"I am a news presenter, a news broadcaster, an anchorman, a managing editor — not a commentator or analyst. I feel no compulsion to be a pundit." ~~ Walter Cronkite, in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor in 1973.
Is there a person alive today, with even the remotest connection to any incarnation of our illustrious national media, who could or would make this statement?
Surely, if there were, our country would be in a whole lot better shape than it is now.
A couple more wise words from "Uncle Walter:"
"The nation whose population depends on the explosively compressed headline service of television news can expect to be exploited by the demagogues and dictators who prey upon the semi-informed."~~ From his 1996 memoir, "A Reporter's Life."
"The misfortune with broadcasting today is that all -- even including your network, which is dedicated to the news -- do not take enough time to give us all of the facts and the background." ~~From a 2005 interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer
We will miss you more than we can possibly know, Mr. Cronkite.
And that's the way it is…
1 comment:
I didn't even get to watch Cronkite when I was a kid. We lived in boondocks Oakridge and our TV service came from the two stations in Eugene. Neither one was CBS. I grew up with Huntly/Brinkley. Almost as good.
To borrow from Ed Murrow; "Good night Walter and good luck." We will miss you more than you could possibly know.
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