Less than a month ago, Michael Jackson died. Tonight, Walter Cronkite died. Michael Jackson's death is the more tragic. A man only 50 years old cut down while he still could have made music, and he still had kids to raise. Far more people will be sadder at the death of Michael Jackson than they will the death of Walter Cronkite. For the same reason, Cronkite's death doesn't carry the same pain and tragedy of Tim Russert's death early last summer. ($5 for each of you who remember Tim Russert!!)
I confess I never was that big a Jackson fan. I feel that Walter Cronkite's death means more. He was so trusted, so admired, so listened to!!!! He was the newsman and then anchorman for CBS for a long time 1962-1981. I know some reading this may have either been extremely young or not even born in 1981. I grew up with him. CBS was the only station my family was able to get because it was the only VHF station in the area. (NBC, ABC & PBS were all UHF stations and did not transmit strong enough signals to reach us situated in a valley ringed with high hills).
He was a calm, cool, collected voice. He loved the space program just as I did, & I listened to him cover the 6 space flights to the moon spanning from 1969-1972. He represented a time when the news was covered objectively. Journalists or political talking heads didn't have an "axe to grind" in those days.
I can't really say how terrible the death is or how awful it was, because at 92, what else is there to accomplish?? He was born in 1916 and died tonight. He wasn't in the middle of his career or leave young sons and daughters behind. His kids are probably approaching retirement age. He was 92; he lived a fantastic life. He accomplished so much and did the achievements of 5 men. He'll be missed, but he was in retirement for 28 years. He still was heard from and was seen in his retirement. Still, it's sad that a large group of people younger than 30 don't know very much about him.
I have very mixed feelings about Michael Jackson, but I can state unequivocally and without hesitation that I not only admired Walter Cronkite, but loved all the coolness, objectivity and professionalism that he stood for. All the tributes and statements made about Walter Cronkite are true. He was an AMAZING GIANT in the field of journalism. He is a symbolism of journalism that enjoyed a better more prestigious time and is a painful contrast to the lack of funds, cutbacks and subjectivity that journalism suffers now.
The death hurts more because it shows in bleak terms that the way news is covered may not be done quite as well as before. Someone with an opposing view can state that news is more available and easier to get than it was before. Consider this, however. There were many millions that saw Walter Cronkite (or even other objective, professional anchors at ABC or NBC). Those millions received news from a damn good source, and it made us a better informed, smarter country as a result. Now, there are some people out there that get their news from a Rush Limbaugh or a Sean Hannity. The mind reels at the contrast between the former icon and the latter 2 jokes.
Walter Cronkite was voted "The Most Trusted Man in America" back in the 1970s. Now, the 70s get criticized for a lot of things, but there was NOT a shortage of excellent journalists. "The Most Trusted Man in America" wasn't a priest, journalist, singer, preacher, or the president. Think about that for a second! The Most Trusted Man in America spent less than a 1/2 hour on TV and explained what happened that day. He was trusted precisely because he didn't have an axe to grind, wasn't partisan, and didn't exaggerate to make a point. His trust was extremely well deserved and never, ever lost! Sadly, we'll never see a journalist like him again on TV. No one will command the attention of that high a percentage of American audience that Mr. Cronkite commanded and very much deserved.
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