We Choose The Moon - Forty Years Ago Today

[foots]

What's sad is that Michael Jackson will  overshadow Cronkite's death too. The media seems to concentrate not on reporting news, but on ratings. They're not interested in someone's death (even a huge icon such as Cronkite) unless there are scandals or other forms of "dirt".

[Phonesrfun]

Foots, I am afraid you are dead on there!

Last night, at the height of Cronkite reporting, there was one station covering Cronkite all the way;  CNN.  However, it was a lot of repeats later on in the evening.  Fox and MSNBC also had a lot of Cronkite, but not as much.  I was flabbergasted to see that two other stations were still doing the tabloid style reporting of Michael.

In both cases, it was repeat, repeat, repeat.  However, in one segment on one of the shows, one person quoted Cronkite as addressing the issue of talking just for the sake of keeping from having dead air space.  The quote was something like:  "Nothing spices up a news show like having a little news to report."

-Bill

[Dennis Markham]

Bill your posting is right-on, as are the others.  Thank you all for sharing this.  When I heard of the death of Walter Cronkite last night I was saddened.  It's very difficult to explain.  As a kid I watched the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite with my father, every night.  The rest of the world was busy at our house (9 kids in the family) but my father and I would sit and watch the news.  Anyone that walked through the room better be quiet when Walter was on the television.

I think Bill as you mentioned recalling the events that Walter covered, you were right on in that it is a re-cap of events that took place in my life-time.  I feel very fortunate to have been alive to experience the growing pains of our Country during the 50's & 60's and on up through today.  I got a little choked up when I heard of his passing.  Not only because of the loss of a great piece of our American heritage but I think a little bit of our own life dies too.  People like him and other famous people that have died recently actually are the thread that makes up the fabric of our own lives.  So when they die a piece of our being is gone too---if that makes any sense.

As a kid growing up I always wanted to be in radio or television doing the news.  Other kids wanted to be firemen or policemen or the usual thing.  I wanted to be a broadcaster.  Funny how things work out as I never pursued that field but have watched the careers of many of the broadcasters, even locally.  I have a video tape of  Walter's last broadcast on the CBS Evening News.  A friend of mine that always got the latest things first had this huge machine called a Video Cassette Recorder.  It was  the first one I had ever seen.  I was amazed that one could pop in a cassette tape and record a television show and watch it immediately afterward.   I remember the date because it was my father's birthday.  After introducing his replacement---Dan Rather----Walter signed off.  "........and that's the way it is, Friday March 6th, 1981.............."  I cannot believe that it has been 28 years since that day.

I have had the opportunity to visit The Sixth Floor museum in Dallas, Texas.  It is the book depository building from where JFK was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald.  I have been there at least three times.  If any of you are ever in the area it is a must see.  For those of us that lived during that time it is an emotional visit to the day that JFK was killed.  A kaleidoscope of images and sounds.  Included is a video that runs continuously.  The video of Walter Cronkite reporting on the death of the President.  A time in which it was obvious that moved Walter as well.

I don't think we will see another like Walter Cronkite in our lifetime.  He was a special man and important part the growth of our Nation in the 20th Century.

I will miss "Uncle Walter".

[Phonesrfun]

Dennis:

You expressed it extremely well.

Its going to be 102 here today, so I have my Kymco 250 motor scooter loaded up with soda, and I am heading for a ride in the Blue Mountains in NE Oregon.

Cheers,

-Bill

[bingster]

Last night, at the height of Cronkite reporting, there was one station covering Cronkite all the way;  CNN. 

I found that very interesting.  On CBS there was regular programming, and all the heavy-hitters at CBS called in to CNN to talk about Cronkite.  CBS should be ashamed of that.

I also didn't realize until last night that his retirement was forced by William Paley's strict age limit for correspondents.  I was flabbergasted that the higher-ups would even consider applying a rule like that to such a towering figure at the height of his popularity.

[HobieSport]

Here's a few pics of Cronkite over the years.