Walter Cronkite, a trusted news professional who at the height of his career was often referred to as  “the most trusted man in America”, was the CBS anchorman during some of the most tumultuous years in American history. Although he started in newspapers, he quickly realized that television was to become the pre-eminent medium through which people would be informed about current events. He embraced television and saw its potential, soon becoming a trusted and beloved addition to the public’s daily life.

Cronkite was anchorman of the CBS Evening News during some of the biggest events in history. Perhaps his most famous coverage was of the Kennedy assassination. During his broadcast after the event had taken place, Cronkite found it hard to remain unemotional, and his voice broke, mirroring the shock and sadness that Americans all over the country were feeling. His coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy cemented his reputation and his career.

The assassination was not the only time that he captured and influenced the American public. He also covered  the 1968 Democratic National Convention, at which rioting broke out between protestors and the Chicago police following what had been a year of violence, including the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy earlier in the year.

Cronkite also followed the Vietnam war, and his opinion that the war was “unwinnable” following the Tet offensive led then-president Lyndon Johnson to lament that if Cronkite did not believe the war could be won, then neither would most of middle America: “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America”. Such was the power of this newsman at the height of his career.

Cronkite was a big supporter of the space race, and his coverage of Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 won him the widest audience of any television stations for the events.  He was as enthusiastic as any young boy regarding space travel, and this enthusiasm was conveyed through his coverage. Some of the other stories he covered that won him acclaim included:

the Watergate scandal

the resignation of Richard Nixon

the Iran hostage crisis

the Cuban missile crisis

the civil rights movement

Although other journalists of fine calibre have come along since Cronkite’s retirement in 1980, there has not been another anchorman who captured the hearts and minds of Americans in the same way that “Uncle Walt” did. His was a long and illustrious career.

Related Links:

Why We Worship Celebrities from Health Guru

Walter Cronkite from The Museum of Broadcast Communications

Walter Cronkite Biography from Notable Biographies