Walter Cronkite was a man of many words, many insights, and many emotions, and we were truly blessed to experience so many of them. I can't really say that I went to journalism school solely because of "Uncle Walter," but he set the standards that I and so many of my peers strive to meet.
If he had done nothing else throughout his extraordinary career, Cronkite will always be remembered for his reporting of President John F. Kennedy's death. It was eerie to see this pillar of objectivity break on camera and make us all realize that he had lost his president along with the rest of us. I was not quite seven when this happened, and those tears allowed me to see that he was not just some newscaster in a box, but could have been anyone I knew -- and so I got to know him better through his newscasts.
He truly was "the most trusted man in America" and we will be reminded that when Lyndon Johnson lost that trust after the Tet Offensive, he knew he had lost any hope of re-election -- and chose not to seek a second term in 1968. What an amazing turn of events because Cronkite said we were "mired in stalemate" in Vietnam.
In the next few days, we will see and hear many words about Walter Cronkite, and we will be reminded about his zest for life, the funny appearances on "Murphy Brown" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and more -- tributes all well deserved. But if we recall none of those things, hopefully we remember the man who was a tower of journalistic integrity and unquestionable ethics who helped raise the standards of an entire industry.
Because that's the way he was.
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A year or two ago he did a telephone interview with one of the DJs at our local University of California, Davis/community radio station KDVS. I got such a kick out of his interview - not only because of what he said, but because he was willing to do a very small town interview with folks who respected him. And he was 90+ years old! Great guy.
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ReplyDeleteDon't forget how much he loved the space program. God bless you, Uncle Walter.
ReplyDeleteIn 2008, when McCain canceled on Letterman when he 'suspended his campaign', I recognized many characteristics of Cronkite's turn-around on Viet Nam. I believe McCain actually announced his candidacy on Letterman's show. Now, Dave said this war hero was acting 'squirrely', and that he kinda didn't recognize him (my paraphrasing, sorry).
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