OR ANY KIND OF JOURNALIST, FOR THAT MATTER
Cronkite was the calm voice of triumphant and turbulent events for decades.
(July 17, New York, New York) The voice who addressed the nation each evening during the CBS Nightly News for almost 20 years died here earlier tonight after a battle with a degenerative cerebral vascular degenerative disease. Walter Cronkite was 92.
Once named during the 1970’s as “The Most Trusted Man in America”, Cronkite was a pioneer of what was at the time a new medium, television, which would go on to be the public’s primary source of news in the decades that followed. Every major historic event of the latter segment of the 20th century was chronicled for all of us by Walter Cronkite.
The cub reporter turned World War II correspondent landed with the troops at Normandy on D-Day, flew with a B-29 crew on a bombing run over Germany and went on to define television journalism. There is not a television journalist alive today who could even wash the socks of such a truly honorable American icon.
Journalism was his passion and he reported with a sense of fairness, truthfulness and personal integrity the likes of which will never be seen again. His was the calm, reassuring voice we heard when President Kennedy was pronounced dead in Dallas. His reporting from Viet Nam hastened Lyndon Johnson’s exit from the reelection campaign. When men first stepped foot on the Moon, it was Cronkite, with few words and a boyish enthusiasm, whose relieved smile gave us all permission to stop holding our breaths and celebrate the achievement of the century.
No journalist, particularly any tele-journalist has ever or will ever come close to the code of ethics and character that guided Cronkite’s professional life and, according to his closest friends, his personal life as well.
Entire generations of Americans grew up with the soothing yet authoritative voice of Mr. Cronkite reporting the days events as they ate supper. He had no equal. he never will.
Thank you Mr. Cronkite for being a man of great power and influence who never abused or misused it. Thank you for being a reporter, an honest broker, who spoke to world leaders as an equal but also with dignified respect and humility, who wore his lofty position with class; who wore it well. Thank you for your honest objectivity, your discretion and, particularly in your comment upon returning from Viet Nam after the TET Offensive, your unfailing candor.
Compared to the ilk of journalist working today, Walter Cronkite was GOD.
May he rest in peace.
And that’s the way it was.
Godspeed, Mr. Cronkite
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/07/17/2009-07-17_walter_cronkite_dead_at_92.html
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/07/17/obama_statement_on_cronkites_d.html?wprss=44
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-walter-cronkite18-2009jul18,0,4276121.story
http://www.examiner.com/x-504-Space-News-Examiner~y2009m7d17-Walter-Cronkite-dies-Apollo-40th-anniversary-to-lack-beloved-journalist
Copyright TBC 2009 © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment