Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite.png
Walter Cronkite in 1968 in Vietnam
Born November 4, 1916 (1916-11-04) (age 92)
St. Joseph, Missouri, USA
Occupation Retired Television and Radio Broadcaster
Years active 1935—present

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. (born November 4, 1916) is a retired American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–81). During the heyday of CBS News in the 1970s and 1980s he was often cited in viewer opinion polls as "the most trusted man in America," because of his professional experience and kindly demeanor.

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Early life

Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri to Dr. Walter Leland Cronkite and Helen Lena Fritsche. He has remote Dutch ancestry on his father's side, the family surname originally being Krankheyt (meaning "disease").[1]

Cronkite lived in Kansas City, Missouri until he was ten, when his family moved to Houston, Texas. He attended junior high school at Lanier Junior High School (now Lanier Middle School) and high school at San Jacinto High School. He was a member of the Boy Scouts. He attended college at The University of Texas at Austin, where he worked on The Daily Texan, and became a member of the Nu chapter of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He also was a member of the Houston chapter of DeMolay, a fraternal organization of young men.

Career

He dropped out of college in his junior year in 1935 after starting a series of newspaper reporting jobs covering news and sports. He entered broadcasting as a radio announcer for WKY in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1936, he met his future wife Mary Elizabeth Maxwell (known by her nickname "Betsy") while working as the sports announcer for KCMO (AM) in Kansas City, Missouri. His broadcast name was "Walter Wilcox".[2] He would explain later that radio stations at the time did not want people to use their real names for fear of taking their listeners with them if they left. In Kansas City, he joined the United Press in 1937. He became one of the top American reporters in World War II, covering battles in North Africa and Europe. He was one of eight journalists selected by the U.S. Army Air Forces to fly bombing raids over Germany in a B-17 Flying Fortress.[3] He also landed in a glider with the 101st Airborne in the battle of the Netherlands and covered the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he covered the Nuremberg trials, and served as the United Press main reporter in Moscow for two years.

Early years at CBS

In 1950, Cronkite joined CBS News in its young and growing television division, recruited by Edward R. Murrow, who had previously tried to hire Cronkite from UP during the war. Cronkite began working at WTOP-TV, the CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C.. On July 7, 1952, the term "anchor" was coined to describe Cronkite's role at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, which marked the first nationally-televised convention coverage.[4] Cronkite anchored the network's coverage of the 1952 presidential election as well as later conventions, until in 1964, he was temporarily replaced by the team of Robert Trout and Roger Mudd. This proved to be a mistake, and Cronkite was returned to the anchor chair for future political conventions.

From 1953 to 1957, Cronkite hosted the CBS program You Are There, which reenacted historical events, using the format of a news report. His famous last line for these programs was: "What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times... and you were there." He also hosted The Twentieth Century, a documentary series about important historical events of the century which was made up almost exclusively of newsreel footage and interviews. It became a long-running hit. (Note: In the early 1970s, You Are There, hosted by Walter Cronkite, was revived and redesigned to attract an audience of teenagers and young adults. It aired on Saturday mornings.)

The CBS Evening News

Cronkite succeeded Douglas Edwards as anchorman of the CBS Evening News on April 16, 1962, a job in which he became an American icon. The program expanded from 15 to 30 minutes on September 2, 1963, making Cronkite the anchor of American network television's first nightly half-hour news program.

During the early part of his tenure anchoring the CBS Evening News, Cronkite competed against NBC's anchor team of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, who anchored the Huntley-Brinkley Report. For most of the 1960s, the Huntley-Brinkley Report had more viewers than Cronkite's broadcast. This began to change in the late 1960s, as RCA made a corporate decision not to fund NBC News at the levels CBS funded CBS News. Consequently, CBS News acquired a reputation for accuracy and depth in its broadcast journalism. This reputation meshed nicely with Cronkite's wire service experience, and in 1968, the CBS Evening News began to surpass The Huntley-Brinkley Report in viewership during the summer months. In that same year, the faculty of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University voted to award him the Carr Van Anda Award "for enduring contributions to journalism."[5]

In 1969, with Apollo 11, and later with Apollo 13, Cronkite received the best ratings and made CBS the most-watched television network for the missions.

In 1970, Walter Cronkite received a "Freedom of the Press" George Polk Award. That same year, the CBS Evening News finally dominated the American TV news viewing audience, when Huntley retired. Although NBC finally settled on the skilled and well-respected broadcast journalist John Chancellor, Cronkite proved to be more popular and continued to be top-rated until his retirement in 1981. That year, President Jimmy Carter awarded Cronkite the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

One of Cronkite's trademarks was ending the CBS Evening News with the phrase, "...And that's the way it is:", followed by the date (keeping to standards of objective journalism, he omitted this phrase on nights when he ended the newscast with opinion or commentary). Beginning with January 16, 1980, "Day 50" of the Iran hostage crisis, Cronkite added the length of the hostages' captivity to the show's closing to remind the audience of the unresolved situation, ending only on "Day 444", January 20, 1981.[6]

For many years, Cronkite was considered one of the most trusted figures in the United States. Affectionately known as "Uncle Walter", he covered many of the important news events of the era so effectively that his image and voice are closely associated with the Cuban missile crisis, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Apollo 11 Moon landing, and the Watergate scandal. Enjoying the cult of personality surrounding Cronkite in those years, CBS allowed some good-natured fun-poking of its star anchorman in some episodes of the network's popular situation comedy, All in the Family, during which the lead character Archie Bunker would sometimes complain about the newsman, calling him "Pinko Cronkite."

Cronkite trained himself to speak at a rate of 124 words per minute in his newscasts, so that viewers could clearly understand him. In contrast, Americans average about 165 words per minute, and fast, difficult-to-understand talkers speak close to 200 words per minute.[7] Currently, Walter Cronkite's voice can be heard announcing CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric at the beginning of the news broadcast, and at Retirement Living TV's Daily Cafe.

Historic moments as anchor

Kennedy assassination

Cronkite is vividly remembered by many Americans as breaking the news of the death of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963. The first bulletins broke into the live broadcast of the daytime soap opera As The World Turns. However, since the studio camera was not ready yet, Cronkite's report was accompanied by a "CBS News Bulletin" bumper slide. The first report came in at 1:40 p.m. EST, fifteen minutes after the President had been shot:

"Here is a bulletin from CBS News. In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting."

A second bulletin arrived as Cronkite was reading the first one, which detailed the severity of President Kennedy's wounds:

"More details just arrived. President Kennedy shot today just as his motorcade left downtown Dallas. Mrs. Kennedy jumped up and grabbed Mr. Kennedy, she called "Oh no!," the motorcade sped on. United Press [International] says that the wounds for President Kennedy perhaps could be fatal. Repeating, a bulletin from CBS News: President Kennedy has been shot by a would-be assassin in Dallas, Texas. Stay tuned to CBS News for further details."

Following the first bulletin, a commercial, sponsor bumper, and network TV show bumper (for "Route 66") were aired, after which As The World Turns was to return from break. Just as that was about to happen Cronkite broke in again with another bulletin, this one detailing for the first time the injuries to Texas Governor John Connally, who was riding in the same car as the President and who had also been shot:

"Here is a bulletin from CBS News. Further details on an assassination attempt against President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. President Kennedy was shot as he drove from Dallas Airport to downtown Dallas; Governor Connally of Texas, in the car with him, was also shot. It is reported that three bullets rang out. A Secret Service man was heard to shout from the car, "He's dead." Whether he referred to President Kennedy or not is not yet known. The President, cradled in the arms of his wife Mrs. Kennedy, was carried to an ambulance and the car rushed to Parkland Hospital outside Dallas, the President was taken to an emergency room in the hospital. Other White House officials were in doubt in the corridors of the hospital as to the condition of President Kennedy. Repeating this bulletin: President Kennedy shot while driving in an open car from the airport in Dallas, Texas, to downtown Dallas."

Cronkite then recapped the events as they had happened: that the President and Governor Connally were shot and in the emergency room at Parkland Hospital and no one knew their condition as of yet. He then reminded the viewers that CBS News would continue to provide updates as more information came in.

CBS returned to ATWT, still in progress as the cast was not yet aware of what had just happened. During the next commercial segment Cronkite again read a bulletin that he had received from the news wire machines in the CBS newsroom, then stayed on the air for the next ten minutes reading bulletins as they were handed to him. Cronkite would then recap the events as they happened while interspersing the new information where it was appropriate. He also brought up recent instances of assassination attempts against sitting Presidents (including the assassination of Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak), as well as a recent attack of United Nations ambassador Adlai Stevenson in Dallas which resulted in extra security measures being taken for Kennedy's visit to the city. He also received word that Congressman Albert Thomas of Texas had been told that for the moment the President and Governor were still alive.

By 2:00 EST, Cronkite was informed that the camera was ready, and told the viewers over the air that CBS would be taking a station identification break so the affiliates could join the network. Within twenty seconds all the CBS affiliates (with the exception of KRLD in Dallas, who was covering the tragedy locally) joined the network's coverage of what was taking place. Cronkite appeared on-air in shirt and tie but without his suit coat, given the urgent nature of the story, and opened with this:

"This is Walter Cronkite in our newsroom, and... there has been an attempt, as perhaps you know now, on the life of President Kennedy. He was wounded in an automobile driving from Dallas Airport into downtown Dallas, along with Governor Connally of Texas. They have been taken to Parkland Hospital there, where their condition is as yet unknown."

Cronkite then tried to throw to KRLD's coverage, but the camera was not ready. Once it was, the camera switched into the Dallas Trade Mart meeting that President Kennedy was supposed to address, where the station's news director Eddie Barker was reporting. He said that the President was still alive (as Cronkite had been told by the report from Congressman Thomas earlier and directly by Congressman Jim Wright a few minutes before Barker's report was filed). About five minutes later Barker reported that rumors has begun to circulate that Kennedy was in fact dead.

Cronkite reappeared several minutes after Barker reported that Kennedy was rumored to have been killed, advising that two priests had been called to Kennedy's bedside although the reasons for which were not made clear. He also played an audio report by KRLD's Jim Underwood, recounting that someone had been arrested in the assassination attempt at the Texas School Book Depository. After said report, Cronkite was told that KRLD was reporting that that the President was dead and Barker was reporting that he had been told by a doctor at Parkland Hospital of the President's death. While the coverage continued at the Dallas Trade Mart meeting Barker implied that the assassination was officially confirmed, but neither the Associated Press or United Press International had done so. Barker then retracted the statement, saying that it was not official that the President was dead.

After coverage returned to the CBS newsroom in New York Cronkite again reported the events as they were known. Four minutes after CBS resumed coverage Cronkite received another report, this time from Dallas bureau chief Dan Rather, that the President was dead but stressed that nothing had been officially confirmed by any other source. He later reported that the priest called in to perform the Last Rites to the President did not believe that he was dead when he performed them, seeming to contradict what Barker and Rather had been reporting.

Cronkite then continued to report for the next several minutes while still waiting official word of the President's apparent death. At approximately 2:38 p.m. EST, Cronkite was remarking on the increased security presence in Dallas for the President's visit for fear of protests, bringing up the assault on Adlai Stevenson again.

"Throughout the streets of Dallas, the Dallas Police have been augmented by some 400 policemen called in on their day off because there were some fears and concerns in Dallas that, uh...that there might be demonstrations, at least, that could embarrass the President. Because it was only on October 24th that our ambassador of the United Nations, Adlai Stevenson, was assaulted in Dallas leaving a dinner meeting there..."

While speaking, he was handed a bulletin by one of the news editors, who had just pulled it off the AP wire machine. Cronkite stopped speaking, put on his glasses, looked over the bulletin sheet for a moment, took off his eyeglasses, and made the official announcement:

"From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official: (reading AP flash) President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time, (glancing up at clock) 2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago."

After making that announcement, Cronkite paused briefly, put his glasses back on and swallowed hard to maintain his composure. There was noticeable emotion in his voice as he intoned the next sentence of the news report:

"Vice President Johnson has left the hospital in Dallas, but we do not know to where he has proceeded. Presumably, he will be taking the oath of office shortly and become the 36th president of the United States."

With emotion still in his voice, Cronkite then proceeded as he had before in recapping the events after collecting himself, reminding the viewers that it had now been confirmed that the President was dead, that Vice President Johnson was now the President and was to be sworn in, that Governor Connally's condition was still unknown but many reports said that he was still alive, and that there was no report if the assassin had been captured (despite the reports of arrests earlier at the Texas School Book Depository). He then tossed coverage of the events to colleague Charles Collingwood and left the newsroom.

Footage from this historic broadcast was featured in the opening scenes of Oliver Stone's film JFK.

In a 2006 TV interview with Nick Clooney, Cronkite confirmed:

"I choked up, I really had a little trouble...my eyes got a little wet...[what Kennedy had represented] was just all lost to us. Fortunately, I grabbed hold before I was actually [crying]."

In a 2003 CBS special commemorating the 40th anniversary of the assassination, Cronkite said that he was standing at the United Press wire machine when the bulletin broke and was clamoring to get on the air as fast as was possible. Upon having the death confirmed to him, he said:

And when you finally had to say it's official, the President is dead...pretty tough words in a situation like that. And they were, um, hard to come by.

Vietnam War

Following Cronkite's editorial report during the Tet Offensive that the Vietnam War was unwinnable, President Lyndon Johnson is reported to have said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America."[8]

During the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Cronkite was anchoring the CBS network coverage as violence and protests occurred outside the convention, as well as scuffles inside the convention hall. When Dan Rather was punched to the floor (on camera) by security personnel, Cronkite commented, "I think we've got a bunch of thugs here, Dan."

Other historic events

Cronkite is also remembered for his coverage of the U.S. space program, and at times was visibly enthusiastic, rubbing his hands together on camera with a smile on July 20, 1969 when the Apollo 11 mission first landed man on the moon. Cronkite has criticized himself for being at a loss for journalistic words at that moment.

According to the 2006 PBS documentary on Cronkite, there was "nothing new" in his reports on the Watergate affair; however, Cronkite brought together a wide range of reporting, and his credibility and status is credited by many with pushing the Watergate story to the forefront with the American public, ultimately resulting in the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon on August 9, 1974. Cronkite had anchored the CBS coverage of Nixon's address, announcing his impending resignation, the night before.

Cronkite also was one of the first to receive word of President Lyndon Johnson's death during the January 22, 1973 broadcast of the CBS Evening News. While a videotaped report by Peter Kalischer about the apparently successful Vietnam war peace talks was being shown to the nation, Johnson's press secretary Tom Johnson (no relation to LBJ) telephoned Cronkite to inform him of Johnson's death. CBS cut abruptly from the report at 6:38 p.m. Eastern Standard Time to Cronkite, who was still speaking to Johnson on the phone. After holding up a finger to pause and let Johnson finish, he broke the news to the nation that the former President had died, then continued to speak with Johnson (who was not patched through to the air) for a few more seconds to gather whatever remaining details he could, then hung up the phone and relayed those details to the audience.[9] During the final 10 minutes of that broadcast, Cronkite reported on the passing, giving a retrospective on the life of nation's 36th president, and announced that CBS would air a special on LBJ later that evening. This story was re-told on a 2007 CBS-TV special honoring Cronkite's 90th birthday. Tom Johnson later became president of CNN.

NBC's Garrick Utley, anchoring NBC Nightly News that evening, also interrupted his newscast in order to break the story, doing so about three minutes after Cronkite on CBS. ABC, however, did not cover the story at all, since, at the time, that network fed its evening newscast to local stations at 6 p.m. Eastern, even though many affiliates tape-delayed the broadcast to air at 6:30 or 7.[10]

Other TV appearances

Cronkite made a cameo appearance on the Mary Tyler Moore show, in which he met with Lou Grant in his office. Ted Baxter, who at first tried to convince Cronkite that he (Baxter) was as good a newsman as Eric Sevareid, pleaded with Cronkite to hire him for the network news, at least to give sport scores, and gave an example: "The North Stars 3, the Kings Oh!" Cronkite, about to go out through the newsroom doors with Baxter, turned to Lou and said, "I'm gonna get you for this!" Cronkite later said that he had been disappointed that his scene was filmed in one take, since he had hoped to sit down and chat with the cast.

Movie appearances

Cronkite appeared briefly in the 2005 dramatic documentary The American Ruling Class written by Lewis Lapham. He has also appeared in the film Thirteen Days, reporting on the Cuban missile crisis.

He also was the voice of Captain NewEyes, the twin brother of Prof. ScrewEyes, in 1993's We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story.

Personal life

Walter Cronkite was married for nearly sixty-five years to Betsy Maxwell Cronkite, whom he married on March 30, 1940. They remained together until her death on March 16, 2005. They have three children: Nancy Cronkite, Kathy Cronkite, and Walter (Chip) Cronkite III (who is married to actress Deborah Rush). Cronkite also has four grandchildren, two of whom, Peter Cronkite and Walter Cronkite IV, are alumni of St. Bernard's School. Peter Cronkite is currently attending Horace Mann School. Walter attends Hamilton College, having graduated from The Horace Mann School. In late 2005 Cronkite began dating opera singer Joanna Simon, Carly Simon's older sister. Of their relationship Cronkite stated in an interview for the New York Post in January 2006: "We are keeping company, as the old phrase used to be."

Longevity runs in Cronkite's family: his mother died in 1993 at the age of 101. Cronkite was 77 at the time of his mother's death.

Retirement

Cronkite announced that he intended to retire from the CBS Evening News on February 14, 1980; at the time, CBS had a policy in place that called for mandatory retirement by age 65.[11] Although sometimes compared to a father figure or an uncle figure, in an interview about his retirement he described himself as being more like a "comfortable old shoe" to his audience. His last day in the anchor chair at the CBS Evening News was on March 6, 1981; he was succeeded the following Monday by Dan Rather.

Cronkite's farewell statement[12]:

“ This is my last broadcast as the anchorman of The CBS Evening News; for me, it's a moment for which I long have planned, but which, nevertheless, comes with some sadness. For almost two decades, after all, we've been meeting like this in the evenings, and I'll miss that. But those who have made anything of this departure, I'm afraid have made too much. This is but a transition, a passing of the baton. A great broadcaster and gentleman, Doug Edwards, preceded me in this job, and another, Dan Rather, will follow. And anyway, the person who sits here is but the most conspicuous member of a superb team of journalists; writers, reporters, editors, producers, and none of that will change. Furthermore, I'm not even going away! I'll be back from time to time with special news reports and documentaries, and, beginning in June, every week, with our science program, Universe. Old anchormen, you see, don't fade away; they just keep coming back for more. And that's the way it is: Friday, March 6, 1981. I'll be away on assignment, and Dan Rather will be sitting in here for the next few years. Good night. ”

Activities 1981–present

[6] Cronkite is a supporter of the anti-War on Drugs Drug Policy Alliance and the nonprofit world hunger organization Heifer International. His distinctive voice provides narration for the television ads of the University of Texas at Austin, his alma mater. Cronkite is also an avid sailor and a member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, with the honorary rank of commodore.

"Uncle Walter" has recently hosted a number of TV specials and been featured in interviews about the times and events that occurred during his career as America's "most trusted" man. In July 2006, the 90-minute documentary "Walter Cronkite: Witness to History" aired on PBS. The special was narrated by Katie Couric, who assumed the CBS Evening News anchor chair in September 2006. Cronkite provides the voiceover introduction to Couric's CBS Evening News, which began on September 5, 2006.

Outspoken commentary

Cronkite has spoken his mind on several topics since his retirement:

It seems to many of us that if we are to avoid the eventual catastrophic world conflict we must strengthen the United Nations as a first step toward a world government patterned after our own government with a legislature, executive and judiciary, and police to enforce its international laws and keep the peace. To do that, of course, we Americans will have to yield up some of our sovereignty. That would be a bitter pill. It would take a lot of courage, a lot of faith in the new order. But the American colonies did it once and brought forth one of the most nearly perfect unions the world has ever seen.

References

  1. ↑ "Family of Legends (and The Unknown)". RootWeb.com. Retrieved on 2005-08-07.
  2. ↑ The Duh Awards: In This Stupid World, We Take the Prize By Bob Fenster p. 176 Andrews McMeel Publishing (April 1, 2005) ISBN 0-7407-5021-6
  3. ↑ Albert Auster. "Cronkite, Walter U.S. Broadcast Journalist". The Museum of Broadcast Communications (museum.tv).
  4. ↑ "CBS at 75 Timeline — The 1950s". Retrieved on April 26, 2006.
  5. ↑ E.W. Scripps School of Journalism
  6. ↑ CBS News Transcripts, January 16, 1980
  7. ↑ Statement from audiologist Ray Hull, Ph.D., ray.hull@wichita.edu, quoted in Home Make-Over: How to design an efficient listening environment" By Alyssa Banotai, ADVANCE For Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (April 16, 2007), p. 8
  8. ↑ http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson
  9. ↑ Cronkite's announcement of Lyndon Johnson's death at YouTube
  10. ↑ Vanderbilt Television News Archive
  11. ↑ Walter Cronkite at museum.tv
  12. ↑ Cronkite's farewell statement at YouTube
  13. ↑ Free the Air Waves! by Walter Cronkite, 4 November 2002
  14. ↑ "SFGate.com - Cronkite: Time for U.S. to Leave Iraq". Retrieved on April 26, 2006.

External links

Media offices
Preceded by
Douglas Edwards		 CBS Evening News anchor
April 16, 1962 – March 6, 1981		 Succeeded by
Dan Rather
Preceded by
None		 American television prime time anchor, Winter Olympic Games
1960		 Succeeded by
Jim McKay
Persondata
NAME Cronkite, Walter Leland, Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Television Journalist
DATE OF BIRTH November 04, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Joseph, Missouri, United States of America
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH