Walter Cronkite was the consummate communicator. He was the quintessential news broadcaster and the epitome of what a journalist should be. Walter was arguably the finest of his craft to ever sit behind a typewriter or a microphone...or in front of a camera. And he was saluted over and over again with so many tributes...including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter plus numerous Emmy and Peabody Awards, among other accolades.In an age with no Internet...and no 24-hour cable news...Walter Cronkite greeted us for dinner...every Monday through Friday evening...for nearly 19 years. And even though he appeared on our television screens...dapper as can be in a suit and tie...it was as if Walter was at our sides...in our homes...sitting in an easy-chair...by a cozy fireplace...wearing a cardigan sweater...delivering the news...exclusively...to each one of us...individually.
Through happy times...and through sad times...we felt comfortable with Walter. And we did indeed trust him. We depended on him to share only the honest facts with us. And we were sure...that whatever words he spoke...were the absolute truth. Historian and Walter Cronkite biographer, Douglas Brinkley wrote..."Cronkite was the ultimate reliable source."
Walter Cronkite was America's anchorman. However...he thought of himself first - career-wise, at least - as a reporter. And he excelled at covering some of the 20th Century's most momentous stories. But Walter was much more. He was our national tour guide...taking us through the historical events of the time.From the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to Neil Armstrong's "one small step" on to the moon...from political conventions to Presidential elections...from the Vietnam War to the Bicentennial of the United States...from Watergate to the resignation of President Richard Nixon... Walter Cronkite eased Americans' pain when tears flowed from our eyes...and he joyfully put smiles on our faces when the news of the day was good.
It would take a book to highlight every tour de force...every masterpiece broadcast with Walter Cronkite. But as I remember back...I'll not forget Walter revealing an acceptable moment of human emotion...as he choked up...while informing America and the world that..."From Dallas, Texas...the flash...apparently official...President Kennedy died at 1 P.M. central standard time...2 o'clock eastern standard time...some 38 minutes ago." With his famous off-camera bulletin - about an hour before - Walter began our 4-day period of mourning...for the death of a President. President Lyndon B. Johnson was fully aware how important Walter Cronkite was to the people of our country. So when Walter presented a rare commentary that..."it seems now - more certain than ever - that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate"...LBJ is quoted as saying..."If I've lost Cronkite...I've lost America."
Prior to Neil Armstrong taking that "giant leap for mankind"...the Eagle lunar module had landed at Tranquility Base. But I still grin...when I think of Walter's infectious enthusiasm...as he cheerfully burst out the words..."Man on the moon"...followed by an expression of relief..."Whew. Boy."And on July 4th, 1976...as we commemorated our nation's Bicentennial...Walter Cronkite created poetry...as he painted portrait after portrait with his words...the artistic panoramic view of our national celebration.
As we approach what is undoubtedly the most important Presidential election in decades...if not forever...I can't help but wonder...how Walter Cronkite would have approached the unconventional style of Campaign 2016.
I was honored...and privileged...in the fall of 1972...to meet Walter Cronkite. It was such a special day. And I'm eternally grateful to my oldest friend's dad - Graham Hovey - who treated his son, Tom and me to an evening that I will always remember and cherish. Graham and Walter were old friends from their stint as reporters during World War II. Now imagine two 17-year old kids...best buddies...standing just a few feet from the anchor desk...in the CBS Newsroom at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City...as Walter Cronkite was live on-the-air. It was a dream come true. And afterwards...a one-on-one conversation with Walter...in his office...a stone's throw away from the set and cameras. My only regret is that, unfortunately, I don't have a photograph with Walter. But the memories of my visit with him...will remain etched in my mind for as long as I live.
Each weekday night...televisions - black and white ones, in the early days...then color - were tuned to CBS at 7 P.M. sharp (in the east). But before we heard that distinctive, unmistakable voice...there was the rhythmic clatter of the teletype machines...and the announcer who would introduce us to our beloved Walter. "From CBS News headquarters in New York...this is the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite."Outstanding news correspondents have come and gone - before...during...and after the stellar life of Walter Cronkite. But there was nobody else like Walter...and I don't believe there ever will be again.
During times of despair...Americans respected Walter's wisdom...when we lacked our own. We admired his strength...when we thought we had little left. And we appreciated his knowledge...as we learned much from him. We were loyal to Walter Cronkite. And he was loyal to us.
Walter's final broadcast as the anchor of the CBS Evening News...was a sad day for me. But as he articulated with much grace...we "made too much" of it. With a smile though...it was the last time we would ever hear...what is perhaps the most famous sign-off in all of television. "And that's the way it is, Friday, March 6th, 1981. I'll be away on assignment and Dan Rather will be sitting in here for the next few years. Good night." 
Walter Cronkite passed away on July 17th, 2009 at age 92. But throughout his life at CBS News... Walter gave us hope - day after day...year after year. Even through tragedies...Walter convinced us...that there was still hope. We believed Walter. We believed in what he stood for. We believed in him. And when he concluded his evening broadcast - sometimes somber...and sometimes gleeful...telling America..."And that's the way it is"...we could sleep that night...knowing that Walter Cronkite was watching the entire solar system for us. No matter how bad the news was...or how concerned we were about what was happening in our country...around the globe...or throughout the galaxy...Walter Cronkite was our...chicken soup. He made Americans...feel better.
For those of us who revered him...we were certain that Walter Cronkite was the one person we could rely on...when we had doubts about our nation...and about our world. It was his monumental task...to provide us with a nightly look at an imperfect planet. But despite the Earth's flaws... Walter was our towering lighthouse...and he navigated us through the choppy waters of life, so that we would never lose our way. And that truly is...the way it was with Walter Cronkite.And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.
One of the chief goals of a blog...one of the major reasons to publish a blog...is to entice others to express their opinions about the subject for which the author is writing. The Controversy is being read by a tremendous amount of people throughout the United States of America and all around the world. If you agree or disagree with my commentary...your views are welcomed. Tell me that you find pleasure in reading what I write...or that it's not your "cup of tea." Give your name...make up one...or remain anonymous if you prefer. The Controversy is your outlet to speak your mind and to say what you want about the topics discussed. Please share The Controversy with others by posting it on Facebook, Twitter and on other social media forums. Please also pass a link to everyone in your e-mail directories. The Controversy wants to know your thoughts on the column above or on any other editorial or essay written on this blog.
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Photo credits: CBS News and publicbroadcasting.net (Walter Cronkite #1), nydailynews.com (Walter Cronkite #2), robertfeder.com (Walter Cronkite #3), CBS News, Huffington Post and huffpost.com (Walter Cronkite #4), CBS News, YouTube and ytimg.com (Walter Cronkite #5), CBS News, TV Guide and tvgcdn.net (Walter Cronkite #6), Wikipedia and wikimedia.org (Walter Cronkite #7), CBS News, YouTube and ytimg.com (Walter Cronkite #8), Primetime Oracle (Walter Cronkite #9) and University of Oregon and cronkite.asu.edu (Walter Cronkite #10)
Copyright 2016 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
The following comment was posted on Gary B. Duglin's Facebook page at 3:58 p.m. on November 4th, 2016. The writer's name was posted on Facebook so, therefore, the person's name is posted here.
ReplyDelete"Thank you for sharing!" - Ryan Martin
This response by Gary B. Duglin was posted on his Facebook page at 5:55 p.m. on November 4th, 2016.
DeleteThank you, Ryan. I do appreciate. GBD
The following comment was posted on Gary B. Duglin's Facebook page at 4:25 p.m. on November 4th, 2016. The writer's name was posted on Facebook so, therefore, the person's name is posted here.
ReplyDelete"This is an excellent, beautiful, moving, thoughtful tribute to Walter Cronkite. Thank you very much." - Alfred Robert Hogan
This response by Gary B. Duglin was posted on his Facebook page at 4:28 p.m. on November 4th, 2016.
DeleteWow!!! Thank you so very much, Alfred, for your wonderfully kind words. I hope that others will be as touched as you. Thank you again. - GBD
The following comment was posted on Gary B. Duglin's Facebook page at 4:30 p.m. on November 4th, 2016. The writer's name was posted on Facebook so, therefore, the person's name is posted here.
ReplyDelete"Nice article!" - Pete Combs
This response by Gary B. Duglin was posted on his Facebook page at 4:36 p.m. on November 4th, 2016.
DeleteThank you very much, Pete, for your kind compliment about my tribute to Walter Cronkite. I do appreciate it. Thanks again. GBD
The following comment was posted on Gary B. Duglin's Facebook page at 4:36 p.m. on November 4th, 2016. The writer's name was posted on Facebook so, therefore, the person's name is posted here.
ReplyDelete"Excellent piece. Thanks for posting." - Tony Zappone
This response by Gary B. Duglin was posted on his Facebook page at 5:43 p.m. on November 4th, 2016.
DeleteThank you very much, Tony, for your kind words. GBD
The following comment was posted on Gary B. Duglin's Facebook page at 5:07 p.m. on November 4th, 2016. The writer's name was posted on Facebook so, therefore, the person's name is posted here.
ReplyDelete"Nice!" - Steve Brown
This response by Gary B. Duglin was posted on his Facebook page at 5:48 p.m. on November 4th, 2016.
DeleteThank you very much, Steve, for your kind compliment about my tribute to Walter Cronkite. GBD
The following comment was posted on Gary B. Duglin's Facebook page at 8:54 p.m. on November 4th, 2016. The writer's name was posted on Facebook so, therefore, the person's name is posted here.
ReplyDelete"Wonderful article. You know, I don't think I could tell you if Walter Cronkite was a Democrat or Republican. As you said, he was a reporter first! A REAL reporter. Fair, balanced, unbiased." - Nan Serkes
This response by Gary B. Duglin was posted on his Facebook page at 9:31 p.m. on November 4th, 2016.
DeleteNan, thank you so very much for your kind words and warm sentiments about my column and about Walter Cronkite himself. I greatly appreciate your complimentary remarks. Many thanks again. GBD
The "press" [media] is the only business named, mentioned, in the US Constitution. It is there because the Founders thought that a free press would act as a citizen's check and balance against government mendacity, corruption, overreach, obstruction, and hucksterism. Fine.
ReplyDeleteCronkite, whom I watched on many an evening broadcast, also worked for CBS when it was known as the "Tiffany" network. They made so much money on their other shows that they didn't care whether the news made money or not: they saw the news as a Constitutional duty to tell the American public the truth. And Cronkite took it on the chin about his reportage on the Vietnam War but he stuck by his reports and was exonerated eventually for its truthfulness. The US was on the wrong side of a civil war, whose side eventually lost. I am yet another American who viewed Cronkite as being a man of complete integrity regarding what he said including his broadcasts and reportage.
Another feature of Cronkite's world was the Fairness Doctrine. You can read about it in Wikipedia under that name, so I won't go into details except to say that it was tossed out under Reagan's Administration and the American public has lost out on the truth because of its passing away.
Now, with cable, CNN, Fox, and all the rest, news must be profitable, period. Virtually all the news that Americans get from TV is received from for-profit news organs whose parent companies are giant media companies who are owned in turn by other giant corporations. CBS is or was owned by Viacom and it is on par with all the other TV news in this regard. And these so-called news outlets are hugely profitable and perfectly reflect the views (biases) of their corporate masters. There is a disgusting incestuousness about all this too: the membership of the boards of the Fortune 500 corporations reads like the family tree of a hopelessly inbred family tree. If there are 20 folks on the average board and each board was uniquely staffed, there would be 10000 different people on the boards of the 500 top corporations. The actual number is much smaller because they are a) all sitting on multiple corporate boards, b) voting on the compensations of the CEOs in an "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine" set up and c) don't have to conspire to do all this because it's just part of the cultural set up that all of them live in and think is their natural right.
This is not a free market of ideas we find in the media. It is not even a fair market of ideas! And the corporations' well-paid henchmen in the Congress vote consistently and predictably, every time it comes up, to de-fund the *one* piece of the media market that would challenge this corporate lock on the media, the People's Own Media Corporations, National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), starving them so much for cash that they now have to accept corporate advertising and thus, corporate influence.
There is *no* media free in this country. Free from corporate meddling and influence, that is.
Cronkite knew this was coming, too.
I'm puzzled by your remarks considering that it has nothing to do with my tribute to Walter Cronkite. If you noticed the comments previously made by other readers, their remarks were all positive about not only a legendary newsman, but a great American who was beloved by millions throughout the country. Why you would use this particular forum to express views unrelated to the subject...is beyond me. Nevertheless, I published your thoughts. But I have found over the last four years...especially the last year and a half during Campaign 2016...that so many people - especially those who disagree with my column - will submit their own commentaries when what they have written has nothing to do with the topic of my particular editorial. It has happened over and over again. One recent example had to do with a piece I wrote titled, ELECT HILLARY FOR FREE COLLEGE TUITION. Yet readers put their own spin on the subject and for some strange reason began talking about Secretary Clinton being "dishonest"...saying that she "lied"...and that she is "corrupt." Those being some of the Republican buzz words throughout this election cycle. And then...the person started with accusations about President Bill Clinton and falsely calling him "a known rapist and sex offender" - which there is no evidence of any such criminal act, thus he has never been indicted. Now I did not include this information for you to make this a running thread of remarks about the former President. If you do reply in that regard, I will not answer you. Furthermore, Mr. Clinton isn't running for office...yet the reader decided he or she would use my forum to spew their venom when the column I wrote had absolutely nothing to do with President Clinton and only focused on Secretary Clinton and her plan for free college tuition if she is elected President. So the next time you read The Controversy and decide to respond to what I have written...which I do welcome...please stick to the issue. I appreciate you reading my work and hope you will continue to do so and to express your own views. However...my column above was about Walter Cronkite. It had nothing whatsoever to do with politics...and I made sure that this particular composition would be free of anything political. You, on the other hand, felt it necessary to use my blog as an outlet to express yourself with ideas that are not germain to the topic. This was a salute to Walter on what would have been his 100th birthday. If you take a look at any of the other comments by other readers, you will see that they clearly concentrated on Walter and how he was respected at his craft. They also were quite complimentary about what I had written, for which I am grateful to them. I'm not going to say anything more about my Walter Cronkite essay, as the words in my column speak for themselves. GBD
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