….and that is the way, that it was….
America has lost it’s uncle.
Walter Cronkite has died.
Here’s a report via the AP: (H/T to Allan Combs, yes, that Allen Combs…)
Here is the CBS NEWS Special Report on it: (H/T to Freedom’s Lighthouse and thanks to Free Republic)
The Story via NYT:
Walter Cronkite, who pioneered and then mastered the role of television news anchorman with such plain-spoken grace that he was called the most trusted man in America, died Friday, his family said. He was 92.
From 1962 to 1981, Mr. Cronkite was a nightly presence in American homes and always a reassuring one, guiding viewers through national triumphs and tragedies alike, from moonwalks to war, in an era when network news was central to many people’s lives.
He became something of a national institution, with an unflappable delivery, a distinctively avuncular voice and a daily benediction: “And that’s the way it is.” He was Uncle Walter to many: respected, liked and listened to. With his trimmed mustache and calm manner, he even bore a resemblance to another trusted American fixture, another Walter — Walt Disney.
Along with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC, Mr. Cronkite was among the first celebrity anchormen. In 1995, 14 years after he retired from the “CBS Evening News,” a TV Guide poll ranked him No. 1 in seven of eight categories for measuring television journalists. (He professed incomprehension that Maria Shriver beat him out in the eighth category, attractiveness.) He was so widely known that in Sweden anchormen were once called Cronkiters.
Yet he was a reluctant star. He was genuinely perplexed when people rushed to see him rather than the politicians he was covering, and even more astonished by the repeated suggestions that he run for office himself. He saw himself as an old-fashioned newsman — his title was managing editor of the “CBS Evening News” — and so did his audience.
My Parents raised me with this sort of a philosophy; if you do not have anything good to say about the dead, say nothing at all.
On a personal note, Mr. Cronkite was a Amateur Radio operator. He held the Novice class license. QRZ.COM has a entry up and Hams from around the world; including yours truly, are remembering him.
As a political blogger, I do not celebrate his politics. As someone who has always admired the news business, I admired him. He hearkens back to era, when there was still an ounce of integrity in journalism itself. Some may disagree with that, but I do not care. It is my opinion and that’s that.
Here’s the memorable footage of him, announcing the death of President John F. Kennedy:
Rest in Peace old man; you have earned it.
Memeorandum has the roundup