Death of an Anchorman: demise of traditional news

Many in America – especially those in their forties and older, are mourning the death of the once famous CBS anchorman – Walter Cronkite. He died at 92, after a full career which covered the major events in modern history. Those included the D Day landing and other major aspects of World War Two, the heart breaking assassination of John F. Kennedy, the landing of men on the moon and the other space stories, the Watergate scandals, the Iran hostage crises and on and on. It is perhaps fitting that this great newsman died on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, and astronauts on the Space Station now paid tribute to him.

Walter Cronkite dominated all the nations newscasts. When he signed off at the end of the evening newscast, and said, “that’s the way it was,” the nation believed that was the only news of importance. When he announced the death of President Kennedy, the nation went into shock and mourning. And, when he came back from a trip to Vietnam, and said the bloodletting had gone on long enough, President Johnson said, “we have lost Cronkite, and we have lost the war.” Shortly afterwards, Johnson announced he would not run again for President.

Walter Cronkite was a superb, skilled, and dedicated newsman. He was trusted, respected, dignified, and showed emotion at only rare times, such as the Kennedy death, the moon landing, and his retirement announcement 28 years ago. But he also acknowledged he became “the” television anchorman at a fortunate time. The phrase was coined to describe him, as he anchored the news from the political conventions. He made the transition from wire service reporter, to radio, and then to television, at the time the broadcast media was just reaching its peak of power.

If Walter Cronkite were alive today, he would still be famous and influential. But, he would have to compete with the citizens’ media. The internet, blogs, twitters, and all the others, now give the entire world the chance to be Cronkites. I have been honored to be part of the media for 41 years, and I know how arrogant the major institutions can be. Now, they are losing their power, and many are going out of business. I have to believe Walter Cronkite may agree with me, that it is a good thing we can all be part of the new media! Connie Lawn in Washington

Connie Lawn has a passionate love for NZ. She worked for Radio New Zealand for 20 years, and then for Radio Live for a few years. Connie has covered the White House and the world since 1968. Her other passion is skiing, and she calls herself "the skiing White House reporter." Her ski stories are on dcski.com and other outlets. Connie is also heard on thousands of radio stations, but firmly believes the internet is the future. She can be reached at connie@scoop.co.nz

© Scoop Media