::::::::
Though had had lived to 92, it was still a shock when I heard that Walter Cronkite had died.
Cronkite had been part of the American scene for so long, that I never really thought he would leave. He was a reporter with CBS going back to World War II, then did radio news after the war. From 1950 on, he was a rock of Gibraltar on television, becoming anchor of the CBS Evening News in 1961 and staying there for 20 years.
After he retired, he didn't seem to go away, taking part in documentaries and speaking out on news issues. In recent years, as TV and newspapers jettisoned hard news in favor of covering celebrities and gaudy crime stories, Cronkite was out there denouncing the trends and demanding real journalism.
Walter Cronkite was a big part of what I remember growing up. My parents, sisters and I were all interested in current events, and I'll always remember sitting around with my family at home, listening to the news. Watching the evening news, in fact, was a religion in our home. If you were away, it was a mistake to call home during the evening news. "Don't you know you shouldn't call now? You've interrupted the news!" my mother told me indignantly one time.
As many other remembrances have noted, Cronkite was a fatherly figure and had a strong air of authority. It seemed that whatever news he was giving, well, that was absolutely true, something set in stone. He had a great style, really better than any other news broadcaster before or since.
When I got to college --- during the Vietnam War years --- the memory of watching Walter Cronkite on the news is also an indelible one. I, along with my friends, were all draft eligible, and so the nightly news was of a particular interest. I don't recall too many people at my fraternity house who favored the war, and we were all worried about what we were going to do when our college deferments were over.
I'll never forget the image of Cronkite giving the casualty figures out of Vietnam, with the numbers posted in back of him on the screen, next to the North Vietnamese and American flags. I remember how grim he sounded when the American weekly death total went over 500 during the Tet Offensive in early 1968.
I'm not sure if I saw Cronkite's famous commentary in which he turned against the war and called for a negotiated settlement. But it is true that his stance, together with the massive protest movement against the war, turned the tide and got the country on a course to get out of Vietnam.
I don't want to put Cronkite on a pedestal. As media critic Norman Solomon pointed out, Cronkite could have been more critical in his early reporting on Vietnam, and sometimes came off as enthusiastic about American military operations. Also, like other newsmen, Cronkite never questioned the goals of the war, though he ultimately called for an end to American involvement.
Nonetheless, looking at Walter Cronkite's whole record, stretching from his World War II reporting to his work as an anchor on CBS --- which included strong coverage of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and the Watergate corruption scandal in the 1970s --- to his later years of criticizing the media for failing to cover real news, Cronkite deserves high marks.
Walter Cronkite was a forceful and positive presence in our country. Many Americans, including myself, will miss him.
