Research Question

Prior to the 1960s, many of the “serious” journalists at CBS and elsewhere viewed television news with great skepticism, if not disdain. It was a time when journalists contended that radio and print were for real reporters; television, they concluded, was for actors or comedians.

This changed; however. The 1960s and 1970s are widely considered, “The golden age of broadcast network news”. At this time, the three broadcast networks, CBS, NBC, and ABC essentially had all of TV to themselves. Becoming the nation’s first Anchorman of a 30-minute broadcast thrust Walter Cronkite into the living rooms of America, where television sets were now commonplace. Walter Cronkite became the face and symbolic representation of broadcast journalism at a time where more and more americans were turning to television as a news source.

With this project, I wanted to explore the legacy and impact of Walter Cronkite in the 1960s, and how his most famous newscasts led to him being named “the most trusted man in America”.

9 comments

  1. Ellen Burroughs

    Wasn’t it Mr. Cronkite who said he wasn’t going to call our soldiers “troops” anymore because they were indeed individuals?

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