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He quite likely held America together during the horrifying events of Nov. 22, 1963.
Only for the briefest moment, when he took off his glasses to blink back a tear, did Walter Cronkite show his own emotion at the news of President John F. Kennedy's death.
The legendary CBS Evening News anchor, who died Friday at 92, was the dean of American newscasters; authoritative, credible, the epitome of integrity.
"He was a huge figure, the face of trust," says Peter Mansbridge, anchor of CBC's The National. "He defined what an anchor has to be; not just a presenter, but a journalist. He had the battle scars."
Indeed, Cronkite's television persona may have been avuncular, but his reporting experience was solid. The Missouri-born dentist's son joined United Press wire service in 1939 specifically to cover World War II. He waded ashore with the troops on D-Day, flew on bombing missions over Germany, covered the Nuremberg war-crime trials and opened UP's first post-war Moscow bureau.
His credo as a reporter, and later as an anchor orchestrating the work of others, was to get the story "fast, accurate, and unbiased."
In 1950, Cronkite signed with CBS's fledgling TV news department. He became anchor in 1962 – his signature sign-off, "And that's the way it is," was a household phrase – and held the post until retiring in 1981. He later said that within 24 hours of leaving, "I was already regretting it, and I've regretted it every day since."
"News was Walter's life," says former CBC news anchor Knowlton Nash. "He was a matter-of-fact man, the quintessential anchorman in the heyday of network news. He became the godfather of them all."
It was "Uncle Walter" people turned to as a guide through the turbulent events of the '60s and '70s; the war in Vietnam, three political assassinations, the Watergate scandal and the Egypt-Israeli peace treaty – which he helped make happen – the list goes on. Though often conducting penetrating interviews himself, it was high-pressure live coverage at which he excelled.
The camera never lies, says Global TV News anchor Kevin Newman.
"TV news exposes who you are, especially when you're on live during crises. Everything Cronkite was, was transparent: his experience, his discipline, his humanity."
In 1968, after the disastrous North Vietnamese Tet Offensive, Cronkite famously told Americans: "It is increasingly clear that the only rational way out will be to negotiate, not as victors but as an honourable people who lived up to the pledge to defend democracy."
President Lyndon Johnson's reaction was said to be bleak: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America." It was true.
Mansbridge says it was the only time Cronkite broke his objectivity rule. "But he felt so strongly, he had to speak out."
For the first moon landing in 1969, Cronkite was on air 27 of the 30 hours that it took for the flight; "Walter to Walter" coverage the stint became known. The moment astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, he was lost for words for the first time in his career, managing only an astonished "Wow! Oh Boy!"
Mansbridge remembers covering the 1978 crash of a Soviet satellite in western Canada for the CBC and his report being picked up by CBS.
"My piece was irrelevant. Just the fact that this incredible figure had said my name was unbelievable. I still have the tape."
Newman, who met Cronkite several times during his tenure in New York for ABC, recalls the night he was anchoring the overnight ABC newscast and "kibbitzing around" with the crew. About 3 a.m., he noticed someone in the shadows. It was Cronkite.
"He and ABC News head Roone Arledge had been out partying and ended up back at Arledge's office. Cronkite came down to watch my newscast and there we were, kidding around. I was devastated. I felt like the kid who borrowed the keys and wrecked the car."
Retirement didn't mean the hugely respected newsman dropped out of sight. Far from it.
He published his autobiography, A Reporter's Life, in 1997, coinciding with a two-hour TV special, Cronkite Remembers. His New Year's Eve broadcast of the Vienna Philharmonic for PBS became hugely popular over his 24-year-stint, but he also fronted documentaries on health and old age. Last month (June), on the 65th anniversary of D-Day, he presented a moving field report from the beaches of Normandy on the futility of war.
Looking back on his life in the 1990s, Cronkite said, "I had a pretty good seat at the parade. I was lucky enough to have been born at the right time to see most of this remarkable century."
The man may be gone, but his voice is still part of CBS Evening News: it introduces current anchor Katie Couric. It was a favour he did her, says Newman.
Why? Because he was "a statesman and a gentleman."
Only for the briefest moment, when he took off his glasses to blink back a tear, did Walter Cronkite show his own emotion at the news of President John F. Kennedy's death.
The legendary CBS Evening News anchor, who died Friday at 92, was the dean of American newscasters; authoritative, credible, the epitome of integrity.
"He was a huge figure, the face of trust," says Peter Mansbridge, anchor of CBC's The National. "He defined what an anchor has to be; not just a presenter, but a journalist. He had the battle scars."
Indeed, Cronkite's television persona may have been avuncular, but his reporting experience was solid. The Missouri-born dentist's son joined United Press wire service in 1939 specifically to cover World War II. He waded ashore with the troops on D-Day, flew on bombing missions over Germany, covered the Nuremberg war-crime trials and opened UP's first post-war Moscow bureau.
His credo as a reporter, and later as an anchor orchestrating the work of others, was to get the story "fast, accurate, and unbiased."
In 1950, Cronkite signed with CBS's fledgling TV news department. He became anchor in 1962 – his signature sign-off, "And that's the way it is," was a household phrase – and held the post until retiring in 1981. He later said that within 24 hours of leaving, "I was already regretting it, and I've regretted it every day since."
"News was Walter's life," says former CBC news anchor Knowlton Nash. "He was a matter-of-fact man, the quintessential anchorman in the heyday of network news. He became the godfather of them all."
It was "Uncle Walter" people turned to as a guide through the turbulent events of the '60s and '70s; the war in Vietnam, three political assassinations, the Watergate scandal and the Egypt-Israeli peace treaty – which he helped make happen – the list goes on. Though often conducting penetrating interviews himself, it was high-pressure live coverage at which he excelled.
The camera never lies, says Global TV News anchor Kevin Newman.
"TV news exposes who you are, especially when you're on live during crises. Everything Cronkite was, was transparent: his experience, his discipline, his humanity."
In 1968, after the disastrous North Vietnamese Tet Offensive, Cronkite famously told Americans: "It is increasingly clear that the only rational way out will be to negotiate, not as victors but as an honourable people who lived up to the pledge to defend democracy."
President Lyndon Johnson's reaction was said to be bleak: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America." It was true.
Mansbridge says it was the only time Cronkite broke his objectivity rule. "But he felt so strongly, he had to speak out."
For the first moon landing in 1969, Cronkite was on air 27 of the 30 hours that it took for the flight; "Walter to Walter" coverage the stint became known. The moment astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, he was lost for words for the first time in his career, managing only an astonished "Wow! Oh Boy!"
Mansbridge remembers covering the 1978 crash of a Soviet satellite in western Canada for the CBC and his report being picked up by CBS.
"My piece was irrelevant. Just the fact that this incredible figure had said my name was unbelievable. I still have the tape."
Newman, who met Cronkite several times during his tenure in New York for ABC, recalls the night he was anchoring the overnight ABC newscast and "kibbitzing around" with the crew. About 3 a.m., he noticed someone in the shadows. It was Cronkite.
"He and ABC News head Roone Arledge had been out partying and ended up back at Arledge's office. Cronkite came down to watch my newscast and there we were, kidding around. I was devastated. I felt like the kid who borrowed the keys and wrecked the car."
Retirement didn't mean the hugely respected newsman dropped out of sight. Far from it.
He published his autobiography, A Reporter's Life, in 1997, coinciding with a two-hour TV special, Cronkite Remembers. His New Year's Eve broadcast of the Vienna Philharmonic for PBS became hugely popular over his 24-year-stint, but he also fronted documentaries on health and old age. Last month (June), on the 65th anniversary of D-Day, he presented a moving field report from the beaches of Normandy on the futility of war.
Looking back on his life in the 1990s, Cronkite said, "I had a pretty good seat at the parade. I was lucky enough to have been born at the right time to see most of this remarkable century."
The man may be gone, but his voice is still part of CBS Evening News: it introduces current anchor Katie Couric. It was a favour he did her, says Newman.
Why? Because he was "a statesman and a gentleman."
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