TrulyGrace

Farewell, Walter

Walter Cronkite, legendary news anchor for the CBS Evening News, passed away yesterday evening surrounded by family in New York. He was 92.

Although the continuous reportage by him in the CBS Newsroom of the JFK assassination while pulling his heavy-frame glasses from his face to wipe the tears from his eyes was a classic moment, I merely viewed reruns of that moment in time. I recall watching, with my siblings, on our home television the moment of the first walk on the Moon...(Armstrong: "That's one small step for man.....One giant leap for mankind.") We saw him reporting so many groundbreaking events that we voted him in a poll the "most trusted man in America" in 1972.

And, true to form, as Mr. Cronkite himself said, "Old anchormen, you see, don't fade away, they just keep coming back for more," and we now see video feeds, images, and accolades to him today on the Internet websites, just as we would on the AP and UPI wires in the old days.

Yes, Dan Rather was right in saying that Walter Cronkite set the standard for television news reporting. And Brian Williams was correct in saying that there was no clay model, no mold for television anchoring before Walter Cronkite.

An objective, steadfast personality whom we welcomed into our living rooms night after night during my formative years---Walter Cronkite, the iconic news anchor and beloved by his wife and family, passed into the gentle night. "That’s the way it is."

Labels: American history, farewell, international culture, NASA, Peace, politics, TV

posted by Grace @ 7/18/2009 08:50:00 AM