Professional Documents
Culture Documents
April 4, 2017
Introduction and Early Life
Walter Cronkite was born on November 4th, 1916 in Missouri; Cronkite claims he was an
adorable baby in his book, A Reports Life, then admits he doesnt know if the nurses actually
made such claims at his birth, illustrating early on his in autobiography his wit. He and his
family relocated to Kansas where they lived in a middle-class apartment. Cronkite often found
himself looking out his window, timing the cars that went by and making various observations of
the events and people looming around his neighborhood. He recalls this being the budding start
of his journalistic instincts. Realizing his passions and fasciation of interesting people he so
often puts in his book he took on his first job in the press selling a magazine called the Liberty.
The magazine sold for a nickel, and Cronkite was allowed to take home one penny of his
earnings of the day. Much to his mothers dismay (out of fear for his safety), Cronkite became a
newspaper delivery boy when he turned nine. His mother would look upon the boy holding as
many papers as he could carry from home to home for pennies a day. However, if it wasnt for
these simple beginnings Cronkite would have never become one of the most iconic and
At age ten the Cronkites moved to Texas marking the start of a prosperous and difficult
path to becoming the most trusted man in America. It was within the first week of living in
Texas that Cronkite was struck with confusion and somber emotion. While visiting with a local
dentist at his home, Cronkite witnessed his first instance of racism- a concept foreign to him at
the time. In Kansas Cronkite recalls knowing it existed but never saw; it because in Kansas both
colored and white peoples moved freely in his society. At least that is what he observed in his
days of people watching out his window. On this particular afternoon, a black delivery boy
carrying a brown sack noticed Dr. Smith (Cronkite refers to the Dentist as Smith in his book to
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evade embarrassing the family) and (presumably) decided to hand the man his goods today as
oppose to leaving them by the kitchen doorway. However, before he could even set foot on the
last step Dr. Smith slapped the boy and told him his porch had no room for colored.
Out of anger and disappointment, Cronkite watched his father fume at the dentist then
dismissed themselves from Dr. Smiths home. The pair walked off and Cronkite, startled,
listened to his father fume about the importance of being objective to all people. At just ten years
old Cronkite after a traumatic experience, Cronkite took that boys pain and discrimination and
turned into a lifetime of looking at people fairly and objectively. This moment remained with
Cronkite, and he carried this experience during the times of greatest change where remained fair
and gave personal commentaries on the importance of moving forward with each other not
against each other. He would display this same kind of innovated attitude again during Vietnam,
when he gave a personal commentary about the ordeal. While his evening news casts were
objective and honest, his personal commentaries portrayed a collected and calm man, telling his
people how we can move forward. Never confusing opinion with news, but drawing clear lines-
When Cronkite entered high school, he became editor of his schools press club called
The Campus Cub. While he was writing about the various topics about adolescences the oil
craze took the interest of all the other men around him. He even once considered a job in mining
engineering as well, but soon discovered it was not his forte when he could not even construct or
figure out how a pulley worked in physics class. He still only cared looking for all the interesting
people in his school. In college Cronkite finally found his voice behind a microphone working
for a local station in Austin (where he attended university) called KNOW. However, the station
had no network press outlets. Being a problem solver and true curious journalistic instinct,
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Cronkite would walk down the street to a smoke shop where he would memorize eight of the
sixteen major league stats on the blackboard the smoke shop kept updated. He would then rush
back to the station to type the information before it fled his memory.
After dropping out of college (because of the overwhelming radio jobs he was receiving)
he met his wife Betsy at one of the various stations he worked at before finding his true place at
the CBS Evening News. He remembers watching her walk through the door and falling in love
with her before ever knowing her name. Betsy supported her wandering newsman all the way to
becoming a house hold name where Cronkite finally found his true home- the evening anchor for
Television had become a regular household item and the symbol of the middle class who
flocked to their television sets every evening to hear Cronkites spiel of the happenings of the
world. The most memorable, arguably cementing Cronkite as the face of breaking news was his
having a heavy a heart upon hearing the news of a man whom he had just spent a vast amount of
time with. Emotionally the toughest moment in his career in journalism; he writes it was one of
the few times on camera he felt as if he was going to lose it. Clearly in pain Cronkite took off his
glasses and rubs his temples, later saying that its safe to show emotion on camera because we
His two greatest challenges, and a battle he felt he often fought was the war on
censorship. The US government denied him and others press access to cover the invasion of
Grenada for 48 hours. Censorship was Cronkites biggest enemy; he felt as if the public had the
right to know about the world around them uncensored- especially militia actions. He claimed
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the men overseas as their men, and pushed the message that we as the public had the right to
know what was happening to our men. In addition, Cronkite showed commitment to the
American people in situations like this. In another instance during the fall of Saigon Cronkite
was unable to report due to a back injury. He jokes about what a trivial problem this was and that
his responsibility to the public was greater than his pain; he writes that he called on a doctor to
tie him to chair so he may still report the inevitable end to Vietnam.
Conclusion
What made Walter Cronkite a great leader and an iconic figure in the media was his
honesty. Through his visible emotions on screen during tough moments (such as the
assassination of Kennedy) that brought people together and his outspoken sense of justice when
people attempted to silence him. Cronkite pledged himself to report only the truth objectively
and as humanely as possible. His human emotional approach (such as the clear excitement he
displayed during the moon landing) made him an empathetic figure on television; he created a
relationship with his viewers without knowing most of them because he told them the true stories
going on in the world around them. Americans trusted him because of the dedication, honesty
and relentless attitude he conveyed to his responsibility in informing the public. He never told
the people what to think but what to think about; which was the biggest attribute in what made
Cronkite a great leader. He set the precedent that the news is not a job, but a responsibility. This
Cronkite has always been a huge inspiration in my life. His commitment to the public,
relentless way of fighting against censorship and most importantly his integrity is what stands
out the most about Walter Cronkite. I learned that if you want people to trust you be honest and
never hide that emotional appeal that makes us human. Have empathy for the people around you
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and remain committed to those people. Being a great leader means being responsible, and
through honesty youll earn that eternal loyalty. Which is how Walter Cronkite became cemented
as the most trusted man in America. Walter Cronkite inspired me, and changed my life by the
way he lived honestly and humbly. His humble-ness and love for his work inspired me to take
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References