Walter Cronkite passed away at the age of 92 yesterday. He had been reported to be in ill health for some time. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and colleagues at CBS, where he became a television icon leading the CBS Evening News for decades until his unceremonious ouster in favor of Dan Rather.
Cronkite was a hugely influential news reader, and was considered the most trustworthy voice. Love him or hate him, his voice was just right for reading the news nightly. At a time when your news choices were newspapers or the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC), Cronkite ruled the day.
Cronkite's best moments came at times of national tragedy and national triumph. That includes the assassination of JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon (the 40th anniversary of which is just two days from now).
His statements on Vietnam will be endlessly critiqued as to whether he lost Vietnam for the US as he led more people to conclude that the US could not win.
But the reason that so many people think that is the case is precisely why he was such an imposing and towering figure in journalism; he was seen as the trustworthy figure and took his opinions and views as informed and reliable.
That kind of impact by a news reader will never be seen again.
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