Walter Cronkite

Growing up as a boy in Baltimore in the late '50's and through the sixties, CBS News was a constant in our lives. CBS meant integrity, dependability and quality. Someone once compared the CBS News staff of the 1960's as the broadcasting equivalent of the 1929 Yankees. There they were, Robert Trout, Eric Sevareid, Harry Reasoner, Marvin Kalb and Dan Rather. At the head of them all of course was Walter Cronkite, whose kind, grandfatherly, yet serious delivery of the day's top stories drew you to the set. I remember many eveings during crises like JFK's assasination, the 1968 riots, the Walk on the Moon in July of 1969, when we would gather in front of the tv to listen to Walter Cronkite. On many occassions, we ate from tv trays, so as not to miss a word. He brought history into our homes and we believed him like a trusted father. His sonorous voice bringing the gravity of the day's events into perspective. If Walter reported it, it must be true.
He was a role model to me, in the days when journalism was an honorable profession. It was because of Walter Cronkite that I set out to major in journalism in school. I'll miss you Uncle Walter - the voice of the story of my formative years. I will never forget you. "And that's the way it is. This is Walter Cronkite, CBS News. Good Night."