It was interesting that amid all of the broadcasters & journalists piling on the accolades for Uncle Walter, no one had the courage to say how much broadcast journalism has changed. A guy like Cronkite wouldn't have the looks or physique to be hired by a major network today. In fact, CBS forced him out to make room for a younger Dan Rather.
Of course, his biggest moment came when he declared the Vietnam War "lost" because of the video he saw of the Tet Offensive. North Vietnam had 70% of its force killed or captured in this "victory," and the uprising they counted on in the South fizzled. But Uncle Walter made the uprising in America mainstream and fashionable with his emotional outburst. It might not have been the difference, but it was big... and unprofessional at the very least.
Call me sacreligious, but I don't see Mr. Cronkite as someone to lament as a great journalist--evidenced by his biased reporting--both on the Vietnam War and in his tossing softballs in interviews to politicians he liked.
It was interesting that amid all of the broadcasters & journalists piling on the accolades for Uncle Walter, no one had the courage to say how much broadcast journalism has changed. A guy like Cronkite wouldn't have the looks or physique to be hired by a major network today. In fact, CBS forced him out to make room for a younger Dan Rather.
ReplyDeleteOf course, his biggest moment came when he declared the Vietnam War "lost" because of the video he saw of the Tet Offensive. North Vietnam had 70% of its force killed or captured in this "victory," and the uprising they counted on in the South fizzled. But Uncle Walter made the uprising in America mainstream and fashionable with his emotional outburst. It might not have been the difference, but it was big... and unprofessional at the very least.
ReplyDeleteCall me sacreligious, but I don't see Mr. Cronkite as someone to lament as a great journalist--evidenced by his biased reporting--both on the Vietnam War and in his tossing softballs in interviews to politicians he liked.
ReplyDelete