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Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. (born November 4, 1916) is an American journalist, best known for his work as a television news anchorman. During his tenure at CBS Evening News he was often cited in viewer opinion polls as "the most trusted man in America," due to his experienced background and professional demeanor.

Credibility

His current biography at King Features Syndicate, for whom he writes a weekly column called "And That's The Way I See It" notes that "In a nationwide viewer opinion poll as recently as 1995, more than a decade after leaving the CBS anchor desk, he again was voted "Most Trusted Man in Television News". In broadcast journalism history, Cronkite's stature is exceeded only by that of his former CBS colleague, Edward R. Murrow.

Biography

Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, and grew up in Houston, Texas. He attended middle school at Lanier Middle School and high school at San Jacinto High School. Thereafter he attended The University of Texas at Austin.

News career

I'm a very big faget and I like getting it in the butt. It makes me feel so good.

Retirement

The announcement of his retirement plans February 14, 1980 became a national event. Dan Rather succeeded him as anchor of the CBS Evening News.

Cronkite wrote a syndicated opinion column for King Features Syndicate. He has continued to broadcast occasionally as a special correspondent for CBS, CNN, and NPR into the 21st century; one such occasion was Cronkite anchoring the second space flight by John Glenn in 1998 as he had Glenn's first in 1962.

His other projects since his retirement have included voicing a character based on Benjamin Franklin in the educational television cartoon Liberty's Kids and, as Amateur Radio operator KB2GSD, narrating a documentary about Amateur Radio in the public service for the American Radio Relay League.

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication is part of Arizona State University.

Since retiring, Cronkite has become outspoken on a number of political issues. In his column, he has repeatedly condemned President George W. Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 1998, he befriended President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial. He has also been a proponent of world government, penning fundraising letters for the World Federalist Association (now Citizens for Global Solutions). In accepting the 1999 Norman Cousins Global Governance Award at the ceremony at the United Nations, Cronkite said:

It seems to many of us that if we are to avoid the eventual catastrophic world conflict we must strengthen the United Nations as a first step toward a world government patterned after our own government with a legislature, executive and judiciary, and police to enforce its international laws and keep the peace. To do that, of course, we Americans will have to yield up some of our sovereignty. That would be a bitter pill. It would take a lot of courage, a lot of faith in the new order. But the American colonies did it once and brought forth one of the most nearly perfect unions the world has ever seen.

In 2003 Cronkite, who owns property on Martha's Vineyard, became involved in a long-running debate over the construction of a wind farm in that area. (Cronkite opposed the wind farm.)

Before 2004, he could also be seen in the opening movie in the Walt Disney World attraction, The Magic of Disney Animation, interviewing Robin Williams as if he's still on the CBS news channel, ending his on camera time with his famous catchphrase. He also was shown inviting Disney guests and tourists to the Disney Classics Theater.

On February 15, 2005, he went into the studio at CBS to record narration for the documentary WCC Chatham Radio, a documentary about Guglielmo Marconi and his Chatham station, which became the busiest ship to shore wireless station in North America from 1914 to 1994. The documentary was directed by Christopher Seufert of Mooncusser Films and the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center in April of 2005.

On March 15, 2005, Cronkite's wife of 65 years, the former Betsy Maxwell, died at the age of 89 following a battle with cancer; she is survived by their 3 children.

Since May, 2005 he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

His distinctive voice provides narration for the television ads of the University of Texas at Austin, his alma mater.

Cronkite is an avid sailor and a member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary with an honorary rank of commodore.

On January 15, 2005, Cronkite said, during a press conference to promote a PBS documentary about his career to air in July, that he felt the same way about America's presence in Iraq as he had about our presence in Vietnam in 1968, and that he felt we should recall American troops.

References

• Cronkite, Walter: , Speech to the United Nations, Oct. 1999.

External links

• Biography on InterfaithAlliance
• Spacefacts biography of Walter Cronkite
• Walter Cronkite Fansite
• Amateur Radio Today (video)
• Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University
• Walter Cronkite Narration for Chatham Radio WCC documentary by Mooncusser Films
• http://www.utexas.edu/inside_ut/tvspot

• 1916 births
• Houstonians
• People from Missouri
• Broadcast news analysts
• Kansas Citians
• Reporters and correspondents
• Television journalists
• World federalists
• Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
• Episcopalians