http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30988078/ns/entertainment-television/

A CBS executive says retired CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America," has died at his home in New York. He was 92. CBS vice president Linda Mason says Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. after a long illness with his family by his side.
He was the face of CBS News from 1962 to 1981, when stories ranged from the Kennedy assassination to Watergate and the Iranian hostage crisis.

NEW YORK (CBS) CBS newsman Walter Cronkite passed away Friday, reports CBS News.

His family had issued a statement weeks ago after conflicting reports on Cronkite's status had started to emerge. The family revealed that Cronkite had been suffering for some years with cerebrovascular disease. The statement also said Cronkite had not expected to recuperate.

Cronkite, 92, joined CBS as a television correspondent in 1950. He anchored "CBS Evening News" for 19 years, from 1962 to 1981.

During his long career, Cronkite reported on several pivotal stories, including the Nuremberg trials, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Apollo moon landings and the Watergate scandal.

Cronkite, nicknamed the most trusted man in America, would close his evening news broadcast by saying "And that's the way it is."

Cronkite is the recipient of a Peabody Award, the William White Award for Journalistic Merit, an Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the George Polk Journalism Award and a Gold Medal from the International Radio and Television Society. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981, the highest honor a U.S. civilian can receive.

Cronkite was born in St. Joseph, Mo., on Nov. 14, 1916. His wife, Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Maxwell, passed away on March 16, 2005. The couple had three children.

Key dates in the life and career of Walter Cronkite:

Nov. 4, 1916: Is born Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. in St. Joseph, Mo., to Walter Leland Cronkite and Helena Fritsch.

1932: Wins journalism competition in high school and writes for and delivers The Houston Post during summer break.

1933: Attends University of Texas at Austin while juggling jobs with Houston Press and Scripps-Howard News service.

1935: Drops out of college to pursue journalism full time.

1935-37: Works at KCMO radio Kansas City — news and sports; WKY Radio in Oklahoma City — football announcer; United Press in Austin, Kansas City and El Paso bureaus. He works briefly as public relations executive for Braniff Airways.

1937-45: Becomes a war correspondent for United Press when WWII breaks out, reporting from Europe and Africa.

1940: Marries Mary Elizabeth (Betsy) Maxwell. The couple later have three children.

1944: Edward R. Murrow offers him a job as a CBS correspondent, but Cronkite turns it down.

1946-49: UPI chief correspondent from Nuremberg Trials; UPI chief correspondent Moscow; Washington-based correspondent for Midwest radio stations.

July 7, 1952: Becomes one of the first nationally recognized television reporters and the model for the electronic term "anchorman" while covering Republican Convention in Chicago. The conventions also mark the first nationally televised convention coverage, and CBS News provides 139 hours of it.

Briefly hosts CBS' The Morning Show and is soon replaced by Jack Paar.

1950s-60s: Narrates and hosts many CBS television news shows such as "You Are There," "Eyewitness to History" and "The Twentieth Century." Anchors and reports for "CBS Reports."

1960: CBS is the first network to broadcast the Olympics — 13 hours of the Winter Games from Squaw Valley, Calif. Walter Cronkite is anchor.

April 16, 1962: Named anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News, taking over the position from Douglas Edwards. The program expands from 15 to 30 minutes on Sept. 2, 1963, making Cronkite the anchor of American network television's first nightly half-hour news program.

Nov. 22, 1963: Is the first to report President Kennedy's death and remains on the air for much of the network's four days of coverage.

Aug. 19, 1965: The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite becomes the first regularly scheduled evening half-hour network news program broadcast in color.

April 9-17, 1967: The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite becomes the first network news program to be seen via satellite. The broadcast originates from Paris, where the Vietnam peace talks are taking place.

1968: Anchors coverage of the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Sen. Robert Kennedy; Tours Vietnam during Tet and returns to deliver his candid assessment that America is losing the war.

July 20, 1969: Reports on the Apollo moon landing. As the rocket lands on the lunar surface at 4:19 p.m., EDT, Cronkite, known for his eloquence, famously exclaims, "Man on the moon!" "Oh, boy!" and then, "Whew, boy!" Remains on the air for 24 of the network's 27 hours of Apollo XI lunar walk special in 1969.

1970: CBS Evening News overtakes NBC in evening news ratings beginning a decade-long dominance with Cronkite in the chair.

1971: Publishes his first book, "Eye on the World," an edited compendium of CBS News' reporting on the major trends and stories of 1970, for which he provided analysis and commentary.

1973: Named the "most trusted" public figure in the country by Americans in a public opinion poll.

1977: His interview with Egyptian President Sadat leads to a Sadat visit to Israel and a peace treaty between the countries 10 months later.

March 6, 1981: Steps down to allow Dan Rather to take his place. Becomes a special correspondent and hosts several acclaimed CBS documentary programs during the 1980s.

1981: Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.

1985: Inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

1986: Begins hosting PBS New Year's Eve Vienna Philharmonic show. Arizona State University names its journalism school after him.

1992: "Walter Cronkite's 20th Century," a 90-second radio segment for CBS Radio, ends after five years — Cronkite's last CBS News role.

1993: Co-founds The Cronkite Ward Company, which goes on to produce award-winning documentaries for The Discovery Channel, PBS and other networks.

1996: His memoirs, "Cronkite Remembers," are broadcast as a two-hour CBS special in May and then as an eight-hour series on The Discovery Channel. Cronkite's autobiography, "A Reporter's Life," is also published.

July 15, 2000: Celebrates the 50th anniversary of his first broadcast from the CBS News anchor chair.

2005: Betsy, his wife of almost 65 years, dies.

2006: Becomes the first non-astronaut to receive NASA's Ambassador of Exploration Award. Voices introduction to the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. Celebrates his 90th birthday


http://www.wtvynews4.com/news/headlines/51060022.html

R.I.P. Walter.

He was certainly one of the all-time greats in broadcast journalism and is what CBS is all about. He will certainly be missed.

ohno:

For those who don't know about cerebrovascular disease, which lead to the cause of Mr. Cronkite's death, here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebrovascular_disease)'s the article from Wikipedia.*

*Wikipedia.org

He will be missed. :(

:rip: I'm surprised that he only hosted the evening news for 19 years. I always thought it was a lot longer than that. :confused: In any case, he was a broadcasting legend, and will be missed.

CBS sure could use him now. My Parents used to watch him every night after the local news. He will be missed. R.I.P.. Walter. :(

R.I.P. Walter Cronkite.. :rip: :crying: :(

Thanks for merging the two threads..... :wave:

RIP Walter Kronkite

Goodbye, Mr. Cronkite... :(

:rip:

I hope this doesn't come off wrong, but at least we had a "breather" inbetween the horriffic last round of deaths and this one. :eek:

:rip:

I hope this doesn't come off wrong, but at least we had a "breather" inbetween the horriffic last round of deaths and this one. :eek:
I hope this doesn't start a new trend of them. :(

:rip:

I hope this doesn't come off wrong, but at least we had a "breather" inbetween the horriffic last round of deaths and this one. :eek:

Nothing wrong with that and you're correct, The week of June 23-30th was one of the worst ever. It's understandable that celebrities will pass on but I hope we never experience another week like that.

He was a great man. He will be missed.

Nothing wrong with that and you're correct, The week of June 23-30th was one of the worst ever. It's understandable that celebrities will pass on but I hope we never experience another week like that.
Ditto!!

NEW YORK – Walter Cronkite, the premier TV anchorman of the networks' golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority and came to be called "the most trusted man in America," died Friday. He was 92. Cronkite's longtime chief of staff, Marlene Adler, said Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. at his Manhattan home surrounded by family. She said the cause of death was cerebral vascular disease.

Adler said, "I have to go now" before breaking down into what sounded like a sob. She said she had no further comment.

Cronkite was the face of the "CBS Evening News" from 1962 to 1981, when stories ranged from the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to racial and anti-war riots, Watergate and the Iranian hostage crisis.

It was Cronkite who read the bulletins coming from Dallas when Kennedy was shot Nov. 22, 1963, interrupting a live CBS-TV broadcast of the soap opera "As the World Turns."

Cronkite was the broadcaster to whom the title "anchorman" was first applied, and he came so identified in that role that eventually his own name became the term for the job in other languages. (Swedish anchors are known as Kronkiters; In Holland, they are Cronkiters.)

"He was a great broadcaster and a gentleman whose experience, honesty, professionalism and style defined the role of anchor and commentator," CBS Corp. chief executive Leslie Moonves said in a statement.

CBS has scheduled a prime-time special, "That's the Way it Was: Remembering Walter Cronkite," for 7 p.m. Sunday.

His 1968 editorial declaring the United States was "mired in stalemate" in Vietnam was seen by some as a turning point in U.S. opinion of the war. He also helped broker the 1977 invitation that took Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem, the breakthrough to Egypt's peace treaty with Israel.

He followed the 1960s space race with open fascination, anchoring marathon broadcasts of major flights from the first suborbital shot to the first moon landing, exclaiming, "Look at those pictures, wow!" as Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon's surface in 1969. In 1998, for CNN, he went back to Cape Canaveral to cover John Glenn's return to space after 36 years.

"It is impossible to imagine CBS News, journalism or indeed America without Walter Cronkite," CBS News president Sean McManus said in a statement. "More than just the best and most trusted anchor in history, he guided America through our crises, tragedies and also our victories and greatest moments."

He had been scheduled to speak last January for the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., but ill health prevented his appearance.

A former wire service reporter and war correspondent, he valued accuracy, objectivity and understated compassion. He expressed liberal views in more recent writings but said he had always aimed to be fair and professional in his judgments on the air.

Off camera, his stamina and admittedly demanding ways brought him the nickname "Old Ironpants." But to viewers, he was "Uncle Walter," with his jowls and grainy baritone, his warm, direct expression and his trim mustache.

When he summed up the news each evening by stating, "And THAT's the way it is," millions agreed. His reputation survived accusations of bias by Richard Nixon's vice president, Spiro Agnew, and being labeled a "pinko" in the tirades of a fictional icon, Archie Bunker of CBS's "All in the Family."

Two polls pronounced Cronkite the "most trusted man in America": a 1972 "trust index" survey in which he finished No. 1, about 15 points higher than leading politicians, and a 1974 survey in which people chose him as the most trusted television newscaster.

"He was the most trusted man in America and he was a reporter. Imagine. Who could we say that about today?" said Jeff Fager, executive producer of "60 Minutes," who began working at CBS News the year Cronkite stepped down from the anchor job.

Like fellow Midwesterner Johnny Carson, Cronkite seemed to embody the nation's mainstream. When he broke down as he announced Kennedy's death, removing his glasses and fighting back tears, the times seemed to break down with him.

And when Cronkite took sides, he helped shape the times. After the 1968 Tet offensive, he visited Vietnam and wrote and narrated a "speculative, personal" report advocating negotiations leading to the withdrawal of American troops.

"We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds," he said, and concluded, "We are mired in stalemate."

After the broadcast, President Johnson reportedly said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America."

In the fall of 1972, responding to reports in The Washington Post, Cronkite aired a two-part series on Watergate that helped ensure national attention to the then-emerging scandal.

"When the news is bad, Walter hurts," the late CBS president Fred Friendly once said. "When the news embarrasses America, Walter is embarrassed. When the news is humorous, Walter smiles with understanding."

More recently, in a syndicated column, Cronkite defended the liberal record of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and criticized the Iraq war and other Bush administration policies.

But when asked by CNN's Larry King if that column was evidence of media bias, Cronkite set forth the distinction between opinion and reporting. "We all have prejudices," he said of his fellow journalists, "but we also understand how to set them aside when we do the job."

Cronkite was the top newsman during the peak era for the networks, when the nightly broadcasts grew to a half-hour and 24-hour cable and the Internet were still well in the future.

As many as 18 million households tuned in to Cronkite's top-rated program each evening. Twice that number watched his final show, on March 6, 1981, compared with fewer than 10 million in 2005 for the departure of Dan Rather, Cronkite's successor.

A vigorous 64 years old, Cronkite had stepped down with the assurance that other duties awaited him at CBS News, but found little demand there for his services. He hosted the shortlived science magazine series "Walter Cronkite's Universe" and was retained by the network as a consultant, although, as he was known to state wistfully, he was never consulted.

He also sailed his beloved boat, the Wyntje, hosted or narrated specials on public and cable TV, and issued his columns and the best-selling "Walter Cronkite: A Reporter's Life."

For 24 years he served as on-site host for New Year's Day telecasts by the Vienna Philharmonic, ending that cherished tradition only in 2009.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Cronkite was selected to introduce the postponed Emmy awards show. He told the audience that in its coverage of the attack and its aftermath, "television, the great common denominator, has lifted our common vision as never before."

Cronkite joined CBS in 1950, after a decade with United Press, during which he covered World War II and the Nuremberg trials, and a brief stint with a regional radio group.

At CBS he found a respected radio-news organization dipping its toe into TV, and it put him in front of the camera. He was named anchor for CBS's coverage of the 1952 political conventions, the first year the presidential nominations got wide TV coverage. From there, he was assigned to such news-oriented programs as "You Are There" and "Twentieth Century." (He also briefly hosted a morning show, accompanied by a puppet named Charlemagne the Lion.)

On April 16, 1962, he replaced Douglas Edwards as anchor of the network's "Evening News."

"I never asked them why," Cronkite recalled in a 2006 TV portrait. "I was so pleased to get the job, I didn't want to endanger it by suggesting that I didn't know why I had it."

He was up against the NBC team of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, which was solidly ahead in the ratings. Cronkite lacked Brinkley's wry wit and Huntley's rugged good looks, but he established himself as an anchorman to whom people could relate.

His rise to the top was interrupted just once: In 1964, disappointing ratings for the Republican National Convention led CBS boss William S. Paley to dump him as anchor of the Democratic gathering. Critics and viewers protested and he was never displaced again.

Cronkite won numerous Emmys and other awards for excellence in news coverage. In 1978, he and the evening news were the first anchorman and daily broadcast ever given a DuPont award. Other honors included the 1974 Gold Medal of the International Radio and Television Society, a 1974 George Polk journalism award and the 1969 William Allen White Award for Journalistic Merit, the first ever to a broadcaster.

His salary reportedly reaching seven figures, he was both anchorman and star — interviewed by Playboy, ham enough to appear as himself on an episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." But Cronkite repeatedly condemned television practices that put entertainment values ahead of news judgment.

"Broadcast journalism is never going to substitute for print," he said. "We cannot cover in depth in a half hour many of the stories required to get a good understanding of the world."

The evening news program expanded from 15 minutes to half an hour in September 1963, 17 months after Cronkite took over, but it never got to the full hour he said he needed to do a proper job.

Cronkite denied rumors that he had been forced out by Rather, but chastised him upon his 2005 departure as anchor in the wake of a disputed "60 Minutes" story about President Bush's military service.

"Dan gave the impression of playing a role, more than simply trying to deliver the news to the audience," Cronkite said. He apparently felt more warmly about Katie Couric, providing a voiceover to introduce the former "Today" show host when she debuted as the CBS anchor in 2006.

Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. was born Nov. 4, 1916, in St. Joseph, Mo., the son and grandson of dentists. The family moved to Houston when he was 10. He joked years later that he was disappointed when he "didn't see a single damn cowboy."

He got a taste of journalism at The Houston Post, where he worked summers after high school and served as campus correspondent at the University of Texas. He also did some sports announcing at a local radio station.

Cronkite quit school after his junior year for a full-time job with the Houston Press. After a brief stint at KCMO in Kansas City, Mo., he joined United Press in 1937. Dispatched to London early in World War II, Cronkite covered the battle of the North Atlantic, flew on a bombing mission over Germany and glided into Holland with the 101st Airborne Division. He was a chief correspondent at the postwar Nuremberg trials and spent his final two years with the news service managing its Moscow bureau.

Cronkite returned to the United States in 1948 and covered Washington for a group of Midwest radio stations. He then accepted Edward R. Murrow's invitation to join CBS in 1950.

In 1940, Cronkite married Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Maxwell, whom he had met when they both worked at KCMO. They had three children, Nancy, Mary Kathleen and Walter Leland III. Betsy Cronkite died in 2005.

In his book, he paid tribute to her "extraordinarily keen sense of humor, which saw us over many bumps (mostly of my making), and her tolerance, even support, for the uncertain schedule and wanderings of a newsman."

I wasn't around during his era, but I know he was a legend. RIP. :(

:rip:

I wasn't around during his era, but I know he was a legend. RIP. :(
He sure was. I just emailed a friend saying that his death marks the end of an era for sure.

Sadly, I had a bad feeling when it was rumoured that he was sick that he'd pass away during the anniversary of the moon landing (since he was THE guy and CBS was the network to watch for big events like that). In a way, it's poinent and appropriate I guess.

Rest in peace Walter - you sort of had that trustworthy "grandfather" appeal to me. I think the most trusted man in the last century.

TV Land tribute to Walter Kronkite (to the right, video):

http://www.tvland.com

:rip: Walter, he was a great guy. I remember watching footage when he talked about the moon landing, JFK being shot and the Vietnam War. He will be missed :(

Oh whoa, I was shocked to hear about this today.
Walter Kronkite was definitely a legend in his own right, and will be missed.:(
:rip:

He will certainly be missed. I'd been expecting to hear about his death soon, only because I'd heard that he wasn't doing too well, but still it's sad to know that he's gone. He was a wonderful person. It's really cool that he went to UT Austin. My whole family went there!

:rip: You'll be missed. :(

I was watching CNN and Fox News which Larry King Live and Anderson Cooper360 Live had a tribute to WC.

http://www.arleneherson.com/albums/celebrities/walter_cronkite.sized.jpg

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090718/capt.photo_1247895200056-1-0.jpg

He was certainly one of the all-time greats in broadcast journalism and is what CBS is all about. He will certainly be missed....

Well, it would be more accurate to say that Cronkite is what CBS WAS all about. CBS isn't about journalism any more.

Mr. Cronkite was before my time (I grew up in the Rather/Jennings/Brokaw era), but I have seen clips of his work and agree he is a broadcasting legend. He had integrity and class - which is sorely lacking from TV news today. :(

RIP. :( I wasn't around during his broadcasting, but he most certainly was a legend.

Mr. Cronkite was before my time (I grew up in the Rather/Jennings/Brokaw era), but I have seen clips of his work and agree he is a broadcasting legend. He had integrity and class - which is sorely lacking from TV news today. :(

I did too, but I saw him on many CBS Specials.

And that's the way it is...things will never be the same.:(

An end of an era has come.


Too bad we dont have journalism like Conkrite, Ed Murrow and such anymore.

RIP

NEW YORK (AP) -- Walter Cronkite's final resting place will be next to his late wife in Missouri, where the two first met, his chief of staff said Saturday.

The 92-year-old former CBS anchorman died Friday at his Manhattan home of disease involving blood vessels in the brain, according to Marlene Adler, his longtime chief of staff.

A private funeral service was scheduled for Thursday at St. Bartholomew's Church. Adler said the Rev. William Tully will preside over the Episcopal service at the Park Avenue church, which the Cronkites attended for many years.

A memorial is to be held within the next month in Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Adler said.

"It will be a fitting tribute to Mr. Cronkite and the life he lived, the people he knew, the people who loved him and the people he admired," said Adler, who headed Cronkite's staff for the past 20 years.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an organization that works to safeguard press freedoms worldwide, will post remembrances of Cronkite, an honorary co-chairman, on its blog.

"Whenever press freedom needed a champion, he was there," CPJ board chairman Paul Steiger said. "We will miss him."

Cronkite is to be cremated and his remains buried next to his wife, Betsy Cronkite, in the family plot at a cemetery in Kansas City.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Walter and Betsy Cronkite Foundation through the AustinCommunityFoundation.org, which will distribute contributions to various charities the couple supported.

RIP :(

:rip:

The way it is...

^ Awwww...that's so sweet.

Walter Cronkite anchors the first 30 minute Daily newscast in 1963.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcdpYMfY5iE&feature=PlayList&p=1990C8E812F3D990&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=49

My most vivid memory of Mr. Cronkite (which I've only seen on tape) was when he announced the death of President Kennedy. He was the quintessential newsman and a legend in journalism. Rest in peace Mr. Cronkite.