Coverage of the US space program and Moon Landing:

During CBS’s coverage of the July 20, 1969 moon landing, about two out of every three american households were tuned to CBS to hear Walter Cronkite report the events as they unfolded. Cronkite was himself a vocal supporter of the space program. This broadcast is famous for the amount emotion and visible excitement that Cronkite displays while he is watching man first step foot on the moon’s surface. In the above compilation of CBS coverage, Cronkite can be seen rubbing his hands together in exhilaration and exclaiming a breathless, “whew…boy” when astronaut Neil Armstrong first set foot on the surface. The Apollo missions were exhaustively covered in the news media, but it was Walter Cronkite who delivered the first images of man on the moon. Cronkite remained on-air for an astounding 27 of the 30 hours that the Apollo 11 took to complete its mission.

Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination Report:

Cronkite reported on the Assassination of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on April 4, 1968. The broadcast is remembered for its plain language and detailed descriptions of the killing. As he was during the JFK assassination, Cronkite was once again a steadying force during a time of national sorrow.

1968 Democratic National Convention: 

During the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Cronkite was anchoring the CBS network coverage as violence broke out outside the convention, as well as scuffles inside the building. When reporter Dan Rather was punched to the floor by security live, on-air. Cronkite famously commented, “I think we’ve got a bunch of thugs here, Dan”.

The Beatles First time on American Television:

Most poeple have been told that The Beatles made their American TV debut on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. In actuality, the band was featured on an episode of CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. Ed Sullivan was watching the story, and right after the newscast was over, he called Walter Cronkite. Two months later, the Beatles gave their famous perfomance on the Ed Sullivan Show. If not for Cronkite, the Beatles may have had a much different experience on their early days in the United States.