My grandmother used to tell me about Cronkite and his reporting. I remember siting with my mom watching the news with her. Cronkites integrity was a barrier to manipulation of the news by politicians and the public alike. Indeed, his modesty and his dedication were the reasons his wide audience liked him so much and trusted him. Thats where the family lived until moving to Houston, Texas when Walter was 10-years-old. What do you think? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); NEXT: Herman Van Rompuy Releases Terrifying Proposals Ahead of This Week's Summit. Cronkite was known for his calming presence and his ability to communicate complex events to the average viewer, who trusted "Uncle Walter" to explain the major events of the era. Part of HuffPost Media. Learn everything you can about a topic to ensure that you are known as a valid and trusted resource. But some unscrupulous actions outlined in the book muddy his otherwise almost spotless reputation, and . The most frequent comment, expressed in several ways, was that Cronkite was honest. I admired how he strived to be honest and unbiased while delivering the news. He was an example of what an exemplary journalist should be like. The Most Trusted Man in America. Trust is an essential quality to have in any communicating experience, particularly newscasting. Accepting for the moment the argument the public trusted Cronkite because he practiced trustworthy journalism, its worth mentioning that between 1949 and 1987which come pretty close to bookending Cronkites TV careernews broadcasters were governed by the federal Fairness Doctrine. The doctrine required broadcast station licensees to address controversial issues of public importance but also to allow contrasting points of view to be included in the discussion. This means not just that he didnt tell lies, but that he was a truth-seekerhe sought to tell the whole truth. If so, you owe something to Walter CronkiteAmerica's uncle and the most influential broadcast journalist of all time. Uncle Walters word was gold.. What an amazing resume and life lived by Cronkite. By Louis Menand. What made Cronkite such a trusted and beloved figure to the American people, though, was that Cronkite proved along the way he could be trusted to tell them the truth even though it differed from the prevailing narrative or what the government wanted that narrative to be. Entering the 1950s, both his heart and career were in full bloom. A few minutes before air, I really needed a cigarette. However, once those limitations were removed, Cronkite allowed his passion to ignite. Source: IMDB, Cronkite on the Cbs Evening News. Thirteen years after my first attempt to work at CBS, I finally landed a job at the news network I was certain I'd work for. Walters influence, trust and journalistic accomplishments he won virtually every award the industry offered set the standard for journalism for the nation and the world. The idea was that this was a very serious job, performed by various serious men.. Most importantly, Cronkite never made it about himself, his feelings, or his star status. 8. If the nostalgia for Cronkitian news values were genuine, youd expect PBSs soporific News Hour would be drawing huge and growing numbers of viewers. His voice. After the war, as the TV news era blossomed, Cronkite was there to become one of its key figures. It took a man of great character and outstanding humility to so sublimate his personal views and inherent bias to achieve that rather impossible standard. Youd think a man as prestigious as Walter Cronkite might have finished a degree at Yale. The definition of trust is even more contextual; there are dozens of meanings of trust, yet we nearly always recognize them when we see them. In this environment, Uncle Walter inspired trust in a generation that probably could not exist in todays media environment. Campbell sat down with ReasonTV's Nick Gillespie to discuss Cronkite and other myths propelled by the media. He wasnt the most educated or the best-looking newsman, but he was perhaps the most diligent. In today's atmosphere of media partisanship and fake news it seems a bygone notion, but Cronkite was known as "the most trusted man in America.". After presenting the first moonwalk to an audience of a full 45 percent of the 125 million people who were glued to their screens that day, he told his co-anchor that nothing compares with thisnot even his experiences covering World War II or the exploits of various heads of state. What Made Walter Cronkite The Most Trusted Communicator in America? After all, true journalists worked in print and radio. Reading this article allowed me to get to know Walter Cronkite in a more elaborate way i have heard how he impacted the way journalist tell stories to the world. And it wasn't fluffyit was very clear. He was televisions version of Gary Cooperstoic, his own man, capable under stress of expressing deep feelingsbut in a highly controlled manner. No one said it better than Cronkite, the CBS Evening News anchor from 1962 to '81: We all have our likes and our dislikes. As consumers shifted consumption of news from newsprint to television in the 1960s, consumers shifted whom and what they trusted, too. During a casual . Huntsburg said he grew up watching Cronkite, who, he said, "touched me." When he heard of Cronkite's death last Friday at 92, Huntsburg and his wife hadn't yet left from their home near Toronto . Required fields are marked *. Despite the fact that there was less scrutiny on the media during Cronkites time than today, he approached his career as a broadcaster with integrity and with a sense of responsibility to his viewers. I genuinely dont think well ever see a reporter, or journalist, like him, in a long, long time. Well, almost everyone. Walter Cronkite, longtime anchor of the CBS Evening News. Read More. The Web, which can make the cable news channels look positively Cronkitian, has only reshattered the shards. Its those characteristics which make him a fearless brand. A student organization of St. Marys University of San Antonio, Texas, featuring scholarly research, writing, and media from students of all disciplines. They find sources and information through the internet -- research is easier than ever. Cronkite refused, but the idea reflected polls showing that a journalist -- a television journalist at that -- had become the most trusted man in America. When Walter Cronkite signed off by saying And thats the way it is, Friday, November 5, 1972, that actuallywaswhat was important in the world, says Ward. Authoritative, calm, rationalthey explained the world to you, Ward says. He began his career with a commitment to journalism as well. Its the beginning of the so-called credibility gap: whats being told at the briefing become known as the 5 oclock follies, because after awhile, nobody believes anything that officialdom is saying, says Ward. Cronkite did his level best not to let his own personal biaseswhatever they weredefine his career, and he actively worked against those biases to determine the truth as objectively as possible. Advertisement At that time, the evening news was a mere 15 minutes in length barely enough to deliver the days headlines. During WWII, Walter Cronkite flew in a real bombing mission over Germany. In fact, the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism informs us that the News Hour is losing numbers, not gaining them: For the 2007-08 season, the number of different people watching each week was 5.5 million, down from the previous seasons 6.1 million. According to PBS research, the viewers are migrating to cable news, a fate that trusted Walter would probably be suffering today if he were still reading from the teleprompter. A rocket, more than 350-feet tall, lifted the astronauts into space. Cronkites untouchable aura of authority led droves of viewers to change their opinions on Vietnam. Turn on the TV, and watch one of three networks for a 30-minute broadcast with an anchor who speaks with the authority of a religious leader or founding father. The CBS News veterans furry baritone, the consistency of his demeanor, the steady gaze of his eyenot to mention the news scripts he read to his audience five nights a weekall inspired deep confidence, the eulogists asserted. Network management put an end to that practice on the very first night. "(King's) approach to covering important events and interviewing politicians, leaders . But as USA Today reports, the FBI destroyed part of Cronkites file instead of preserving it. Cronkite stayed in the Kansas City area until he was 10. Nice job! Heading back, I'm stopped by another security guard a fellow I never saw before. A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials. He was the first non-astronaut ever to get the award. Just the name Walter Cronkite conveys a significance backed by well-vetted facts. "Indeed, a bunch of people were running around but I got to the chair in time for the broadcast." Integrity would not allow that. Oprah Winfrey: Overcoming Adversity to Become a Master Communicator, How Zappos Used Customer Engagement to Build a $2B Brand. In 1968, he goes to Vietnam and does a documentary, Ward says. He never allowed his broader passion to diminish and die. Cronkite was so trusted by the American people and by his colleagues in the industry that he was known by the nickname Uncle Walter. If Uncle Walter said something during a broadcast, people believed that it was true. Covering yet another war, this time Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Mr. Cronkite kindly agreed to help our coverage with an interview. Walter Cronkite earned the American people's trust by telling them hard truths and refusing to toe the expected line. As a newsman, his passion was limited to his role of reporter. Cronkite also trusted the people to respond well to his truth-telling and to use their intelligence to evaluate his words. Reading about Walter Cronkite was very interesting since he was an fascinating man who took his passion to the next level, I really enjoyed reading this article. The newscasting industry, though very chaotic, needs more today like him to keep the peace and calm through the times. The February 1968 assessment by Walter Cronkite, the anchor of the CBS Evening News (known as "the most trusted man in America"), that the conflict was "mired in stalemate" was seen by many as the signal of a sea change in reporting about Vietnam, and it is said to have inspired Pres. During that time, he reported on such subjects as the Kennedy assassinations, the Civil Rights . We trusted him and that . Cronkite genuinely believed journalists could and must be "objective." document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Originally it was a 15-minute broadcast, but due to his high ratings, it was extended to 30 minutes, being the first half-hour nightly news show on American television.3, Cronkite was well-known across America for his hard work, honesty, and objectivity. And it wasnt fluffyit was very clear. For more than a month, his close friends and family made it clear the former CBS News anchorman was gravely ill and would not recover. The security guard didn't fully believe him, but finally let Walter Cronkite in. He went on to lecture, write books including his autobiography, as well as producing and hosting a variety of television features. All rights reserved. I ran down to the lobby of the CBS News Broadcast Center to escort Mr. Cronkite to a studio. And one last thing. Listening to tribute after tribute by journalists who remember Mr. Cronkite, every reminiscence appears to share the same sentiment: "Walter Cronkite was why I wanted to work in broadcasting." The very first night me about Cronkite and other myths why was walter cronkite so trusted by the nickname Walter! Trust by telling them hard truths and refusing to toe the expected line the world to you, Ward.. 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