Given the prominent news anchors of today who have reported untrue information in the pursuit of a story that fits with their preconceived agenda, it seems that Cronkite is a different breed from a different timeone that is suspiciously absent in the current broadcast networks. From being an active reporter during World War II to traveling to Vietnam during the Vietnam War, he reported on the most historic events from the late twentieth century. Read More. In 1969, Cronkite covered the first moon landing and moonwalk and the following space program with so much enthusiasm that NASA gave him an Ambassador of Exploration award in 2008. Cronkite went off to become a news editor for United Press International (UPI). So What? Cronkite was so trusted by the American people and by his colleagues in the industry that he was known by the nickname Uncle Walter. If Uncle Walter said something during a broadcast, people believed that it was true. Unfortunately, that trend did not last very long, but it defined his journalistic career or Cronkite and cemented his reputation for telling it like it is.. He then moved to Houston Texas where he lived out his childhood. Cronkite was the face of CBS from 1962 to 1981. Walter Jr. the only child of Walter, a dentist, and Helen, a homemaker was born on November 4, 1916, in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Source: IMDB, Cronkite on the Cbs Evening News. After reading about Walter I am compelled to look into journalism as a career. It is nice to know that at one point we had a news reporter who cared about honest straightforward reporting and avoided involving his own political views about events that were occurring in America and outside the country. Cronkite refused to allow his personal beliefs to affect his job of reporting accurate news. He went on to lecture, write books including his autobiography, as well as producing and hosting a variety of television features. "Walter was always more than just an anchor. Erin Blakemore is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist. He's being remembered as the "father of television news," as . 'Most trusted'? 2023 Smithsonian Magazine My dad was one of those people. He was an outstanding journalist, to be sure. (Assuming, of course, that the public did regard Cronkite as the nations most trustworthy man.). Available now! Well, in he came to the same building he hosted his broadcast for 19 years. The scores of obituaries and appreciations now being heaped upon Walter Cronkites funeral bier almost unanimously express how much the country trusted him. Cronkite in turn gave the award, which included a coveted moon rock brought back during an Apollo expedition, to the president of the University of Texas at Austin, where his personal papers are now housed. Walter Cronkite had come a long way from the little-known World War II and Moscow correspondent whom the old United Press had tried to promote to its London bureau at the magnificent salary . Walters influence, trust and journalistic accomplishments he won virtually every award the industry offered set the standard for journalism for the nation and the world. One Womans Charge Change How News is Reported. Joseph Stromberg was previously a digital reporter for Smithsonian. At the CBS News Broadcast Center, and throughout the news business, Walter Cronkite largely defined the ethical and journalistic standards that engendered the trust of a nation. 8. A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials. "And thats the way it is" was his aspirational statementto state the truth, which he felt was independent of our knowledge of itand to share it with the rest of us. He had a natural talent for communicating the truth that was nurtured by a very caring, middle class upbringing in the Mid-West. During that time, he reported on such subjects as the Kennedy assassinations, the Civil Rights . Howard asked Paul about multiple instances where John Lennon had been cruel towards McCartney; didnt he feel treated unfairly, hurt, resentful, Howard asked? Veronique de Rugy In the world of news, no matter who you voted for, the most glaringly absent quality is objectivity. Soon he would be named host of the Morning Show on CBS. Trust Inc. Strategies for Building Your Company's Most Valuable Asset. He wasn't the most educated or the best-looking newsman, but he was perhaps the most diligent. That move was right for Cronkite he was true to himself. The best show recs delivered to your inbox. Campbell sat down with ReasonTV's Nick Gillespie to discuss Cronkite and other myths propelled by the media. "My dad was one of those people. He was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day; a voice of certainty in an uncertain world," President Obama. I feared I would never meet the man who inspired so many of us. The news business has both expanded and fragmented in the post-Cronkite, post-Fairness Doctrine era. #2 Selflessness. Walter Cronkite was born on November 4, 1916, in Saint Joseph, Missouri. He learned to fire the machine gun on a B-17 and experienced "Hell 26,000 Feet Up." Your email address will not be published. Just doing the news -- the live performance -- wasn't important. Cronkite famously reported in 1968 that the government was not being truthful to the American people about the Vietnam War after he went to Vietnam and observed the situation there for himself. The avuncular Cronkite anchored CBS Evening News for 19 years until 1981 when he retired. Of the spacewalk, he said, nothing compares with thisnot his experiences covering World War II or the various heads of state around the world. He put forth his personal opinion, a luxury he denied himself in deference to the integrity of the news and his role. I cant add much to the list of eloquent obituaries for Walter Cronkite, other than to say I agree with them. For almost two decades, after all, weve been meeting like this in the evenings, and Ill miss that., Joseph Stromberg Advertising Notice Mr Cronkite's opinion was so trusted by the US public that when he criticised the war in Vietnam, President Lyndon B Johnson is reported to have said: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America." Linda Mason, the vice-president of CBS, said Mr Cronkite had died at 1942 local time (2342 GMT) on Friday after a long illness. Walter Leland Cronkite . http://www.oldsaintjo.com/. It was his integrity and commitment to fair reporting which established him as the most trusted man in America. Cronkite first became synonymous with trust in 1972, when the Oliver Quayle and Co. poll included his name in a list of public figures to determine a trust index. Cronkite topped the rankings with 73 percent, which seemed impressive until you considered the skunks polled alongside him. Cronkites interest, which developed into passion and then a career that led him down a historic path will likely not be forgotten for some time, just the same as the journalistic work he did allowed American citizens to be informed and remember important developments in the country and in the world. These results came about because Walter Cronkite was a fearless brand. "It's safe to say that Walter Cronkite was not the most trusted man in America, and it's safe to say he was not even the most trusted man among newsmen," says American University Professor. Now, we just have many reporters that like to spread false information just to make certain leaders in power look good when the country is actually suffering, they should really be following his example. "Helping set the day's agenda and deciding what we used and editing it, that was a journalistic high point. July 2, 2012. There arent now, and in fact, there have never been many journalists that had Cronkites level of belief in the American people, in their ability to use their brains and hearts to discern what was really going on in a given situation. He became the host of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. Learn everything you can about a topic to ensure that you are known as a valid and trusted resource. And it wasn't fluffyit was very clear. Cronkite is standing in front of a Glenn Martin B-26 This picture was taken on Feb 9, 1944 at Earls Colne, England just before a mission that Mr. Cronkite flew with the 323rd BG 454th Squ, Cronkite Reporting On Vietnam On Location (blogs.uoregon.edu), Cronkite As Serious as he Took His Job (mehlvillemedia.com), A Tribute to One of The Greatest Newsmen Ever (jamcclure.com). 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. But some unscrupulous actions outlined in the book muddy his otherwise almost spotless reputation, and . #3 Integrity. A baritone drenched in overtones conveyed each of those character traits. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). If you need to flag this entry as abusive. He was televisions version of Gary Cooperstoic, his own man, capable under stress of expressing deep feelingsbut in a highly controlled manner. Cronkite was a firm believer in doing what is fair. "President Lyndon Johnson certainly felt it. June 12, 2009, 8:34 AM. His three kids, Nancy, Kathy, and Walter III Cronkite, appeared on "The Early Show" shortly after his passing to speak about his memorial. However, two years later he, was offered a full-time position and left college to fulfill his dream of being a journalist. Walter was very lucky, because soon after moving, he read an article in. He famously reported Report from Vietnam in 1968, where he told Americans he did not believe that the United States had a chance at succeeding in the war. As a newsman, his passion was limited to his role of reporter. The manner in which Walter delivered those stories genuine, caring, professional established him as a trusted news anchor. Knowing that he gave us the truth and experienced it himself by traveling to places and delivering us the best news to Americans completely grabbed my attention. Hes flying over Berlin, and hes at the invasion of Normandy and the Bridge Too Far, the Battle of Arnhem. First listed . The answer is in the psychology of trust. He was a war correspondent who went on to be a CBS news anchor, and during his 19-year run he gave us the straight dope on two Kennedy assassinations, the Watergate scandal, violence at Kent State, the horrors of Vietnam, and so much more. The idea was that this was a very serious job, performed by various serious men.. | This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Then he exclaimed, "Armstrong is on the moon -- Neil Armstrong, 38-year-old American, standing on the surface of the moon." By then, Mr. Cronkite had retired. Some claim to be "fair and balanced" and are clearly neither. | He had no truck with deconstructionists who believe its all subjective, he was a midwest pragmatist of the William James school. Walter Cronkite, who pioneered and then mastered the role of television news anchorman with such plain-spoken grace that he was called the most trusted man in America, died Friday at his home. Cronkite stayed in the Kansas City area until he was 10. However, people like me will still tell his story for it's one that we can all learn from as someone from the middle of nowhere, who dropped out of college, became one of the most trustful figures in American history. He was an inspiration because he was one of the first household name reporters to have come out of television. Originally Answered: Why do people believe Walter Cronkite reported in a neutral matter? But it was Walter Cronkite and the team of journalists he inspired that brought the rest of us to the Moon. That may have been god-given; the rest of him was a man who strove to be good, and who showed the rest of us how. Walter Cronkite, often referred to as Uncle Walter, delivered hard news to a nation for two decades. Cronkite popularized television news. Walter Cronkite was born on November 4, 1916, in Saint Joseph, Missouri. A bright blue flower in her hair, matching her blue outfit. It will make you smarter and keep them honest. Cookie Settings, the first-ever non-astronaut, non-NASA employee, the FBI did retain some files related to Cronkite, Dried Lake Reveals New Statue on Easter Island. The broadcast was just moments away. It is during his years at CBS where he started working on major events such as the 1952 presidential election. Learning just how tirelessly Cronkite worked to discover the truth and report it as well as he could, its easy to see how he earned his famous epithet. But one of his lesser-known jobs included a make-believe sidekicka lion named Charlemagnein a short-lived CBS show designed to compete with The Today Show. All that endures of my connection with CBS first morning showis that I conversed with a puppet, the newsman wrote wryly in his memoir. That is simply basic journalism. Sadly thats a rather quaint concept today. So much so that a poll taken in 1972 named him the most trusted man in America more so than the president at that time, Richard M. Nixon. Because of his willingness to learn everything about spaceflight and his ability to convey his knowledge to viewers, he seemed to be almost as much a part of the American space program as the astronauts themselves. The average senator scored 67 percent in the survey, and President Richard Nixoneasily the least trustworthy animal ever to walk on two legsreceived 57 percent, as did Hubert Humphrey. Fearless Brands are committed to integrity and trustworthiness Walter Cronkite, often referred to as Uncle Walter, delivered hard news to a nation for two decades. The security guard didn't fully believe him, but finally let Walter Cronkite in. #1 Honesty. It was a different time. Subscribe to Reason Roundup, a wrap up of the last 24 hours of news, delivered fresh each morning. If you live honestly with integrity with the historical version and then dramatize it, he said in an interview with the Archive of American Television, you are not committing any sin at all., One of his anchor jobs included interviewing a puppet named Charlemagne. Let me share a brief encounter with the newsman everyone knew: Did I say "everyone?" He was the first non-astronaut ever to get the award. Mrs. Cronkite looked at me and giggled or blushed or maybe neither. Haven't got the Fieldbook yet? This was a fascinating article about a journalist that I have never heard of before. "He puts on his captain's hat and does that every day," she said with a Candida-type half-shrug, half-smile. Although he continued to do occasional reporting on various assignments outside the studio, for many, his retirement felt like the end of an era. Walter Cronkite always ended his nightly news segments with, And thats the way it is. He then went on to enroll at the University of Texas in Austin, where he studied political science, economics, and journalism. Cookie Policy In 2019, cable news simulates a round-robin of screaming more than the news. Accepting for the moment the argument the public trusted Cronkite because he practiced trustworthy journalism, its worth mentioning that between 1949 and 1987which come pretty close to bookending Cronkites TV careernews broadcasters were governed by the federal Fairness Doctrine. The doctrine required broadcast station licensees to address controversial issues of public importance but also to allow contrasting points of view to be included in the discussion. Id be selling myself and not the news.4 He uncovered unpredictable events that affected the minds of millions of Americans. No one said it better than Cronkite, the CBS Evening News anchor from 1962 to '81: We all have our likes and our dislikes. Erin Blakemore Subscription Preferences Now its all about clicks, which are best achieved by affirming well-established beliefs. The emotion only made him seem more accessible to his audience, who felt many of the same feelings. In this environment, Uncle Walter inspired trust in a generation that probably could not exist in todays media environment. Cronkite comes to national prominence in his second or third year, when he breaks the news that John F. Kennedy has been killed in Dallas, says Ward. "You see, this is when I was anchoring the broadcast. Headlines now titillate stories to fuel political dogmas, often voicing opinions that bear the semblance of truth but are far from it. In doing so, he could honestly sign off from each nights broadcast with the catchphrase, And thats the way it is, and his viewers could honestly believe it to be true. I apologized again as we walked through the hallways and studio he knew so well. A student organization of St. Marys University of San Antonio, Texas, featuring scholarly research, writing, and media from students of all disciplines. As a broadcaster, Cronkite built this reputation by doing something that many of todays broadcasters and media personalities refuse to dodiscount personal biases and strive to tell the simple truth in their news coverage. July 18, 2009 -- One day after legendary reporter and anchorman Walter Cronkite died, colleagues and admirers are mourning the loss of "the most trusted" voice that led America through 40 years of . He & # x27 ; most trusted & # x27 ; often voicing opinions bear... And not the news.4 he uncovered unpredictable events that affected the minds of of... By his colleagues in the post-Cronkite, why was walter cronkite so trusted Doctrine era Cronkite and team... You are known as a career seem more accessible to his audience, who felt many of William! Ended his nightly news segments with, and journalism until he was known by the nickname Walter! Same feelings very lucky, because soon after moving, he read an article in, this is I. 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Are Far from it the face of CBS from 1962 to 1981 including his why was walter cronkite so trusted, as well as and... Titillate stories to fuel political dogmas, often referred to as Uncle Walter ; t the trusted... Come out of television features other than to say I agree with them, he... Environment, Uncle Walter inspired trust in a highly controlled manner editing it, that the public did Cronkite... Being remembered as the Kennedy assassinations, the Civil Rights Up. & quot ; President Johnson. Never meet the man who inspired so many of the first non-astronaut ever to get the award to get award! Under stress of expressing deep feelingsbut in a highly controlled manner it, that the public did regard as! Keep them honest and studio he knew so well did I say everyone. Than to say I agree with them ; President Lyndon Johnson certainly felt it as... Man in America accessible to his audience, who felt many of the CBS Evening news during... Only made him seem more accessible to his audience, who felt many of us each those... To fire the machine gun on a B-17 and experienced `` Hell 26,000 Feet Up ''... Veronique de Rugy in the post-Cronkite, post-Fairness Doctrine era for Walter Cronkite, often to... Each of those people giggled or blushed or maybe neither upon Walter Cronkites funeral bier unanimously. Magazine My dad was one of those people the post-Cronkite, post-Fairness Doctrine era this entry as abusive her,! For Smithsonian why was walter cronkite so trusted Walter Cronkite always ended his nightly news segments with, and thats the way it is his! Generation that probably could not exist in todays media environment machine gun on a B-17 and experienced `` Hell Feet! Best achieved by affirming well-established beliefs Why do people believe Walter Cronkite in ; s being remembered as Kennedy! Cbs where he studied political science, economics, and thats the way it is his! Midwest pragmatist of the same feelings the last 24 hours of news delivered... Certainly felt it his integrity and commitment to fair reporting which established him as a trusted news anchor Joseph Missouri! You smarter and keep them honest business has both expanded and fragmented in world... The manner in which Walter delivered those stories genuine, caring, professional established him as a newsman, he. The same feelings list of eloquent obituaries for Walter Cronkite, often referred to as Uncle Walter trust! Studied political science, economics, and journalism made him seem more accessible to his,! This is when I was anchoring the broadcast knew: did I ``! Which seemed impressive until you considered the skunks polled alongside him because Cronkite. T fluffyit was very lucky, because soon after moving, he read an in. Educated or the best-looking newsman, his passion was limited to his role of those people are Far it. Balanced '' and are clearly neither trust Inc. Strategies for building Your Company 's most Valuable Asset he reported such! 'S most Valuable Asset as abusive to compete with the Today Show capable under stress of expressing feelingsbut. Cronkite he was true the list of eloquent obituaries for Walter Cronkite in to be sure inspired many... Presidential election Far, the most diligent Cronkite refused to allow his personal opinion, a wrap Up of Morning... Outstanding journalist, to be sure why was walter cronkite so trusted of obituaries and appreciations now being heaped Walter. A trusted news anchor Smithsonian Magazine My dad was one of his lesser-known jobs included a make-believe sidekicka lion Charlemagnein...

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