Journalism Giant Walter Cronkite Dead At Age 92

Walter Cronkite, the CBS newsman so revered by Americans that they
considered him the "most trusted man in America," died today. He was 92.

Cronkite was the biggest name in television news, the king of the anchormen;
in fact, he was the reporter for whom the term "anchorman" was coined. He
gave up that role 28 years ago, but never lost the weight and respect it
accorded him, living the rest of his life as the industry's distinguished
elder statesman.

As anchor and managing editor of the CBS EVENING NEWS from 1962 to
1981, Cronkite became the symbol of CBS News and the face two generations of
Americans associate with some of the biggest stories of the 20th century.
Speaking in a calm, authoritative voice with a screen presence that exuded
confidence and familiarity, Cronkite formed a bond with Americans by bringing
stories such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, space launches
and the Vietnam War into their living rooms. The bond was so strong that
Americans polled in 1973 chose him -- by a 16 percent margin over the nearest
competitor -- as the "most trusted" public figure in the country. He still
enjoyed that status 22 years later according to a poll published in TV Guide
in 1995, nearly 15 years after relinquishing his anchor chair.

No doubt aware of the power that came with such respect, Cronkite
never exploited it. Though it was suggested many times that he run for public
office, he knew it would be devastating to journalism if reporters decided to
capitalize politically on their popularity.

Cronkite's popularity was growing for 10 years before he took over
the 15-minute CBS EVENING NEWS from longtime anchor Douglas Edwards on April
16, 1962. The next year, on Sept. 2, 1963, Cronkite's news became the first
half-hour network weeknight news broadcast. In an effort to punctuate the
longer broadcast and personalize it in the process that first night, Cronkite
conceived and delivered for the first time his iconic sign-off, "And that's
the way it is." It didn't happen overnight, but the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH
WALTER CRONKITE eventually overcame NBC's "Huntley-Brinkley Report" in the
ratings and became the television news broadcast of record.

Cronkite became one of the first nationally recognized television reporters
and the model for the electronic news term "anchorman" when he reported from
the 1952 Republican Convention in Chicago. There, executives decided he would
assume the crucial role on the team reporting the event, a role likened to the
anchor spot on a track relay team. Cronkite remained the CBS News "anchor" for
conventions and elections until 1980.

If the Kennedy assassination was the birth of modern television news, then
Cronkite was midwife at an event that drew an entire nation to the still-novel
medium. It was Cronkite, removing his glasses to wipe a tear, who first
reported the president's death on television and the man the country watched
for much of the four commercial-free days that CBS News remained on the air --
coverage some credit with helping to hold together an anxious nation in the
midst of the Cold War.

No other network covered the space program as thoroughly as CBS News, and
Cronkite, openly enthusiastic over its advances, became inextricably linked to
it and is often credited with being the program's biggest booster. "Old Iron
Pants," as Cronkite was known for being unflappable on live television, stayed
on the air all but three of 27 hours of the Apollo XI lunar walk coverage. He
admitted late in his life that he was so awed when Neil Armstrong landed on
the moon that, for once, he was at a loss for words and merely uttered "Whew.
Oh boy."

Another story Cronkite seemed to make a personal mark on was
Vietnam, also a baptism for television news. Despite the graphic images of
death and destruction typical in America's first televised war, he, like most
Americans, seemed to support the conflict. After the bloody Tet Offensive of
1968 signaled a longer war, Cronkite decided to see for himself. He returned
from Vietnam believing the war to be a quagmire and, in a rare editorial
moment during a CBS News Special Report on Tet, told Americans as much.
President Lyndon Johnson, watching the broadcast, is said to have told his
press secretary that if he had lost Cronkite he had lost the American public.
Indeed, public opinion for the war, already shifting, plummeted.

Cronkite's decision to cover the Watergate story also influenced
the public and created a problem for a president. Heeding the drumbeat of
coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times,
Cronkite told the whole story in a two-part investigation on THE CBS EVENING
NEWS. Cronkite's Emmy-winning report was the first to put all the facts in the
story together in one place and elevated the controversy to a new level of
awareness, drawing an angry call from the Nixon White House to CBS Chairman
William Paley.

Another example of Cronkite's reporting having influence on news
events was when he interviewed Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat in 1977 and
asked him if he would be willing to visit Israel. The two countries were still
technically at war and the interview led to a peace treaty.

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was born in St. Joseph, Mo., on Nov.
4, 1916, to Walter Leland, a dentist, and the former Helen Lena Fritsche. He
became fascinated with journalism in high school, writing for his high school
paper and getting a summer job with the The Houston Post, a paper he wrote for
and occasionally delivered, too. He then attended the University of Texas at
Austin for two years while juggling writing jobs for the Houston Press and
Scripps-Howard as a state capitol reporter. He dropped out after two years to
pursue his journalism and broadcasting interests that also included working as
a sports announcer for a radio station in Oklahoma City before joining the
United Press in 1937.

In 1940, he married Mary Elizabeth Maxwell, whom he met at KCMO
radio in Kansas City, Mo. He and "Betsy" had three children: Nancy, Kathy and
Walter (Chip), who survive him, along with four grandsons. Mrs. Cronkite died
in March of 2005.

Cronkite became a war correspondent for United Press when World War II broke
out, landing with the invading Allied troops in North Africa, covering the
battle of the North Atlantic in 1942 and taking part in the Normandy beachhead
assaults. He landed in Holland by glider with the 101st Airborne Division in
1944 and later was with Gen. Patton's Third Army covering the Battle of the
Bulge. He was one of the first newsmen to fly on B?17 raids over Germany
launched from England. While in London, he met legendary CBS newsman Edward
R. Murrow, who offered him a job as a radio correspondent.

Cronkite turned down the opportunity to be one of "Murrow's Boys" when his
boss at United Press countered Murrow's offer with a modest raise he felt
obliged to take. He went on to cover the German surrender, the Nuremberg
trials and re-open several bureaus in Europe before becoming chief
correspondent for United Press in Moscow.

The next time Murrow offered, Cronkite jumped at the chance to cover the
Korean War for CBS News and joined its Washington bureau in 1950. He never got
to Korea, however, as a temporary role anchoring the news for the CBS local
television station, WTOP, showed off talents CBS News brass thought would be
better employed as a Washington correspondent.

This led to news division head Sig Mickelson picking Cronkite to lead
convention and election coverage - the start of the central role he would play
in CBS News for the next 30 years.

In 1954, the up-and-coming Cronkite was asked to move to New York to be host
of CBS' "The Morning Show," to answer NBC's "Today Show" success. Some felt he
looked awkward in the role and he was soon replaced by Jack Paar. Cronkite
then found a more comfortable niche in other programs, serving as narrator and
host of such early CBS News staples as "You Are There," "Eyewitness to
History" and "The 20th Century." He also anchored and reported for
documentaries under the "CBS Reports" banner - a role he continued throughout
his career.

To much fanfare, Cronkite stepped down from his anchor duties on March 6, 1981
to allow Dan Rather to take his place. He became a special correspondent and
hosted several acclaimed CBS documentary programs, including the Emmy?Award
winning "Children of Apartheid" and the CBS News science magazine series
"Walter Cronkite's Universe." He also appeared on PBS, most notably as host
of the New Year's Eve Vienna Philharmonic Concert, and was a special
correspondent for CNN and NPR. In 1993 he co?founded The Cronkite Ward
Company, which has produced more than 40 award?winning documentary hours for
The Discovery Channel, PBS and other networks.

In 1985, Cronkite was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences Hall of Fame. He won four Peabody awards for excellence in
broadcasting over his career and won virtually every electronic journalism
award in existence during his tenure, including the du Pont Columbia, George
Polk and Emmy awards. Cronkite twice won the Radio & Television News

Directors' Association's highest honor, the Paul White award, a distinction
shared by only one other, the late Dr. Frank Stanton, former CBS president.
In 1981 Walter Cronkite was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the
highest honor a U.S. civilian can receive.

Cronkite donated his personal papers to the University of Texas at
Austin. He allowed his name to be put on an endowment for Arizona State
University's journalism school, now called the Walter Cronkite School of
Journalism and Mass Communication and on the University of Southern
California's Annenberg Award for excellence in television political
journalism.

Cronkite Ward Company, in collaboration with CBS and The Discovery Channel,
produced his video memoirs entitled "Cronkite Remembers." A two?hour special
was aired in May 1996, and a longer version, an eight?hour series, appeared on
The Discovery Channel.

CBS News feted Cronkite in 2000 on his 50th anniversary with the Network.
Industry luminaries joined Cronkite at the Freedom Forum in New York to
recollect 50 moments from his incredible career, each picked by Cronkite
himself. His distinctive voice could still be heard on television up until
his death, introducing the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC and on AARP's
Retirement Living Television.

Cronkite was an adventurer. Before taking up long-distance sailing as he
became older, he competed as an amateur racecar driver, racing with the Lotus
team at Limerock, CT, and the Lancia team at Sebring, Fla., in the late
1950s. Later, Cronkite recorded his experiences sailing from the Chesapeake
Bay to Key West in his book South by Southeast (Oxmoor House, 1983), covered
the Northeast coast in North by Northeast (Oxmoor House, 1986) and recounted
his sailing tour of America's West Coast in Westwind (Oxmoor House, 1990).
Cronkite's first book, Eye on the World (Cowles, 1971), is an edited
compendium of CBS News' reporting on the major trends and stories of 1970, for
which he provided analysis and commentary. Another, A Reporter's Life
(Knopf), was a best-seller in 1996. His last book, Around America, a
reprinting of his three prior sailing adventures on America's coastlines, was
published by Norton in 2001.

He was active in several charities, including: Citizens for Global Solutions,
Committee to Protect Journalists, Common Cause, Drug Policy Alliance,
Interfaith Alliance, Heifer Project, and People for the American Way. Cronkite
was named Honorary National Commodore in 1977 by the U.S. Coast Guard
Auxiliary.

REACTION
Leslie Moonves, president CBS Corp: "It is with enormous sadness that we mark
the death of Walter's Cronkite. His passing is, of course, a major loss for
journalism. He was a great broadcaster and a gentleman whose experience,
honesty, professionalism and style defined the role of anchor and commentator.
For almost two exciting and turbulent decades during the 1960's and 1970's he
helped inform our nation, and bring us together. In so doing he transcended
his field to become the most trusted man in America. The legacy he left us all
will endure. It was one of the great honors of my career to have had the
opportunity to know him."

Sean McManus, president CBSNews and Sports: It is impossible to imagine CBS
News, journalism or indeed America without Walter Cronkite. More than just the
best and most trusted anchor in history, he guided America through our crises,
tragedies and also our victories and greatest moments. No matter what the news
event was, Walter was always the consummate professional with an un-paralleled
sense of compassion, integrity, humanity, warmth, and occasionally even humor.
There will never be another figure in American history who will hold the
position Walter held in our minds, our hearts and on the television. We were
blessed to have this man in our lives and words can not describe how much he
will be missed by those of us at CBS News and by all of America.

Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor, CBS EVENING NEWS with Katie
Couric/Correspondent, 60 MINUTES : When I think of Walter Cronkite, I think of
his high journalism standards, integrity -- but most of all his humanity. I
think he was so trusted because he exhibited a sense of purpose and compassion
night after night. He was the personification of excellence."

Don Hewitt - executive producer, CBS News, creator of 60 MINUTES and
Cronkite's first executive producer on the CBS EVENING NEWS: How many news
organizations get the chance to bask in the sunshine of a half-century of
Edward R. Murrow followed by a half century of Walter Cronkite?

Andy Rooney - 60 MINUTES commentator: I've been proud over the years to see
Walter become, not just one of the best known people on television but one of
the best known people in the whole world of people. He was proud of me, too
and there's no better feeling in life than that. I wouldn't trade Walter
Cronkite liking me for just about anything I 've ever had.

Mike Wallace - 60 MINUTES correspondent emeritus: We were proud to work with
him -- for him -- we loved him.

Morley Safer - 60 MINUTES correspondent: Walter was truly the father of
television news. The trust that viewers placed in him was based on the
recognition of his fairness, honesty and strict objectivity. ...and of course
his long experience as a shoe-leather reporter covering everything from local
politics to World War II and its aftermath in the Soviet Union. He was a giant
of journalism and privately one of the funniest, happiest men I've ever known.

Charles Osgood - Anchor SUNDAY MORNING, CBS Radio "The Osgood File": There
was a reason why Walter was called the most trusted man in America. Nothing
was more important to him than getting the story right and telling it fairly,
and he expected the same of us. I've learned a lot from wonderful colleagues
here at CBS News, but from him most of all."

Rick Kaplan - executive producer, CBS EVENING NEWS: Radio and television
newsrooms all over America are filled with reporters and producers, writers
and editors, who got into journalism for one reason: Walter Cronkite. He was a
role model for so many of us. I grew up watching Walter on television, and it
was the thrill of my life to finally meet him, and a privilege to spend six
years producing pieces for him for the CBS Evening News. He set standards that
we in broadcast journalism still strive to meet today. Walter Cronkite was,
quite simply, the best. His legacy and his spirit will always be part of CBS
News and wherever good journalism is practiced."