Where’s Walter Cronkite When We Need Him?
Some of you may not recognize the name of the man who was once referred to as “The Most Trusted Man In America.”
During World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, news media began to grow into it’s own.
Edward R. Morrow paved the way for future reporters and the talking head, highly paid, TV anchors of today.
Walter Cronkite (above) followed Douglas Edwards as The CBS Evening News anchor and became the go to source for breaking news anywhere in the world from the 60s to the 80s.
When JFK was assassinated we all watched Walter non-stop for three days. He was the voice of the nation at the time.
After his retirement we realized that Walter was a flaming liberal.
No longer restricted by reporting just the facts from his anchor chair Cronkite came out of the liberal news closet and began to express his opinion on things.
However, you’d never have known he was liberal while on the air, well most people didn’t know, because he never injected his personal opinion into the story — unlike today’s ratings happy anchors.
Dan Rather, who left CBS News in disgrace after using forged documents about President George Bush’s military service, followed Cronkite.
And it's been pretty well downhill ever since.
If you don’t believe that anchors interject their personal feelings into their news reporting you only had to watch election night results to see unbridled bias from the major news channels.
As it became more and more certain that Donald Trump would win the presidency you would have thought the world, as we know it was ending.
I'm sure glad they weren't the most trusted anchors in America. I guess they’re too young to have lived through Carter.
News In America
News has always been free and loose with the truth. No newsman would have even considered reporting the physical condition of Franklin Roosevelt during World War II.
Who would rally around a president that couldn’t stand or walk?
But the news media had no problem reporting on every physical misstep of President Gerald Ford.
The first president who appeared to be walking on marbles most of the time.
JFK’s back problems were kept well under wraps while Ronald Reagan’s age and senility were front-page news on a daily basis.
News Media Targets Trump
Most presidents have ignored the news media. So they felt they had a free hand to report or say almost anything. Right or Wrong.
Fake new on page one. Retraction of fake news on page 10.
Today you’d be hard pressed to find any 24/7 news networks reporting anything accurately. A Walter Cronkite type anchor is now officially extinct.
Even a Jurassic Park scenario couldn’t bring someone with those ethics back in front of the cameras.
Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime other than Harry Truman to take on the press. I for one applaud him for that. It’s been sorely needed for a long time.
Some Final Thoughts
The bottom line here is ratings. Undercover video has pretty well confirmed that rather than report news why not follow the lead of the National Enquirer and lower yourself to tabloid journalism?
If it bleeds it leads — that’s the old fourth estate manifesto. If our target demographic want’s stories about Trump and the Russians then that’s the non-stop 24/7 narratives.
I’m to the point I’m not even comfortable with multiple sources anymore — unless I can pinpoint their underlying agenda.
Where do you go for unbiased news? I desperately need a Walter Cronkite.
Comments below