Remembering Walter Cronkite

The "most trusted man in America," Walter Cronkite, passed away on Friday after a lengthy battle with cerebral vascular disease. He was 92.Born in Saint Joseph, Mo., on Nov. 4, 1916, Cronkite moved to Houston when he was 10 and got his first taste of print journalism as editor of his high school newspaper. After dropping out of the University of Texas in his junior year in 1935, he went from a series of newspaper reporting jobs to work as a radio announcer for WKY in Oklahoma City under the name "Walter Wilcox." In 1937, Cronkite joined the United Press, making a name for himself as an American reporter covering World War II. After the war, he covered the Nuremberg trials and served as the main reporter for the United Press in Moscow for two years.In 1950, Cronkite joined CBS News, initially working for the network's Washington, D.C., affiliate and anchoring CBS' coverage of the 1952 Democratic and Republican Presidential Conventions, which had not been previously televised. One year later, Cronkite began a four-year stint as host of CBS' You Are There, which reenacted historical events, and also hosted The Twentieth Century, a documentary series about important historical events; a game show called It's News to Me, which was based on current events; and The Morning Show.With his career on the rise, Cronkite inherited the role of anchorman (he was the first to be described by that term) at the CBS Evening News in 1962, which expanded from 15 minutes to 30 minutes one year later. Two months after the expansion, Cronkite tearfully reported on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. At the time, CBS was the No. 2 network news program, but ratings built and by 1968 CBS surpassed NBC's then-dominant Huntley-Brinkley Report.Affectionately known as "Uncle Walter," Cronkite was front and center covering events like the Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam War, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Watergate scandal and the Iran hostage crisis. The CBS Evening News remained the dominant player until Cronkite's retirement in 1981. That same year, President Jimmy Carter honored him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His trademark closing for each broadcast, of course, was "And that's the way it is.""It is with enormous sadness that we mark the death of Walter Cronkite," said Leslie Moonves, president and chief executive officer, CBS Corp. "His passing is, of course, a major loss for journalism. He was a great broadcaster and a gentleman whose experience, honesty, professionalism and style defined the role of anchor and commentator. For almost two exciting and turbulent decades during the 1960s and 1970s he helped inform our nation and bring us together. In so doing, he transcended his field to become the most trusted man in America. The legacy he left us all will endure."Added Katie Couric, current anchor of the CBS Evening News: "When I think of Walter Cronkite, I think of his high journalism standards, integrity -- but most of all his humanity. I think he was so trusted because he exhibited a sense of purpose and compassion, night after night. He was the personification of excellence."Cronkite was married for over 60 years to Betsy Maxwell Cronkite until her passing on March 16, 2005. He is survived by three children, Nancy, Kathy and Walter (Chip) Cronkite III; and four grandchildren.

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Remembering Walter Cronkite

Marc Berman

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Marc Berman