleagues remember him saying, “Let's get on the air,” when the news of the shooting first broke and CBS went live in the middle of the broadcast day. Of course, the video from Dallas still had to be flown to New York before it could be aired.
Barbara Walters recalled, “Walter was the person who held us all together that day.”
Cronkite also anchored coverage of the tumultuous1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago and became visible angry when then-reporter Dan Rather was beat up on the convention floor by Chicago cops.
He gave extensive coverage to the March on Washington, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. and is credited by black filmmaker Spike Lee with recognizing the event as a movement, “not just an isolated blip on the national political consciousness.”
Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead said, “Cronkite was a freedom fighter. He worked for the common good.”
The newsman was a huge fan of the space program and couldn't hide his boyish glee as he covered the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon. “The moon landing shows our pioneering spirit,” he said at the time. The astronauts currently aboard the space station gave a salute to Cronkite upon learning of his death.
While always trying to maintain the objective distance necessary to deliver unbiased news, Cronkite twice found himself in the center of political developments. Following a tour of Vietnam he concluded that the two sides “would fight to a draw and the best course was to withdraw with honor.” He took a large risk by making that statement, but he always told the truth as he saw it.
On another occasion he spoke by phone to both Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and helped to arrange a meeting between the two leaders.
“It's remarkable that one reporter can effect the course of history,” said “60 Minutes” reporter Andy Rooney.
Although Cronkite was reasonably attractive, he wasn't the “pretty boy” so often seen in the anchor chair these days. He was first and foremost a newsman. “He was an editor, not just a news reader and he had a great voice,” said comedian Robin Williams.
Robert McNeill of PBS said, “Cronkite was there before tabloid values came into network news. He wanted to maintain the traditions of the best newspapers.”
As he said in a 1970s interview, “Keep it on the news. Be simple and tell the truth. I'm delighted to have been a journalist all my life.”
We're delighted too, Walter. We'll miss you.
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