The passing of Walter Cronkite certainly represents a
passing on an era. For those of my generation who grew up with Walter
Cronkite he represented a measured consistent approach to reporting the
news. In many ways he defined our generation by his reporting of the events that defined the Sixties and Seventies. I will never forget his reporting of president Kennedy’s assassination and
the moon landing. He represents a different era. I think he certainly knew the
responsibility he had. He told us what we needed to know, not necessarily what
we wanted to hear. Remember in his day there was no cable news, only three
major networks, what he said carried a tremendous amount of influence. He
was one of the first public figures to recognize and speak out on the futility
of the Vietnam war, to do that in the climate that existed at the time took
real courage. I thank Walter Cronkite for my passion for history. Growing I did not watch
much television but I would seldom miss his programs “You are There” a weekly reenactment of historical events and “Twentieth
Century.” Those programs brought history alive. This morning NPR called him the most trusted
man in America. “That’s the way it is.”
