As we remembered the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Walter Cronkite left us.
We shall not see his like again.
For many of us, Walter Cronkite was our primary experience of what the news was. His calm, balanced, delivery of the day’s events, and his wrap-up line, “and that’s the way it is,” helped put the world in perspective.
Not for nothing was he considered the most trusted man in America. Though Walter Cronkite was never afraid to identify his personal beliefs as being liberal, he always remained scrupulously objective in his evening newscast. If Walter Cronkite said it was so, you could rely on it in a way you can’t any more.
A generation of Americans remembers his calm, professional demeanor, his assurance that he was fulfilling an important public trust, and his evident conviction that his calling involved a commitment to candor and completeness in his reporting.
Today, the broadcast and internet media offer a smorgasbord of viewpoints and opinions to suit every persuasion and ideology. When Walter Cronkite was America’s news source, there was no such smorgasbord; the public necessarily relied on its network news anchors to tell it like it was.
Walter Cronkite told it like it was, and for this, I remain grateful.
And that’s the way it was.
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Paul S. Marchand is an attorney who lives and works in Cathedral City, where he serves on the City Council. The views expressed herein are his own.
Paul S. Marchand is an attorney who lives and works in Cathedral City, where he serves on the City Council. The views expressed herein are his own.
