Cronkite asked, for example, why more Americans weren't livid with the administration for covering up the My Lai massacre. Cronkite retired with his reptutation intact, but some other TV journalists were not so lucky. Because of his straightforward reporting, without mixing his own personal political views, he earned the nickname, "The most trusted man in America." From . It was that commitment to factual. Four years later, after Cronkite had belatedly turned against LBJ's Vietnam War, he met privately with Robert Kennedy. On the other hand, it is an insult to the intelligence of the American people to pretend that Walter Cronkite was the voice of God and universally credible, as Mara Liasson put it on Fox News Sunday. Cookie Settings, and Ronald Reagan officially announced his candidacy for the presidential nomination, famous 1969 speech attacking television news as biased, a clause in the revision of the copyright law, it was used by the mother of an American soldier, Dried Lake Reveals New Statue on Easter Island. Brinkley's book will undoubtedly tarnish the Cronkite legacy. In his interview, the retired neurosurgeon and Trump surrogate discussed the latest New York Times story calling into question the presumptive Republican nominees past treatment of women. News organizations today place heavy restrictions on the amount of gifts their journalists can receive, if any. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Operating as they did with government licenses, they saw Agnews speech as intimidation. Had Cronkite engaged in some of the same questionable conduct today he secretly bugged a committee room at the 1952 GOP convention he would have been bashed by the blogs, pilloried by the pundits, and quite possibly ousted by his employer., Kurtz also notes that in 1968 Cronkite secretly met with Robert Kennedy and urged him to run in the Democratic primaries that year against President Lyndon Johnson. You would see Walter Cronkite or someone like that. In February 1968, CBS's Walter Cronkite popular anchorman on one of just three national nightly newscasts that came into America's living rooms for 30 minutes every night met a trio of network reporters for dinner on a 10th-floor rooftop restaurant at the Caravelle Hotel in South Vietnam's embattled capital of Saigon. Jenkins may be a motormouth, but she's also observant and insightful. Cronkite was a rigorous newsman, trained at the venerable United Press and blessed with the ability to expound extemporaneously on television. For entertainment purposes, we allow ourselves to be transported to fantasy lands where superheroes are real, people can train and ride dragons, and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady is beloved. It was 40 years ago on March 6 that news anchor Walter Cronkite signed off "The CBS Evening News" for the final time, stating his tag line, "That's the way it is.". But after covering Nixon's historic visit to China, he let loose with a night of partying in San Francisco. The Jewish Press 2020. It boggles the imagination. "Walter Cronkite is Dead," showing at Treasure Coast Theatre, is a play that tells the story of a political odd couple forced to share space in a crowded airport for a couple of hours. Walter Cronkite We have overcome some terrible blows to our democracy, to the future of our democracy, to the future of our nation. Well, apparently so, he responded. Over the years its been used by researchers to study topics as diffuse as political bias, gender stereotyping and even the evolution of television advertising, since the commercials during the news broadcasts are also recorded. When Cronkite asked Gerald Ford at the 1980 Republican convention whether there would be a "co-presidency" if he agreed to be Ronald Reagan's running mate, Ford's failure to challenge the characterization blew up any chance at a joint ticket. He signed up with CBS News in 1962 and retired in 1981. Cronkite was broadcast journalism's king during a day when there were three networks and BROADcasting was also king. Jimmy Carter awarded Cronkite the Presidential Medal of Freedom. American broadcast journalist (19162009), Cronkite School at Arizona State University, Memorial at Missouri Western State University, (digitised online by Google Books online). when they did not express political views, when . CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King has been chosen to receive the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Arizona State University, Encounter Walter Cronkite through his CBS News special commentary on the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald and on the Warren Commission. Assign them the role of newspaper reporters writing an analysis of these TV interviews for . In fact, Im inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political manger of the White House, who is a very clever man, that he probably set up bin Laden to this thing.. Phone: (202) 670-7729 CBS'S WALTER CRONKITE, TELEVISION NEWS ICON, IS DEAD AT 92. How could they be held accountable if no record existed of their stories, segments and analysis? He had an unflappable calmness and an uncanny ability to extemporize verbally, which made him ideal for hosting the political news show Man of the Week (195253) and for covering unpredictable events, as he did when reporting on the presidential conventions of 1952, 1956, and 1960. And you could really trust them. During Goldwater's speech at the 1964 convention, some conservatives fed up with the networks gave Cronkite the finger. Perhaps he simply reflected his times, when some journalists and politicians quietly collaborated, when conflicts of interest were routinely tolerated, when a powerful media establishment could sweep its embarrassments under the rug. RM911 on Facebook; RM911 on Twitter; Archives. The women start to recognize and appreciate the good in each other. One of the main women featured in the story, Rowanne Brewer Lane, took to Fox News earlier in the morning to dispute the outlets framing of her remarks. Although the protesters believed media coverage would create sympathy for their cause, a substantial majority of Americans including Paul Simpson sided with the police. About Us. Advertising Notice There were more serious infractions as well. In 1972, for instance, the CBS Evening News aired nearly 1,400 presentations supporting the dovish view. Cronkite falsely claimed that the Vietcong had held the American embassy for six hours and that the offensive went on for two months. The facts show that Tet was actually a major defeat for the communist enemy. So Id like to think shed make a good president. Simpson trials, which often. In politics, entertainment and news presentation, we now live in an era of. The compliment should be offered plainly, Cuomo insisted. But my admiration for the man is only partly diminished. Though he would go on to travel the world, Cronkite remained proud of his Missouri roots and always considered Kansas City his home. To do anything else would be phony. Scan this QR code to visit this page online: ? She seems to have an understanding of our problems. Had Cronkite engaged in some of the same questionable conduct todayhe secretly bugged a committee room at the 1952 GOP conventionhe would have been bashed by the blogs, pilloried by the pundits, and quite possibly ousted by his employer. Divide students into groups. He wasnt necessarily wrong: Cronkite, who enjoyed his reputation as the most trusted man in America, did detest Goldwater and was liberal in his politics. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). A new biography of Walter Cronkite reveals the less trustworthy side of the most trusted man in America. Walter Cronkite, the longtime liberal anchorman for the CBS Evening News, has given a speech before the World Federalist Association in which he has openly called for the establishment of world government. Accuracy in Media founder and longtime AIM Report editor Reed Irvine noted that Cronkite contributed a great deal to our defeat in Vietnam., Beyond Vietnam, Cronkite got it wrong on one of the big issues-freedom versus Soviet communism. The country was very lucky to have him in that seat as anchorman, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace said, in paying tribute. July 17, 2009 CBS News. Cronkite was America's most trusted reporter at the time, and his broadcast has come to be seen as a turning point in the war the "Cronkite moment" when the attitude of many Americans toward the war changed irreversibly. Cronkite covered nearly every American manned spaceflight from 1961 to 1981. Upon his return Cronkite departed from his usual objectivity, declaring that the war could end only in a protracted stalemate. In the heated atmosphere of 1968, it was enough to fuel suspicions of media bias. That may be the case, but we are not prepared to believe that Cronkite kept his views in the closet during the entire time that he served as the anchorman of the CBS Evening News. CBS accused the Vanderbilt Television News Archive of violating its copyright and sued in December 1973. Other reports from that day sound hauntingly familiar: an Israeli strike into Jordan and a violent incident at the Korean Demilitarized Zone, in which an American and North Korean soldier were killed. An article in The Daily Beast relates Cronkite's other shenanigans, which included dining with a go-go dancer and bugging a committee room at a GOP convention. This column reflects the opinion ofBlake Fontenay. Cronkite was a rigorous newsman, trained at the venerable United Press and blessed with the ability to expound extemporaneously on television. [10], Cronkite took other left-wing positions, such as supporting tax increases, supporting giving up U.S. sovereignty to the United Nations, wishing for a one-world government, supporting gun control, among other liberal positions. Back in 1962, he had agreed to narrate a Pentagon propaganda film called The Eagle's Talon, warning that "an aggressive Communist tide has spread in Europe and Asia to engulf its neighbors" and that China "has plans to dominate Asia by mass murder." No further explanation is needed for people of a certain age. Walter Cronkite, on his 64th birthday, anchors his last CBS election night special while broadcasting in New York City on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 1980. . Cronkite is best known as the anchorman and managing editor of The CBS Evening News, a position he occupied from 1962 to 1981. At each stop, he asked to see a broadcast from the previous month. He wasn't necessarily wrong: Cronkite, who enjoyed his reputation as the "most trusted man" in. 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