There was room for doubt in Newspaper editorials but Television’s prime time news did not contain much editorial. I say not much because Eric Severeid always had a piece in Cronkite’s casts and Severeid was mostly ‘nail on the head’ common sense even if you had a different political outlook. Newsmen like those I have mentioned always made sure they couched political phrases in words that left room for doubt such as “alleged”, or “heard to have said”. They made certain that any quote from a politician was attributable to that politician alone and not to the reporter. We have learned over the years that politics is, as I recently wrote to a friend, much the same as Godless religion.
Network fumbling during the 2000 election count would not have taken place if Walter Cronkite had been managing the desk. At worst, he would have “alluded” to who had won Florida but I like to think he would have rather been sailing his yacht than naming Bush as the winner before things were clear. That, of course was just one example of many. The cable news nets have had to retract much while covering stories such as the Mid-East wars. A sleep-starved Bernard Shaw would not have been allowed on the air to ask inane questions of his audience and babble like a rookie during the initial bombardment in the first Iraq invasion.
FOX and CNN are decidedly politically swayed news sources. How is one to judge truth when they hear the right wing theatrical posture of Sean Hannity or Bill O’Reilly on FOX compared to the left of center spiel of Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper on CNN? Walter Cronkite is on record as saying he did not approve of theatrics in a newscast. I shudder to think about his reaction to Jon Stewart although Stewart and Stephen Colbert admittedly have broken new ground and leave no doubt they are not to be taken all that seriously. Nor would Cronkite have chosen sides in a political battle and he anchored the US elections for more than his 19 years at the main desk.
My point, if it may have slipped by, is that we as viewers are never 100 percent positive of what we hear is true anymore. The recent profligacy of fatuous gibbering over the death of Michael Jackson with its mountain of praise-studded superlatives about this wasted soul who in all likelihood was little more than a child molester – and I am not being judicious, read the stories that circulated before his death — would have been handled in a less hysterical manner by Walter Cronkite. Another icon died on December 8, 1980 and Cronkite led off his program by saying words to the effect that ”leading the news tonight we do not deal with the world’s problems but speak of a man who sang songs and played his guitar”. He dealt with the situation by handling it with decency, reservation and facts. He did not glorify, nor pontificate but merely told the story of John Lennon’s death with a sad resonance which the story called for.
I don’t mean to intimate that Truth in Electronic Journalism died in 1981 when Walter Cronkite retired. David Brinkley and Peter Jennings demanded and received respect but Cronkite was in a class of his own and CBS News never attained the influence it had under his successor, Dan Rather. Those of us who remember him, watched him each evening and formed opinions that aligned with his reporting will realize that something has gone that is unlikely ever to return.
But in remembering Walter Cronkite, I should remind you that he was not the first of the great broadcasters of the 20th Century. Taste is subjective but I would be remiss in not mentioning the man who preceded Cronkite as the giant of CBS and indeed the United States News business and that is, of course, Edward R. Murrow. His medium was radio but although he eventually morphed into television, Murrow is best remembered for his days as a radio reporter who, from London, England broadcast during the Nazi air-raids during the early years of World War Two.
The two men met, several times, even worked together on presidential elections but they were not particularly good friends. Early in Walter Cronkite’s career when he was working in the Midwest, Murrow tried to hire him for CBS News. Cronkite would have benefitted greatly one would think, considering the salary and the opportunities available as one of the Murrow Boys. But Cronkite made the decision to ‘go it alone’ and if he made it to the top, he would have himself to thank and would be beholden to no other individual, even one whose stature was as eminent as Murrow’s who may well have been miffed at Cronkite’s decision.
The Murrow Boys were a group of reporters who Edward R. either hired or acquired and directed during the war years. They were the absolute cream at broadcasting war news and many went on to successful careers of their own. The list is generally conceded to include Eric Severeid, William L. Shirer, Howard K. Smith, Charles Collingwood and arguably Daniel Schorr, all names most of us over the age of 50 will have heard. Some may remember Richard C. Hottelet and William (Bill) Downs.
When speaking of Truth in Broadcasting, Murrow set the pace. He could do little else because from his perch on the top of the building that housed CBS’ London offices one could hear the bombs screeching around him as they fell on the great city. His broadcasts were as exciting as any fictitious enactment of that scene and Murrow is often credited with allowing Americans to realize the incredible strength of character possessed by Londoners during The Blitz.
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They are both gone now. Them and most of their kind. They did their jobs with such formidable honour that I for one hope they will long be remembered as true pioneers, esteemed titans of the Broadcast industry. I leave it up to others to tell of the individual accomplishments of Walter Cronkite. He wrote a wonderful little book called A Reporters Life which like his newscasts is easy to read — full of interesting anecdotes and tales. It’s still around and I urge you to read it. However many books will appear on Cronkite’s life, now that he has gone. It can only be hoped that they will be as truthful and sincere in their endeavor as he was.
Tags: CBS News, Edward R. Murrow, Television News, Walter Cronkite
