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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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 TRIBUTES 
2

Cronkite 'Spoke for the Nation'

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(Newser) – The tributes are pouring in for Walter Cronkite:

  • Howard Kurtz, Washington Post: His "passing, in the end, is the passing of an era, an era of black-and-white television, of mass audiences, of a slower time when the country waited for the headlines at 6:30 in the evening. No anchor—no journalist—will ever wield that authority again."
  • Jim Poniewozik, Time: He "was so thoroughly and uniquely linked with the word 'trust' that it is tempting to say that the word should be buried with him."

  • Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times: "His eloquent mediation of the great events of an age ... was essential to the way those events were understood. Even when he was temporarily at a loss for words—his tears at the death of John F. Kennedy, his inarticulate glee at the moon landing ('Whew, boy!')—he somehow spoke for the nation he spoke to."
  • Allessandra Stanley, New York Times: "No account of Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency leaves out the night in February 1968 when Mr. Cronkite concluded, on the air, that the Vietnam War could not be won." (LBJ's take: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America.")

Walter Cronkite speaks at Arizona State University Nov. 1, 2005.
Walter Cronkite speaks at Arizona State University Nov. 1, 2005.   (AP Photo/Arizona State University by Scott Troyanos.)
President John F. Kennedy talks with Walter Cronkite during a taped television interview at the President's summer home at Hyannis Port, Ma., Sept. 2, 1963.
President John F. Kennedy talks with Walter Cronkite during a taped television interview at the President's summer home at Hyannis Port, Ma., Sept. 2, 1963.   (AP Photo/CBS, File)
Walter Cronkite arrives for the Broadway opening of the   musical
Walter Cronkite arrives for the Broadway opening of the musical "Young Frankenstein" in New York, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
An undated photo of Walter Cronkite.
An undated photo of Walter Cronkite.   (AP Photo/CBS, File)
Cronkite and wife Betsy in 1981 in New York City. \
Cronkite and wife Betsy in 1981 in New York City. \   (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)
Walter Cronkite, just before his final newscast in 1981.
Walter Cronkite, just before his final newscast in 1981.   (AP Photo/File)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Walter Cronkite announces the death of John F. Kennedy on CBS News, 22 November,1963.   (YouTube)
CNN looks back at the late Walter Cronkite's career.   (CNN)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »
2 comments
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ezrider
Jul 18, 09 10:25 AM CDT
simply the best Reply
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+1
kokuaguy
Jul 18, 09 12:26 PM CDT
In our household there was always a Huntley- Brinkley bias. I didn't understand or question it and was no evening news ritual because Dad usually worked "overtime" and Mom was busy in the kitchen. There was one television and if any of us kids were still watching it "news" was the last thing we'd have chosen- even Yogi & Boo-boo were preferable. When Huntley left everything changed, but still, for me Cronkite was always considered boring and "too old." I was in college by the time Cronkite had his eyes opened about the liberal's war and he became a hero to my peers and anathema to so many on the right. He called his early resignation at age 65 the greatest mistake of his career. How might our history have been different if Walter Cronkite been there (or others of his stature) to shine the light on the Reagan era's hypocrisy, the impeachment charade, the stolen election, the global warming debate, and WMD? Reply
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