Cronkite Announcing the Death of President John F. Kennedy
For many of us who grew up in the 60's and 70's, Walter Cronkite was the avuncular, trusted, reassuring anchorman whose steady hand at the helm of the CBS Evening News saw us through some of the most exciting and challenging moments in American history, including the magnificent mission of Apollo 11 and first man on the moon, the horrific murders of 3 great American leaders (President Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy), the controversial involvement of America in the Vietnam War, and the national tragedy of the Watergate scandal. As a faithful viewer myself of Walter Cronkite until his retirement at the beginning of the 1980's, I was positive that I had been briefed on all the salient issues of the day by the time Walter Cronkite ended the broadcast with his memorable tagline, "And that's the way it is."
Cronkite's credibility and professional reputation were so well-established by the late 1960's that when he editorialized during the Vietnam campaign Tet Offensive, calling the war "unwinnable", President Johnson was rumored to have said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America." Unfortunately, the profession seems to have lost its moral compass since Cronkite's retirement; the national news media today have become little more than shills for one-sided (liberal) news coverage (in particular, NBC News).
In a manner it is fitting that we remember Walter Cronkite during a weekend honoring the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. One thing my middle brother, two nephews, and I share with "Uncle Walter" has been our common experience as University of Texas students. Walter Cronkite cut some of his journalistic teeth working on the campus newspaper, The Daily Texan. Walter Cronkite was a credit to our alma mater, his profession, and the American people. He will always be the icon for televised journalism, and he will be missed.
