Cronkite was passionate about environmental issues and sustainability, long before it was cool to be.An avid sailor, Cronkite became an advocate of the conservation of rivers, lakes, bays, and seas. He kept a framed photo over his desk of the earth rising as seen from the moon, to keep reminding himself to help protect the planet.CBS News producer Ron Bonn recalled precisely when Cronkite put the network on the front line of the fight: It was New Year’s Day, 1970, and Walter walked into the Broadcast Center and said, ‘goddamnit, we’ve got to get on this environmental story. He had held the post since 1962, and is as iconic as the news he covered.As ‘the most trusted man in America’, he reported many events from 1937 to 1981, including:He was also known for his extensive coverage of the U.S. space program, from Project Mercury to the Moon landings to the Space Shuttle.
Good night.Before the Internet, most Americans learned about the world from newspapers and the evening news.
One of Cronkite's most famous news reports was breaking the story about President John F. Kennedy getting shot and killed.
His news broadcasts were an anchor of calm in a turbulent times, like the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the Vietnam War, and the 70s energy crisis.And even though he delved into complicated sociopolitical issues in his news reports, Cronkite signed off his broadcasts by Because this line is perfect for objective journalism, Cronkite would occasionally omit it if his final segment was his own opinion instead of the facts. And Cronkite shared his judgments openly: to make change, we had to demand it.Cronkite’s insisted CBS News played a major role in publicizing the first Earth Day in the United States, on April 22, 1970 which included Even after his retirement on this day in 1981, he was outspoken for the planet.In 2004, he wrote an op-ed that criticized then President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address:(Bush) spoke of the nation’s problems and the dangers it faces, particularly in regard to national security, but he gave no indication that he recognizes the dangers of global warming.Surely it has been brought to his attention that scientists are increasingly alarmed over the rapidity with which the world’s environment is being poisoned by the refuse of human endeavor.
He was the only non-NASA recipient of a Moon-rock award.That’s what most people remember… yet, there is so much more.
Pollution, over-population and even climate change were stories that became major news as a result. CBS News producer Ron Bonn recalled precisely when Cronkite put the network on the front line of the fight: It was New Year’s Day, 1970, and Walter walked into the Broadcast Center and said, ‘goddamnit, we’ve got to get on this environmental story.
This is Walter Cronkite, CBS News. Walter Cronkite's final sign off in 1981. They warn that there is no time to spare: Unless we begin a major effort by the end of this century, further efforts will be too late……The politicians seeking office, including the president seeking reelection, are unlikely to give the environment the attention it deserves unless the people demand it. Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–1981).
And the people aren’t going to demand it unless somebody brings the problem, and particularly its urgency, to their attention.The media has a responsibility on their shoulders whose importance cannot be exaggerated: to give the story of our deteriorating environment the attention it needs to alert the population to action. Walter Cronkite: And that’s the way it was 1 / 27.