Eldergays, tell us about Walter Cronkite. (Inspired by the CNN thread)

There was a guy more trusted than him, named Herb, but the fake media won’t tell you about that.

JFK death

From a "New Yorker" article about Cronkite:

"The story behind Cronkite’s reputation as the most trusted man in America has also required some cosmetic attention. In 1972, an opinion research outfit, Oliver Quayle and Company, asked people which public figures they trusted most. Of the choices the company provided, Cronkite came out ahead, scoring seventy-three per cent. CBS was not reluctant to publicize this result; and, informed that he was now the most trusted man in America, Cronkite said, “I’ll be glad to wear the crown.” The poll “confirmed overnight what had long been apparent,” Brinkley writes: “Cronkite was the ultimate reliable source.”

The Quayle poll was a survey of voters in only eighteen states, and the question about trust was a “thermometer” question designed to measure the general level of trust in public figures. Cronkite was the only newsman on the list. All the rest were politicians. In second place behind Cronkite was “average senator” (sixty-seven per cent), followed by Edmund Muskie (sixty-one per cent). As Jack Shafer has noted in Slate, in a survey taken in 1974, specifically of attitudes toward television newscasters, Cronkite finished fourth in the best-liked category, behind Chancellor, Harry Reasoner, and Howard K. Smith. In 1985, a Gallup poll gave Cronkite the highest believability rating among (mostly) people in the news business. By then, of course, he was off the air."

Yes, r1, I remember him. Nice fella if I remember right. Had a hat and glasses.

WHET Herb?

We watched him every night. Then that whippersnapper Rather followed and we switched to Peter Jennings.

He was the OG. They just don’t make em like they used to.

I just saw that Douglas Brinkley said he was corrupt because he used spliced footage of his reactions to a story and changed his views on Vietnam.

[quote] and changed his views on Vietnam.

It was things like that which made him so trustworthy. Unlike today’s newscasters (using the term loosely), he didn’t get mired in one opinion and dig his heels in when more information counter to his original opinion came to light, regardless of how wrong it made his original opinion.

Being able to change your mind based on more evidence and data instead of toeing the party line (any party) is a good thing not seen today.

So rushed to get on the air when JFK was shot that he forgot to put on his suit coat.