Walter Cronkite Told Today’s Senior Citizens How It
Was Through Turmoil of 60’s, 70s
Newsman dies at 92 and always regretted retiring from
CBS news anchor at just age 65; named a senior citizen star on
SeniorJournal.com
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Walter
Cronkite in 1968 as many of today's seniors remember him on CBS
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July 20, 2009 - "The 'most trusted man in America'
is gone," was the first sentence in the announcement from CBS News that
Walter Cronkite, the legendary newsman, had died at age 92 on Friday,
July 17. For today’s senior citizens, it was a nostalgic event, churning
up memories of so many, many notable events that occurred in our early
adult years and the man who explained them to us.
He was the first to tell us the President Kennedy
had been shot and that the Vietnam war was lost. He calmly walked us
through the Civil Rights clashes and the Watergate confusion. And, few
of us can remember America’s space program without thinking of
Cronkite’s shared wonderment.
“Known for his steady and straightforward delivery,
his trim moustache, and his iconic sign-off line –‘That’s the way it is’
- Cronkite dominated the television news industry during one of the most
volatile periods of American history,” CBS said in announcing his death.
As the announcement said, Walter Cronkite
“personified television journalism for more than a generation as anchor
and managing editor of the CBS Evening News”.
CBS vice president Linda Mason said Cronkite died
at 7:42 p.m. Friday with his family by his side at his home in New York
after a long illness.
He retired at age 65 on March 6, 1981 and regretted
leaving his career so young for the rest of his life.
On June 25, the New York Times reported “the CBS
News anchorman of the 1960s and ’70s, is seriously ill with
cerebrovascular disease and is ‘not expected to recuperate,’ his family
members said.”
“At one time, his audience was so large, and his
image so credible, that a 1972 poll determined he was ‘the most trusted
man in America’ - surpassing even the president, vice president, members
of Congress and all other journalists,” according to the CBS report.
“In a time of turmoil and mistrust, after Vietnam
and Watergate, the title was a rare feat - and the label stuck.”
"For decades, Walter Cronkite was the most trusted
voice in America," said President Barack Obama in a statement. "His rich
baritone reached millions of living rooms every night, and in an
industry of icons, Walter set the standard by which all others have been
judged."
Mr. Obama said that Cronkite calmly shared the
world's news while never losing his integrity.
"But Walter was always more than just an anchor," Mr. Obama said.
"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. He was family. He invited us to believe in him, and he
never let us down. This country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and
he will be truly missed."
Certainly, he belongs among the Senior Citizen
Stars in SeniorJournal.com
>>
Extensive coverage at CBS
●
Walter Cronkite: His Life And Career
>>
Coverage and information from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism,
Arizona State University
