Walter Cronkite

I just now heard the news: Walter Cronkite is dead at age 92! For many folks the only news we needed to hear came from Walter each weekday evening on CBS. There were only three national television networks in the late 60s and into the 70s when "the most trusted man in America" talked to us during or just after our dinner meal, and CBS had the most viewers during the evening news time. When John Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Walter choked-up on air as he reported the sad news. When men walked on the moon, Walter was excited as he told us all about it. When the incredible tragedies and events of 1968 unfolded, Walter explained them to us. And when Walter offered his opinion about the "stalemate" of the Vietnam conflict, President Johnson knew he had lost the confidence of middle America for the war effort.
Walter Cronkite was a real journalist: He observed events, wrote reports about the happenings, and then talked to us about the events we needed to know about each day.
There were other good journalists of that time, too, but this man was the dean of them all.
He is an excellent reminder to us that one person can make a very, very big impression on the people of his or her time.