Walter Cronkite and a Bygone Era

The passing of Walter Cronkite at a ripe old age brings back memories of my youth. During my teens and early twenties, his newscasts were staples among the few channels available to country hicks living in Saskatchewan. His broadcasts of the three big assassinations in the 1960s were to be remembered. But...these two articles about him are good reminders of the tawdry state of MSM broadcasting today, by comparison, but which started those many years ago at his news desk.

From the first:

"May he rest in peace, and may those who miss him find solace in the worshipful media coverage. He appeared to be a very nice man, someone whose avuncular presence on the screen seemed to reflect a personality that combined warmth and strength.

That said, I am disturbed by the tone and volume of coverage afforded his passing, particularly by his own colleagues appearing on television news outlets. Perhaps mourning him, they are also mourning the decline and fall of television news. The reverence with which the words "Americas most trusted man" are repeatedly invoked suggest a nagging comprehension that almost nobody trusts TV news any more."

RTWT

From the second, in reference to his expression of an opinion about the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War:

"At the time, Cronkite's pronouncement added credibility and importance to all the network anchors. His was a stunning exercise of media power. But, in the perspective of history, the outcome of his pronouncement is not universally recognized as having been positive. He overtly and figuratively stepped out from behind the microphone to add his personal commentary to the news. We had not seen this before."

RTWT

Another good one on the Cronkite legacy.

And another.