Any of us who are over 40, likely paused to mourn the loss of a true cultural icon this past weekend. Walter Cronkite, television’s first anchorman, died last Friday night at the age of 92.
I grew up watching Walter Cronkite nightly on the CBS Evening News. He was a respected anchorman and reporter who became known as “the most trusted man in America”.
Whether you are a Baby Boomer or younger, you may be surprised to learn the Beatles gave their first interview in North America to Walter Cronkite before they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.
In an obituary reprinted in the Globe and Mail last Saturday, New York Times reporter, Douglas Martin, said of Mr. Cronkite,
“He became something of a national institution, with an unflappable delivery, a distinctive avuncular voice and a daily benediction – “And that’s the way it is.”
He was Uncle Walter to many: respected, liked and listened to. He was among the first of the celebrity anchormen.
As an anchorman and reporter Mr. Cronkite described wars, natural disasters, nuclear explosions, social upheavals and space flights.
On the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, he briefly lost his composure in announcing that the president has been pronounced dead … taking of his glasses and wiping away a tear, he registered the emotions of millions.”
That historic news clip from November 1963 still resonates with many because it remains closely entwined with their memories of the day JKF died.
Walter Cronkite officially retired as CBS anchor in 1981 at the age of 65. It’s safe to say that none of the television anchors who followed him on any North American network could match his larger than life persona or attract such a devoted following.
Perhaps Mr. Cronkite’s integrity, in part, was why he became such a beloved figure. He knew his own strengths and didn’t pretend to be an expert in areas he was not.
In a 1971 interview with the Christian Science Monitor, he said:
“I am a news presenter, a news broadcaster, an anchorman, a managing editor – not a commentator or analyst. I feel no compulsion to be a pundit.”
Walter Cronkite retired 10 years before the advent of the World Wide Web. The internet changed our world and the delivery of news in ways none of us could have imagined.
Over time, the internet has matured into a super highway of information augmented daily by ever-increasing amounts of consumer or user-generated online content in the form of websites, blogs, podcasts and videos.
Search marketing along with social media sites provide the ideal platform for many new self-styled internet gurus, political pundits and marketing mavens to create their own followings.
Although consumer generated online content offers unparalleled opportunities for talent to be discovered and valuable information to be shared, the down-side is apparent. When everyone is a commentator or a self-professed expert, who will simply and clearly just deliver the facts without the hype?
Walter Cronkite had a refreshing lack of pretense. He never claimed to be an expert or a political pundit. He was, however, the mouthpiece that broadcast some of the most pivotal events of the past century.
Mr. Cronkite’s honest self-assessment and thoughtful journalist approach stand in stark contrast with much of the news reporting we have today. He will be missed.
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