Walter Cronkite - Rumors of his death...

"The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated"

Though the quote is Mark Twain, I can hear the gravelly well loved and trusted voice of Walter Cronkite grumbling through the phrase.

The rumors of Walter Cronkite’s demise have surfaced again and not for the first time.
And not for the first time are the reports wrong.

What reason major news cast insist on burying this man before his time fails to astound me, yet I cheer and give a standing ovation Mr. Cronkite so richly deserves when the ugly rumors are proved to be just that, and the truth surfaces he is in fact alive and well!

The 92-year-old former anchor of “The CBS Evening News,” who has been ailing for some time, has reportedly taken a turn for the worse, according to TVNewser and other online sites.

link to article

False.

Liz Smith of Variety was quoted as saying Mr. Cronkite died years ago.

While shamefaced, she cleared up the mistake and went on to report not only was Mr. Cronkite alive, but had a very attentive and loving girlfriend at age of 90.

Now a year later once again the rumors have resurface, and yet, just to prove you can’t keep a good man down, Walter Cronkite is still living.

CBS, Cronkite’s home for nearly 20 years, where in 1952 the term Anchorman was first coined in conjunction with a telejournalist in reference to Mr. Cronkite, knows better than to comment.

CBS isn’t commenting on reports that veteran newsman Walter Cronkite is gravely ill.

Until the rumor is found yet again to be false.

"He has suffered no major health crisis. He is at home. He was recently ill, and he's home recuperating. He's not gravely ill."

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Walter Cronkite the foremost news journalist of our time and known as "The worlds most trusted man" was there to bring the world hope yet a cuttingly clean and clear opinion of world events such as;

Covering Cuban Missile Crisis
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Apollo11 landing
The Vietnam War
The Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Watergate

Ending each broadcast with his famous line: "And that's the way it is"

His only deviation from the famous closing line to his broadcast began on January 16, 1980, “Day 50″ of the Iran hostage crisis, Cronkite added the length of the hostages’ captivity to the show’s closing to remind the audience of the unresolved situation, ending only on “Day 444″, January 20, 1981. link


During the Johnson presidency Cronkite was a favorite of Johnson and only a phone call away which the President took advantage of many times, reportedly (and confirmed by Mr. Cronkite).

President Johnson while watching the CBS evening news, would call Mr. Cronkite while he was still airing, screaming at secretaries until Mr. Cronkite was actually off air, then demand a retraction from Cronkite over a controversial story the Anchorman had just reported.
Mr. Cronkite would listen, and go right back to reporting the news his own way.

During the Vietnam war Cronkite delivered a controversial editorial reporting the war was far from won.

“If I’ve lost Walter Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America." President Johnson said.

link

About a month later the President signed a cease fire with Vietnam and dropped out of the Presidential race.


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So, putting all conspirators seemingly hounding for his death firmly in their place, yet again, Mr. Cronkite is still with us and coming from a family where longevity is the rule (His mother living to 101) I do hope he’s with us for a long time to come.

At the end of his final broadcast, Cronkite said in part, “Furthermore, I’m not even going away! I’ll be back from time to time with special news reports and documentaries.
“Old anchormen, you see, don’t fade away; they just keep coming back for more. And that’s the way it is: Friday, March 6, 1981.”

Quotes: Walter Cronkite

Supporting Link


[edit on 23-6-2009 by silo13]

Walter Cronkite.

What a guy.

He turned on his country and dishonored the US efforts to contain Communism and protect liberty and those who sacrificed so much for the cause.

What a legacy.

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


Couldnt agree more....Great man? pft

A shameful excuse for a journalist IMO.

He abused the power he knew he had over the American People.
Go research his "unbiased journalism".

S & F

Interesting it's going to take me some time to read through all of that. I'll either edit this or post another reply.

Great job.

Hmmm...

This post might get interesting...

I'm learning things I never knew about Walter Cronkite.

Stay tuned...

peace

reply to post by Remixtup


Would you be willing to post a link.
Since you made that claim maybe you can enlighten the rest of us.
Thanks

Walter Cronkite.

November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009

My sympathy to his friends and family.







Rest In Peace Walter.

Myself and my husband must have heard one of these rumors a long time ago, because when we heard he had died today, our first repsonse was suprise, we thought he died about 20 yrs ago.