The Way It Is

Walter Cronkite's death is getting the kind of attention that few others would. Even though the media is mourning one of their own, it's fitting--he was the most significant television newsman ever.

He was also the most admired TV anchor (unless Murrow's considered an anchor). But I've often wondered how much should we admire any anchor, even a great one? Sure, he wasn't just some Kent Brockman or Ted Baxter (who once met Walter Cronkite), but his main job all those years was still just reading the news in that deep, authoritative voice.

I never watched him much. I probably knew him better from imitations, such as Bill Murray's. With Cronkite's stentorian yet halting tones, he was easier to do than anyone this side of David Brinkley. I also remember a very old roast where Jack E. Leonard saw him and said "oh, Walter Cronkite, I didn't recognize you without the world."

My biggest direct memory of him is when Stuttering John of Howard Stern's show interviewed him in the 90s. Here are the questions he asked:

Are you here at this event because you care about the rain forest or because your publicist thinks it’s a good idea?

What did William Daley (sic) do that was so friggin’ important?

Would you ever co-anchor with Howard Stern?

Have you ever passed wind during a newscast?

Walter seemed most offended by the use of "friggin'" and took time out to lecture John on how he'll never be a great journalist if he uses that sort of language.

He was known as "Uncle Walter," and was called "the most trusted man in America." By all accounts, he worked endlessly to get it right, be objective, stick to what's important and polish his copy.

Over the last couple days, we've been shown some of the highlights of his broadcasting career--JFK's assassination (which also helped make Dan Rather), the 1968 Democratic convention, the moon landing, Watergate and so on. Oddly though, he may be best remembered for when he declared Vietnam unwinnable. LBJ famously said if he'd lost Cronkite, he'd lost America. But when you think about it, isn't this a low moment for Uncle Walter? A time when he stepped out of character to give an editorial on the air? Trading in on his trustworthiness, he used a national pulpit to state what was only his opinion, not a fact.

After he retired, still at the top, in 1981, he gave out his opinion on events of the day more freely. In fact, I've taken him to task for things he's said. But the point is, he was a private citizen (if still a celebrity), and no one much cared. I suppose Bush could have said "if I've lost Cronkite then I've lost Roger Mudd."

At his height, he reigned over a circumscribed world where three networks ruled the roost, and he was cock of the walk. Now there's no single voice that has everyone's attention. Perhaps there's rampant editorializing, and maybe it sounds like a cacophony, but I like that better than a handful of guys who all know each other deciding what the news is, and what it means.