| Author | Message | ||
     Moxnix |
God speed, Mr. Cronkite. As a wee lad in 1968, I watched you on the tube, February 28, 1968, after you returned from covering the Tet Offensive in Vietnam where you wore your flak jacket and helmet on camera on the outskirts of Hue. Back in the safety and comfort of the CBS studio, you stared at us through the camera and pulled a Harry Reid. Told us we couldn't win. Told our enemy we couldn't win. "The most trusted man in America." Even Lyndon Johnson said if he lost Walter Cronkite, he'd lost middle America, dropped his re-election plans and left the scene. You changed my life. I suddenly understood the power of the news business to instill emotion in viewers, listeners, readers. To sway opinion. I was already due to go into uniform in April. And over my time of service and ever since, I've pointed out that your surrender to the enemies of America, meant to me that you held some quantum of responsibility for every American casualty after your words were broadcast. A few years back I presented my point to a former CNN "reporter" cut from your cloth. He went ballistic. Especially as I suggested he was doing the same, what with his generic hatred of Bush & Co., offered from Iraq. Media does matter. And being an American has responsibilities, even if one is in the news business. Speaking ill of the dead? Tell it to the historians. | ||
| Milar |
Today we understand all news is biased. From Fox on one end to MSNBC on the other. As consumers it behooves us to read/watch a variety of opinion and make up our own minds. Walter was a product of his time. He would not have the influence today he enjoyed 50 years ago. And perhaps that is a good thing. M | ||
| Blake |
Well stated Mox. I didn't witness Mr. Cronkite's unfortunate behavior live as it happened, but have seen and read the history of it. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Cronkite was the vanguard of a new breed of reporter who wasn't content to report facts worthy of reporting, carrying their own magnitude. The Apollo 13 incident carried it's own gravity. It didn't need any additional "angle". He, and those who came afterward, worked to create gravity by way of the manner in which the story was told vs. the facts of the story itself. The wake of Cronkite is the total destruction of news in this country. Congratulations Walter, you lived just long enough to see the press die. | ||
| Slaughter |
A statement on a local news radio station: It is ironic that Cronkite outlived journalism. | ||
| Aesquire |
I loved his coverage of the Space Program. It's pretty much gone now. When he bought the enemy propaganda about Tet, it was a sad day. Note to the history challenged, we not only won the Tet offensive, we destroyed the bulk of the N. Vietnam army, and eliminated their chance at victory. Until Congress cut off aid & support & let them win, just as they want to do in Iraq. ( does anyone know the current V.P.'s vote on that? It's not on his web site, and I'm afraid I'll like him less if I knew for sure he was collectively responsible for the murder of tens of millions of people. ) Walter was the most trusted voice in America. Dan Rather left network TV a partisan bitter lier. Journalism, It's pretty much gone now too. |
