Now We Are All Cronkiters

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

With the death of former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite at 92, the torch has been passed. No longer do we get our news from just one person at one time of the day, as if it came from an oracle on a mountaintop.

In two decades (1962-81) as CBS Evening News anchor, Cronkite has reported on the death of one President and the resignation of another, the futility of war in a faraway place, the struggles of the civil rights movement, and the triumph of putting men on the moon.

Cronkite was considered the most trusted man in America, and with good reason. He helped set the standard for broadcast journalism with a passion for getting the story right, and for telling it in a way that reassured viewers that while the world may be going to pieces, we'll be just fine, thanks. (One wonders how he might have covered the attacks of 9/11, the war in Iraq and the election of Barack Obama as President)

Once upon a time, we might have gazed at the TV while Cronkite and his contemporaries were delivering the news, thinking that one day that might be us reporting the big story of the day. Thanks to today's technology, now we can. Anyone with a computer can describe what's happening when you put your video on You Tube, write a blog, take pictures with a cellphone camera, and use social networks. Who knows? It might get picked up by a 24-hour cable news channel.

In Holland, the word for news anchor is Cronkiter. That's exactly what we've become.

As events in Iran recently proved, however, Twitter can only go so far. We still need the disciples of Cronkite to guide us through the complex issues of government, the economy, international affairs, and many other things. During times of triumphs and tragedies, we need them to help make sense of it all. As newspapers go bankrupt and broadcasters cut news staffs to the bare minimum, who is going to do that job? The kid with the video camera?

And that is why Walter Cronkite mattered to so many people during a tumultuous era. We can get our news from just about anywhere, but there are few places you can find that all is right with the world. Cronkite's disciples have a lot to live up to.

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One more thing: On a special CBS Evening News tribute to Cronkite that aired Saturday, current anchor Katie Couric asked CBS executive Les Moonves if he would hire someone like Cronkite today. Moonves said he would. Of course, that person would have to have the brains of Cronkite inside the body of a George Clooney, or a Jessica Alba. Unfortunately, that's the way it is, and always will be.