Community | July 17, 2009 | 38 comments

Walter Cronkite Dies At 92

source: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/walter-cronkite-iconic-anchorman-dies/

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Walter Cronkite was born on November 4, 1916. He first became a radiobroadcasting announcer in 1936. During World War II Walter Cronkite was one of the leading American reporters in North Africa and Europe and covered stories on B17 bombing raids over Germany, the Battle of the Bulge and even the Nuremberg trials after the war.

By 1950, Walter Cronkite had joined the CBS News and by 1962 had become the anchorman for the CBS Evening News. He covered such stories as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Apollo 13 mission disaster, the Iran hostage Crisis and the Watergate Scandal.
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38 comments // Walter Cronkite Dies At 92

  • Ish05
  • sickinjersey
    • 0
      sickinjersey  

    • i have got a form letter from walter asking me for my support on the fight to end the drug war.It was a proud moment for me to no that he believed in what i fight for everyday and he felt the same way.Rip Mr. CRONKITE.

    • 2 years ago
  • stopnoise
  • Ish05
    • 0
      Ish05  

    • WFA/NWO/World Government - Walter Cronkite "I'M GLAD TO SIT ON THE RIGHT HAND OF SATAN"

      Seems old Walter got into the business of helping to establish the One World Government.

    • 2 years ago
  • NuclearLullaby
    • 0
      NuclearLullaby  

    • A very sad time in the entertainment world! Many great people gone! He was the voice that many people grew up with on TV,covering some major news stories. Walter Cronkite simply told the story how it was! He didn't go & do all the nonsense that today's journalist seem to love doing! Even though I was born after the prime of this great man's career, I am very much aware of who he was & what he did! He's the man who announced the Moon landing,JFK's Death & countless other historic events! I do find it a slight bit wild that he passed away right before the Anniversary moon landing!
      what a sad strange year!

    • 2 years ago
  • funnicus
    • 0
      funnicus [removed]  

    • You hear all the news people of today say that he was their idol and mentor... yeah well the news of today SUCKS. Hopefully this is the start of an era of news that doesnt suck. Good riddance to the old jackass. It's not like he's some kind of hero, he could read big f-ing deal.

      Comparing this talentless drone to Michael Jackson? give me a break. I'm sure he was a good human being, and deserves respect for being a nice father, uncle, brother etc. But nobody here knows that side of him. You are a bunch of idiots.

      "AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS"

    • 2 years ago
  • guy_gunaratne
  • aes3647
  • marklemagne
    • 0
      marklemagne  

    • Walter Cronkite's death begs the question: "Was the U.S. better off when we had just three network newscasts telling us what was going on in the world?" I don't think so. It's better to read/hear in real-time what other cultures/nations are saying about world events. However, Walter Cronkite was very good at what he did. RIP

    • 2 years ago
  • irtehjoe
    • 0
      irtehjoe  
    • marklemagne:

      I agree with you mark but at the same time I respectfully disagree. The biggest difference between having oh lets say 3-4 television news sources and the entire network of 24hour a day television news is that with all those hours to fill all the news that doesn't really matter turns into the swine flu. They take the smallest thing and do anything they can to get atleast 4 hours out of it a day. Michael Jackson's death is a perfect example. It should have been covered, let go, and MAYBE brought back a month later to see how it's really impacted people if at all. I feel like the direction the worlds media has taken is a dangerous one that will require everyone that watches to have the will to read through the bull in every story to find the real truths where in Cronkite's day they didnt have to worry about sweeps and they could do real reporting on real topics.

      With Cronkite went 98% of the integrity that people knew of in the media and chances are we'll never get it back now that the spin machine has taken over.

    • 2 years ago
  • irtehjoe
  • funnicus
  • vistapoint
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  

    • So sad to see what's become of American journalism since he left. No left or right bias, Walter called it like it was. If only today's reporters followed his example.

    • 2 years ago
  • Stever_B
    • 0
      Stever_B  

    • Right there with you, Jan! We're about the same age and I remember those events with Cronkite at the helm. I tuned in CNN last night and watched only for a little while, sad for not only Cronkite's death, but what passes for "news" now. Even the most respected journalists now are no where near the level that Walter Cronkite brought to the table -- you don't hear anyone talk about what Brian Williams said on the news last night.

      He will be missed. RIP, Mr. Cronkite.

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  
    • Stever_B:

      So true. No one in journalism today can match him. And since you are around my age (which is still young ;-)), do you also agree that even for all of the problems and crises we faced when we were younger there was simply a different feel to those times? I don't feel that now, and it does scare me a bit for my son's future. I can't place a word on it but it did feel different.

    • 2 years ago
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  
    • Stever_B:

      My take on why the alleged journalism of today is a little different. It's not our age, although I will admit to old fart status. It's corporate dollars that are at stake. If they put a real anchor in the newsroom the corporations (sponsors) would have no control over them. That is if they had the integrity of Uncle Walter. No one grew out of reporting the news. The people that buy the advertising have an agenda and it is not real honest news with no slant. Prime example, look at some re-runs of "60 Minutes". Then watch one of the creampuff episodes that they air today.

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • I wish there were as many messages for Walter Cronkite as there were for Michael Jackson. Now, don't get me wrong, I was saddened by Michael Jackson's death and said so here but come on, Walter Cronkite was the man and the journalist of history who guided us through all of the joys and tragedies this country faced for four decades. Perhaps the lack of response is because many who come here aren't old enough to remember him.(?)

      I was five years old when I sat in front of a tv with my family to watch his announcing of JFK's assassination. Even at that age I sensed he was "real" because of the emotion he showed in announcing that JFK had died. My mom and dad cried with him that day, and we cried and were joyful at many many broadcasts he gave through all of my years of growing up. I also remember watching the moon landing and I cried at that because I was so elated about the hope it gave the country and the world and "the voice" that delivered the news of it. And to me it was about more than just landing a spaceship on the moon. It was about man's ability to make good instead of evil. To do something peaceful instead of waging war.

      And speaking of war, Walter Cronkite was also the voice of the Vietnam War and a man whose credibility and honor could always be counted on to give it to us straight. When he said, "That's the way it was" you knew that was the way it was.

      I am sad because all of the icons from my youth are now passing and it feels like a very good part of my life has gone with them. I don't know what the future holds but I do know that we need men like Walter Cronkite to give us hope and to report the news the way it is, not the way some over airbrushed faux news anchor entertainer wannabe delivers it from their corporate backers.The news hasn't really been the news for quite some time now, and that is what I truly will miss about Walter Cronkite.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • currentlilmexbro
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  

    • As close to an iconic figure as you can get for many generations. He was from the Murrow breed of journalist. Good job Mr. Cronkite. -30-

    • 2 years ago
  • derk
  • Maeveeo
  • CELTIXSHAMROX
  • lionboy
    • 0
      lionboy  

    • As a recent casualty of the death of TV news, this feels like the official end of the business I knew and once loved.

    • 2 years ago
  • funnicus
  • EmperorThan
  • brad62
  • afitzgerald
  • pjacobs51
    • 0
      pjacobs51  

    • Walter Cronkite reflects on what it was like to be on the air while watching the first man reach the moon.

      Too bad he can't make the anniversary, at least not here on Earth.

      RIP Walter, we'll miss ya.

    • 2 years ago
  • kennymotown
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • I remember watching this with my mother. Walter Cronkite was like part of our family who came into our home every night. He was the epitome of a true journalist and a man of principle. My condolences to his family.

    • 2 years ago
  • Panzer_Tanzler
  • earrachanam
  • lj111
  • ThoughtNu
  • afitzgerald
  • islek
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