WASHINGTON (AFP)--U.S. TV news legend Walter Cronkite, dubbed
"the most trusted man in America" for his calm and honest delivery
during a tumultuous period in US history, died Friday in New York
at the age of 92, said the CBS network, where he spent most of his
career.
Cronkite presented the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981.
During that time he delivered the news on civil rights unrest, the
assassination of president John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam war, the
moon landing, the Cold War, and the Watergate scandal that toppled
president Richard Nixon.
Cronkite's period as a news anchor coincided with a time that
television reigned supreme as the dominant media in the United
States, and three broadcast networks -- CBS, NBC and ABC -- ruled
the airwaves.
"It is impossible to imagine CBS News, journalism or indeed
America without Walter Cronkite," CBS News and Sports President
Sean McManus said in a statement.
"More than just the best and most trusted anchor in history, he
guided America through our crises, tragedies and also our victories
and greatest moments," McManus said.
Don Hewitt, a long-time CBS News staffer who for years was
Cronkite's producer, said that the late newsman set the "gold
standard" for broadcast news.
Hewitt was the producer when Cronkite anchored broadcast of the
first landing on the moon in 1969.
It was "one of the singular moments in television," said Hewitt,
speaking on CNN. "I think deep down he wished it was...he, who was
landing on the moon."
Katie Couric, who currently anchors the CBS Evening News, said
she was impressed with "the glee he exhibited when...he was
anchoring a space launch."
Couric told CNN that Cronkite "had sort of an adolescent
enthusiasm, it's been said, about the space program, this unbridled
joy in terms of reporting that story, and a huge interest in
science as well."
The late newsman "was the personification of integrity and
decency and humanity," said Couric. "He really connected with the
audience."
Brian Williams, the evening anchor on rival NBC News, told MSNBC
that "Cronkite used to address the nation; other people delivered
the news."
The esteem that Americans had for Cronkite was highlighted in a
1972 opinion poll that found him more trusted than any politician,
religious leader or sports hero.
"No one quarrelled with it. The moniker stuck to him forever,"
said Williams, who described Cronkite as "the first modern-day
anchor."
"There will never be a newsman again, ever, who will have that
clout," said another long-time broadcaster, Larry King, 75, on
CNN.
"It's too diffuse now, there are too many channels, too many
areas, too many...broadcasters," said King, referring to the
non-stop 24-hour news cycle.
Cronkite "could change public opinion, no one broadcaster could
do that. No one could touch it. Cronkite came back from Vietnam and
he changed it," King said.
The former CBS anchor died in his New York home surrounded by
relatives, CBS said, without giving the cause of death.
The Washington Post, quoting relatives, reported that for years
Cronkite had been suffering from cerebrovascular disease.