Colleagues remember Walter Cronkite

July 18, 2009

I find it hard to fathom how nowaday journalists can speak of themselves in the same breath as Mr Walter Cronkite. Here are a few of their sound bites from the news – which make me wonder how they reconcile what they honor about Mr Cronkite with how they have behaved in regards to barry.

Will they change their behavior now that they know he can hear them?

Originally, I wanted to know what Mr Cronkite thought about the obvious pro-barry media coverage – in particular what he thought about their nonvetting and embargoing of harmful information or just plain ignoring of it (Rezko). I find it hard to believe he wouldn’t have asked barry straight out to produce his birth certificate. (I don’t know if he weighed in on it.) But then I realized that if he, too, was mesmerized it would be too much.

ROGER MUDD:

He was reassuring, he was comfortable. And when you listened to him you knew he knew his business. He had control of his broadcast and he was leveling with you. He was an honest man.

KATIE COURIC:

What I take away [shaking her head] from everything I know about Walter Cronkite is that good journalism matters. Seeking the truth is really important.

DAN RATHER (looks ill):

He was, literally, a living legend and now a legend in memory.

BARBARA WALTERS:

He was someone who made us feel safe and secure.

TOM BROKAW:

He was a quintessential American. He came from the Heartland. He wasn’t flashy one way or the other and his reporting was straightforward.

MADAME SECRETARY CLINTON (smiling): [full statement]

He was so kind to Bill and me. He took us sailing off of Martha’s Vineyard. Offered advice – both solicited and unsolicited - that we tried to follow.

POTUS statement

Secretary Clinton re: Walter Cronkite

July 18, 2009

Here is the complete statement by Secretary Clinton re: Walter Cronkite via Stacyx at SecretaryClinton.wordpress. I saw Clinton give part of the statement and she was smiling fondly, especially about the sailing and the “solicited and unsolicited advice”.

SECRETARY HILLARY CLINTON:

I think every American who grew up with Walter Cronkite as I did just feels a great sense of loss today. Here we are in India and I’m thinking about all of the images that made up our history. Walter Cronkite telling us that President Kennedy had died. Walter Cronkite doing the coverage of the moon landing and walking 40 years ago. Walter Cronkite being a presence almost like a member of the family year after year. When I got to know him personally in the early 90s, I found him to be a man filled with energy and life. He was so kind to Bill and me. He took us out sailing off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. He offered us advice, both solicited and unsolicited, that we tried to follow. It’s a great time to look back and think about someone who played such a major role in explaining what was going on and did it in a calm, fact-based way without embellishments that too often get in the way of really understanding what’s going on. He will be greatly missed.

What politician on the planet appreciates a fair, fact-based journalist more than Secretary Clinton?

Anyone know what Mr Cronkite thought of ESPN’s Herr Olbermann?

POTUS statement
Colleague sound bites

“And that’s the way it is Friday, July 17th, 2009"

July 17, 2009

Mr Walter Cronkite died today at home surrounded by his family in his home. He was 92.

A man who earned the title “The Most Trusted Man in America” by understanding and respecting the difference between news and commentary:

Our job is only to hold up the mirror — to tell and show the public what has happened.

Here are some links.

Wonder if he got a chuckle dying on a Friday night?

BBC
CNN
CNN obit video
CBS
NPR
NY Times Swedish anchormen were called “Cronkiters”

(2003) Recounts JFK assassination – He had no idea he was going to tear up when he made the announcement.

That moment was purely extemporaneous in every sense of the way. I hadn’t planned to have a tear in my eye. I wouldn’t have thought of that. I would never have yielded to that if it had been a thought. I would have regretted if I had broken down and couldn’t have continued. The brief show of emotion is perfectly natural.

(2001) LARRY KING: How many days are there where you miss being on?

Every day. Not being on…I don’t miss being on the air. I miss being at the center of gravity where you’re getting these stories together, getting the broadcast together — really setting the agenda for people’s consideration. That’s an important job, and I miss that.

As for his wife, Betsy Maxwell, who he met in 1936, married in 1940 and loved until her passing in 2005:

She was one of the most beautiful people I ever saw in my life. I saw her for the first time … coming down the hall … and I fell in love before I ever knew her name, or what she did, or whether I would ever see her again in life.

“Uncle Walter”

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr
(Nov 14, 1916 – July 17, 2009)

“There were many important stories in the those years that affected the course of mankind that I would like to have covered.”

Who exists to do his justice?

POTUS re: Walter Cronkite

July 17, 2009

POTUS statement:

For decades, Walter Cronkite was the most trusted voice in America. His rich baritone reached millions of living rooms every night, and in an industry of icons, Walter set the standard by which all others have been judged.

He was there through wars and riots, marches and milestones, calmly telling us what we needed to know. And through it all, he never lost the integrity he gained growing up in the heartland.

But Walter was always more than just an anchor. He was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day; a voice of certainty in an uncertain world. He was family. He invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down. This country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and he will be truly missed.