Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr.
(November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an
American
news
reporter
. He was the
anchor
of
CBS News
from 1962 to 1981. Important events he reported included when
President
John F. Kennedy was assassinated
. He reported the
Apollo 11
moon landing. He also reported on the
Watergate scandal
, which led to President
Richard Nixon
resigning from his position. He was often called "the most trusted man in America." People across the country tuned in nightly to hear his coverage of the
Vietnam War
as it progressed.
The
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
at
Arizona State University
is named after Walter Cronkite.
Cronkite was born on November 4, 1916 in
St. Joseph, Missouri
. He studied at the
University of Texas at Austin
. In 1935 he left school to work for the Houston Post.
[1]
He later worked for several midwestern radio stations. In
World War II
he was a
war correspondent
for
United Press International
. After the war he was chief correspondent at the
Nuremberg trials
.
[1]
He went to work for
CBS News
in 1950. In 1962 he helped start the
CBS Evening News
. He served as the news anchor until he
retired
in 1981.
After retiring, in 1981 he was a co-
producer
of a
PBS
program,
Why in the World
.
[1]
In 1982 he hosted
CBS's Universe
. He was the host of
A&E
's
Dinosaur
. He did
Cronkite Remembers
for
CBS
and the
Discovery Channel
. He also wrote several books.
[1]
He won several awards during his career. In 1981 he was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
.
[1]
He won two
Peabody Awards
and several
Emmy Awards
.
[1]
Cronkite was known for his coverage of the
U.S. space program
, from
Project Mercury
to the
Moon landings
to the
Space Shuttle
. He was the only non-NASA recipient of a Moon-rock award. Cronkite was well known for his departing catchphrase "And that's the way it is," followed by the date on which the appearance aired.
[1]
Cronkite made
history
when he became the first television
reporter
to announce the
assassination
of
John F. Kennedy
.
[2]
In the newsroom at CBS, the cameras were not ready when the news came in over the wire service.
[3]
Cronkite's voice was broadcast over a blank CBS
placard
on the screen: "Bulletin . . . In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade. The first reports say the President was seriously wounded, that he slumped over in Mrs. Kennedy's lap, she cried out, 'Oh, no!' and the motorcade went on . . . The wounds perhaps could be fatal . . ."
[4]
For three and a half days there was no
entertainment
, no
commercials
, just the news.
[4]
Cronkite's reporting of Vietnam was
controversial
. He reported the events on the evening news. But at the
Tet Offensive
he traveled there to see the results.
[5]
What he saw upset him. On February 27, 1968, Cronkite reported the war in Vietnam could not be won.
[6]
This was a major change from his usual
objective
reporting. He was voicing his own
opinion
on national television.
[7]
It was the view of
David Halberstam
and others that Cronkite's broadcast turned many Americans against the war.
[5]
Also that it played a part in
Lyndon B. Johnson
's decision not to run for another term as
President
.
[5]
The other viewpoint is that Americans had already turned against the war before Cronkite's broadcast.
[8]
After watching Cronkite's broadcast, Lyndon Johnson said to his
press secretary
, George Christian, "If I have lost Walter Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America."
[5]
Whatever effect Cronkite's broadcast had, by 1967 Johnson's
approval rating
on the war was down to 32%.
Cronkite was married to Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Maxwell from 1940 until her death in 2005. They had three children. Cronkite died on the morning of July 17, 2009 in
New York City
,
New York
from
cerebrovascular disease
, aged 92.
[9]