Walter Cronkite – There Will Never Be Anyone Like Him Again
There was simply no one like him – no one who has ever had his impact, or talent, that extraordinary mix of credibility and sense of history. Walter Cronkite was more than a chronicler of critical history, but a member of the family, who we trusted like a father, and idolized as a national leader. He held no office, but he was respected as a hero of the First Amendment.
My memories of Cronkite are so numerous that it would take volumes, but two special moments come to mind. The first was on a tortuous day, the afternoon of November 22, 1963, the day that President Kennedy was shot. I was a young radio newsman, at the time working in St. Louis. After the initial reports, and the shock of telling the story, I waited for the dreaded confirmation. The wire machines were silent. All of a sudden, I looked at the black and white TV screen, where Cronkite suddenly appeared. He was just wearing a shirt and tie, and he looked upset. His hand went to his eye. Holding back tears, he confirmed that the President was dead. If Cronkite said it, it had to be true, I thought. That’s how powerful he was. When he said it, it had to be true.
Fast forward to the end of July 1969. Forty years ago this month, Cronkite anchored the most dramatic hours of the end of the turbulent sixties, the landing on the moon. Cronkite lusted for news of the Space program. He cheered it on through the decade, as curious about the pioneering space adventures as we were. But that night was the night of all nights, as he watched, on a Saturday night, and listened to him deliver detail by detail, the weight of history on his voice and manner.
I met Cronkite numerous times during my time with CBS. I idolized him, the journalistic path he had taken, and the fact that he was such a fantastic writer, and mentor. Unlike many of the divas and egomaniacs of the current news business, Cronkite was down-to-earth, and aware of where he came from, the humble roots that motivated him to work hard and succeed.
In 1991, when Bob Simon went missing in Iraq, I called him and requested a one on one satellite interview. He was gracious and said, “Larry, just set it up and I’ll be ready to go.” During the interview, Cronkite said, “Don’t worry about Simon. He’s one of the best and crafty news people in the business. He’s alive, and we’ll hear from him soon.”
A few days later, Simon was freed by his captors. Cronkite was right on. He always was.
The man left permanent anchoring in 1984. Before and after, in public life and private endeavors, Walter Cronkite touched the national soul in a way that no broadcaster will ever do again.
Comments(59)
I am still in exile due to poor ratings and lack of respect. I too felt it necessary to post this morning after hearing about the death of Walter Cronkite. Afterall I am the real journalist here. Not just a teleprompter reader like so many newsmen and politicians today. I even write my own material.
CBS was the station that everyone watched for national news in the evening. Even if you watched channels 3 or 6 for local news you switched to 10 for national news. Walter was the news. As my namesake said if he said it must be true. He was a family member of sorts and fixture in every household.
God bless him and may all our memories of him be good ones.
Larry I think this memorial should not last more than 48 hours. You should already be thinking about your next post tomorrow night. Let everyone have a chance to pay their respects and then move on to a new subject. If you leave this obit here too long it will degenerate into sock puppetdum and do a disservice to the great man. Buck up Larry Kane.
I remember watching The CBS Evening News each and every night as a kid and Walter Cronkite was the anchor. He was a rock and the BEST anchor ever. After he retired in 1981 the news wasn’t the same (no disrespect to Dan Rather). Mr. Cronkite was very good at telling us what we needed to know and CBS News (during his time at CBS) was the best (IMHO) news organization (with Roger Mudd, Daniel Schorr, Dan Rather, etc.). Mr. Cronkite will truly be missed and in this day and age of shouting and screaming we should all remember Mr. Cronkite’s calming influence (except when the Space Program was concerned).
“No disrespect to Dan Rather” What the heck are you talking about Mr Letham?? Dan Rather was driven off the air at CBS for making up a news story about GW Bush. He should be highly disrespected as a newsman because that incident was only the tip of the iceberg with regard to Dan Rather’s dishonesty in journalism.
I’m dead now, and glad to see I was so well liked. I am a little miffed that all of the stations had already pre tapped my obituary tribute and had it all cued up to run this morning. By the way, anyone who watched those reports could have written what Larry Kane wrote, you all can decide for yourselves if he really knew me the way he has represented, but since dead men don’t talk you’ll never know for sure-will you?
I love obituaries, and now that Walter Cronkite is dead the only logical successor to him is Larry Kane.
Did anyone notice that in writing about Cronkite, Larry referred to himself using the personal pronoun “I” seven times? Apparently Cronkite’s death is really about Larry Kane. When he refers to current divas and egomaniacs in the industry, Larry thinks he’s referring to others. However, any man who writes an obituary for someone as legendary as Cronkite and tries to make it about himself is truely an egomaniac!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD_YOlUBoIk
It’s too bad that you didn’t pick up his love of a finely crafted sentence. What the hell does that statement even mean? Larry, is Sarah Palin sock puppeting you?
I implore all of you to contact your congressmen and tell them to vote for my universal healthcare program. Tell them to vote without taking the time to read or understand it. Trust me. It is good for all Americans. Well except me and my family. We won’t be using it. We have a sweet deal with CIGNA. I guess all the congressmen will not be taking the plan either. But other than this small subgroup it is good for all Americans!
And who is the moron sock puppeting oeL? Is that you again Joe?
Thank God for dead people. If it twernt for dead people I doubt that Larry would ever change the topic. I’ve got to admit that Mr Cronkite must have meant a great deal to Larry and his fellow journalists. Edward R Murrow was the trail blazer but Walter paved the way for todays generation of fact reporters. As Jack Webb used to say just the facts maam…. Too bad the facts aren’t as important as the message behind the “facts”. Even now many have discovered that Mr. Cronkite did not report the just the facts. He began to infuse his own biases into the nightly reorts about Viet Nam. When “he” decided the war was lost it had an effect on the majority of those who trusted his stature as a straight talker. It was he alone who helped change the complection of the Viet Nam conflict.
Most of the people who read and write here know that Cronkite had his biases too, not quite as lefty lou as Dan Rather/Larry Kane, but since he had no competiton in the limited media back then it was easy to have a monopoly. What we learned from his death is to be thankful that is no longer “the way it is” with journalism. Cronkite was good but over rated. If O’Reilly were to die today he would get no such credit, but he has done more to expose truth and justice than Cronkite ever did in his entire illustrious career.
Cronkite also was the first to report on the Beatles, and the Ed Sullivan got them on the show a few months later, watch for Larry to somehow inject himself into that too.
Hey Larry, the Grim Reaper is going to see Paul McCartney at citi field on the 21st, he hopes to see you there!
Why does the Prez blame me for everything that goes wrong? Am I his fall guy? Sholud I get stunt pay? Waiting for the 7:01 at Wilmington Station.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/11/news/economy/obama_health_plan_no_bargain.fortune/
http://idiotsforobama.com/blog/2009/07/19/obamas-health-care-agenda-how-it-will-hurt-american-families/
http://healthpolicyandmarket.blogspot.com/2008/03/detailed-analysis-of-barack-obamas.html
Hi, I’m Earl Scheeeiiibbb! He’s gonna rescue that healthcare system with the big, red lips. Riiiiggghhhtttt!
What is the sound of one sock puppeteer wanking on himself? Come to The Larry Kane Report’s comments section and find out.
W A L T E R C R O N K I T E
There are actually a few intelligent observations
Here! But mostly crap, that will be larry kane’s legacy.
His obituary will read:
“One big hot mess of liberal crap”
Sadly, larry is destroying whatever dignity he may have had.
I’m standing on the platform at Wilmington Station waiting for the 7:01. I keep coming back to this website because where else but the ACLU can you find such a collection of left wing nutjobs, do-gooders and lost souls. I feel at home here. I feel alive!
?????
Sound of sock puppeteer wanking himself.
Obama wears Dad denim jeans, and he looks fabulous!
Only you can hear that sound. We don’t have audio from your desktop. Maybe we can invoke the Patriot Act to get your house wired.
Coming to America
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1201117/Grandfather-starves-months-lose-TEN-STONE-told-diet-die.html
^ ^ ^
! ! !
! ! !
Sound of sock puppeteers wanking themselves.
C’mon Larry….. Walter wouldn’t want you to leave this tribute to him posted for more than a few days. He’s dead and probably buried by now.
How about a post on something juicy like Vince Fumo’s escape from a life behind bars, and how all the politicians are tied into the judges and vice versa. The affairs of Fumo and the light sentence received, brought about by his connections is all so sordid and sleazy. How could you not say something Larry?
Healthcare Alert: There are a number of potential problems that may occur from repeated wanking. Some common side effects of wanking include headache, extreme tiredness, ejaculation problems, and nausea. While some wanking side effects may go away as your body adjusts to the regularity of wanking, others are less likely to subside. Some more serious but less common side effects include suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts, chest palpitations, difficulty sleeping, hair growing on palms and blindness.
http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/does-wanking-cause-blindness/
Aw Dr. Koop honey you know that a good wank is important every now and then and is a good way to keep from ending up like that young lad who sired Bristol Palin’s second son.
Why oeL you have come out of the closet and are now impersonating Jocelyn Elders. Only you would use the opportunity to take a shot at the Palins. I’m going to refer you to Dr Kevorkian. Wanking as a sock puppet is not recommended by the American Medical Association.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/158087.php
Leoooo, you really did not kid anyone as Joyceln, you minx!
Leo reminds me of Brian the dog on family guy, know it all
Anti religion type, pseduo intellectual, but we still love you.
We are all part of larry’s dysfuntional virtual family.
As much as larry complains, he would be lost without us.
I’ll bet he checks this site as much as larry medte checks his email.
All of the local news celebrities are obsessed with what people think of them,
Its so cute how they pretend they don’t care.
Hey oeL the Lord (Abott that is) is right you tool. I may think Sarah Palin and her family are a bunch of backwoods bumpkins. If they arrived in DC to be VP (instead of me the first VP from Scranton) it would have been like the Beverly Hillbillies driving into Beverly Hills except on dogsleds. Y’all comeback now ya hear! Mush! On King!
Got to catch the 7:01.
Just got tweeted by John Mayer. Cool.
By the way Lord Abott I liked the Brian the dog analogy! Very apropos.
Just because there’s a fapping sound coming from your basement, Sock Puppeteer, doesn’t mean that I’m also using sock puppets. In fact, I think someone purposefully tried to discredit me by taking a shot at the Palins using a sock puppet.
I don’t need a sock puppet to take shots at those unethical backwoods morons.
It’s also cute how leo pretends he doesn’t sock puppet- awwwh
It’s my experience that puppeteers are normally more forthcoming than oeL. I remember meeting Lambchop and Shari Lewis backstage in DC at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Lambchop was very forthcoming about Shari Lewis being the brains in the act. I really respected Lambchop for that.
oeL not so much.
I takea fulla blame fora the cheeky puppet namea Leo. I carvea his head outa wood. I painta his body. I givea him a ponytail. Thisa is the waya he thanka me?
He bea the one with the biga nose and ponytail by Philbert the piga.
Oh Jocelyn, you make the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention!
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/-Critics-slam-US-healthcare-plan/articleshow/4794188.cms
‘It depends what your definition of ’sex’ is?”
- Bill Clinton
‘That Obama – I would like to cut his NUTS off.’
- Jesse Jackson
‘Those rumors are false …. I believe in the sanctity of marriage.’
- John Edwards
‘I invented the Internet’
- Al Gore
‘The next person that tells me I’m not religious, I’m going to shove my rosary beads up their ASS.’
- Joe Biden
‘ America is–is no longer, uh, what it–it, uh, could be, uh, what it was once was…uh, and I say to myself, ‘uh, I don’t want that future, uh, uh for my children.’
- Barack Obama
‘I have campaigned in all 57 states.
- Barack Obama (Quoted 2008)
‘You don’t need God anymore, you have us Democrats.’
- Nancy Pelosi (Quoted 2006)
‘Paying taxes is voluntary.’
- Sen. Harry Reid
‘Bill is the greatest husband and father I know. No one is more faithful, true, and honest than he.’
- Hillary Clinton (Quoted 1998)
Larry, your blog continues to be a forum for me and for some guy who exhibits extreme autoerotic tendencies via sock puppet. Will you ever crack down on the sock puppets?
larry-change the topic already,the responses have as much to do with cronkite as democrats have to do with integrity.larry,how outraged are you regarding fumo’s sentence ? would you agree that in the space of a couple of days,buckwalter has become our very own quisling.at least in the sense that he’s “a noun that became a verb.” in philly,forever more,a light sentence will be known as getting a “buckwalter.”someone once said that “life is a tragedy to those who feel & a comedy to those who think.” the problem is the joke is on us.
As I stand on the platform at Wilmington Station waiting for the 7:01 I can’t help but think how amazing it is that this President can jam an unpopular universal government run healthcare plan down Americans throats under the guise of fixing the economy. I guess PT Barnum was right. Go Barry! Go Barry!
Larry, some guy with an old “Joe Biden” sock on his hand is masturbating himself all over your comments section. Try not to get any on you.
Joe, I just said shut up. Now shut up!
These people don’t know what is best for them. They are like lost sheep in the woods. It is my job to show them the light. To lead them out of the woods. To a better place where everyone is equal and everything is shared. The closest thing we’ll see to Nirvana in our lifetime. This is my destiny. This is my calling. This is my reason for being. And if they don’t like it, tough. I won.
By the way, Larry, Walter Cronkite would be so proud of your tribute. Do you think it is necessary for this website to honor his memory with a 7 day Shiva?
Leo, if you are looking to add to your collection of old Joe Biden socks, I can secure a pair from the White House locker room. Joe doesn’t workout there but he does use the sauna.
Using socks in autoerotic activities may lead to chafing of the male genitals. That in turn can lead to infection.
You can confirm that with oeL Jocelyn. He certainly would know. Or would that be the puppet on one hand talking to the puppet on the other? Would that make him crazy?
Joe I can’t hear you because of all the pus on your hands. That is pus isn’t it?
I’m not speaking with my hands Jocelyn. I didn’t realize you could not hear.
Perhaps the problem occurs when you put your hand up to your ear to hear better.
Oh you are speaking with your hands Joe and you are saying something repetitive and messy.
Leo errrr Jocelyn I’m a busy guy. I don’t have time for your “autoerotic” talk. I have Americans to fleece errrr help. I think you need help.
And here’s my take on Joe the Sock Puppet’s evident master debate with himself.
Jocelyn: Joe, you are going to hurt yourself. And since you’re “Barry,” too, you’ll hurt his member as well.
Joe: WHARRGARBL!
Obama should not have taken sides against Cambridge police.
Its not a presidential matter and it appears the uppity
Foul mouth professor had a very bad attitude.
The police were trying to protect his home, he should have
Shown identication and thanked them, not mouthed off with
Your mama talk and don’t you know who I am?
It felt good to see him shackled up like a common criminal.
As I ride the 7:01 into Union Station I can’t help but laugh at Leo. He complains all the time about sock puppets. When gets caught red handed (no pun intended), he denies he is doing it. There is some irony here. Memo to Leo: don’t take unnecessary shots at the Palins when it is out of character for your sock puppet. Doesn’t one hand know what the other is doing?
God help us should someone express an opinion in his own home about anything. The police did a good job of preventing a potentially dangerous exercise of First Amendment rights here. Obviously, anyone who criticizes authority should be arrested in his own home. China, are you paying attention to how this should be done?
Let’s prosecute the white policemen as this was clearly a racially motivated event. Power to the Professor!
Joe I ain’t Leo honey but thank you for biting.
Larry, why don’t you opine on NJ corruption, including
Six Rabbis laundering money and selling human body parts!
These men really didn’t care if they were aiding and abetting
Terrorist,or that they were selling organs, as
There is nothing they would not do for money.
They are traitors and should be put in a cell with Bernie Madoff
To get some good trustworthy investment advice to
Maximize returns on their ill gotten gains.
Obama really had a San Fransico moment with the stupidity comment. He’s in deep trouble, but the learning opportunity will be that black racism is prevelent in all socio economic strata. Gates is a race hustler who portrays himself as an intellectual who’s privalege and status can can be thrown around to gain himself personal advantage.
Obama has detrailed his own health plan becasue he has an inability to not pontificate and equivocate on race. Reverend Wright must be having a good laugh. Many can now see that he is biased and pre-judges the same way he accuses white people of doing.
Meanwhile, Dubya’s administration seriously considered using troops as domestic law enforcement. How scary.