Remembering an icon

When I was a child, most of my male friends talked about becoming astronauts, or firefighters, or lawyers. And my friends all knew I wanted to be a writer. But I secretly harbored a desire to be Walter Cronkite.

I was such a shy kid that I didn’t dare to share that dream with others, because I was afraid of being laughed at. Not because my friends would think that was a geeky thing to aspire to, but because that’s how revered Walter was, even to children. But my admiration for him played a major role in leading me into journalism. If I didn’t have the chops to report the news on television, I could at least report it in print, and I always strived to be what Walter Cronkite was: an honest journalist.

In the 1960s and 70s, Walter Cronkite was TV news. Not only did his voice have a quietly commanding presence, but because if Walter Cronkite said it, it had to be true. Cronkite was never about embellishment or hyperbole; his mood always seemed to fit the story perfectly and he let the news speak for itself. Cronkite didn’t sell news; he simply reported it for what it was, knowing that each news item had an inherent level of importance that neither needed to be added to or detracted from.

He never sold out and he never lost his dignity. He was, to tap an overused phrase, the consummate professional.

Cronkite wasn’t alone in this regard; there were other respected TV journalists at that time: Chet Huntley, David Brinkley and Edwin Newman immediately come to mind. But Walter led the pack.

Cronkite and his colleagues had a distinct advantage over the TV anchorpeople of today. They operated in an era before cable TV. When I was growing up there were only three television networks, so you had to be among the best to hold one of those coveted anchor spots. Now, with so many news outlets competing for viewers, the quality has been diluted and TV journalists need almost to have some kind of schtick in order to be recognized and promoted. That, all too often, leads to some sort of “sell your soul” deal to win those prized slots.

Still, that doesn’t change what Walter Cronkite stood for, and you don’t have to be a journalist to appreciate it, or to strive to emulate it. He represented honesty, integrity and quality of the highest degree. That is still, I believe, something to shoot for, whether you edit a magazine or run a foodservice operation.