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I made it home from my week long management and motivational seminar in Nashville in one piece. I actually scored 100% on my final exam which was completely unexpected in spite of all of the time I put in studying the concepts. I couldn't resist buying a crave case of White Castle Slyders on the way home to share with my family. They didn't last long...
Upon arriving home I learned that Walter Cronkite had passed away. I have lots of memories of Walter and the CBS evening newscast he anchored from 1962-1981. To those of us above a certain age, Walter Cronkite simply was the voice of the news. Interesting historical fact-the word "anchor" or "anchorman" to describe a television newscaster was coined specifically in Cronkite's honor during his excellent coverage of the 1952 coverage of the Democrat and Republican conventions. So Walter really was the first "news anchor!" Cronkite was so popular worldwide that purportedly in Sweden television news anchors were once called simply "Cronkiters." This is reportedly due to the fact that the term "News Anchor" simply didn't translate well into Swedish and Cronkite's personal brand was so strong and identifiable worldwide.
Cronkite will be remembered for his excellent coverage of some pivotal events. These include his steady handed coverage of the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, his controversial observation during the Vietnam War Tet Offensive that the war was unwinnable and his crucial analysis of the impact of the devastation of the Mississippi Gulf Coast during hurricane Camille-which was considerably worse than Katrina for Mississippi but has been largely forgotten or ignored by the modern news media. He also covered the incident at Three Mile Island, the Iran Hostage situation and so much more. He was the man America trusted to bring the news into their homes in a timely and accurate fashion...his death reminds us what a great man he truly was...and he will be missed.
...and that's the way it is...
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