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Edited on Fri Jul-17-09 08:17 PM by FrenchieCat
of American history throughout the late 40s through the 70s....(he retired in 1980)
He reported on WWII, The murders of JFK, MLK, RFK, The Vietnam War, Watergate, The Apollo moon landing,
and everything in between....
and did so in the objective manner that was once known as ethical journalism....
something that is now extinct.
He was Mr. Television......because he was there when television was started,
and he was there until it died.
Kennedy assassination
Cronkite is vividly remembered by many Americans for breaking the news of the death of President Kennedy on Friday November 22, 1963. Cronkite had been standing at the United Press International wire machine in the CBS newsroom as the bulletin of the President's shooting broke and clamored to get on the air to break the news. However, cameras were not ready for use and Cronkite would be forced to break the news without them while one warmed up.
At 1:40 PM, A "CBS News Bulletin" bumper slide broke into the live broadcast of As the World Turns (ATWT). Over the slide Cronkite began reading:
"Here is a bulletin from CBS News. In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting."
A second bulletin arrived as Cronkite was reading the first one, which detailed the severity of President Kennedy's wounds:
"More details just arrived. These details about the same as previously...President Kennedy shot today just as his motorcade left downtown Dallas. Mrs. Kennedy jumped up and grabbed Mr. Kennedy, she called "Oh no!," the motorcade sped on. United Press says that the wounds for President Kennedy perhaps could be fatal. Repeating, a bulletin from CBS News: President Kennedy has been shot by a would-be assassin in Dallas, Texas. Stay tuned to CBS News for further details."
Just before the bulletin cut out, a CBS News staffer was heard saying "Connally too," apparently having just heard the news that Texas Governor John Connally had also been shot while riding in the Presidential limousine with his wife Nellie and Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy.
CBS then rejoined the telecast of As the World Turns during the show's first commercial break. A commercial for Nescafe coffee and a sponsor bumper for the first half of the show that had just completed were then aired, followed by a bumper for the scheduled episode of Route 66 to air that night and a ten second station identification break for the CBS affiliates. Just as ATWT was set to return from break, with show announcer Dan McCullough set to announce the sponsor of the second half of the program, CBS again broke in and was once again forced to use the bulletin bumper slide as the news staff was still waiting for the camera to warm up. In this bulletin Cronkite reported in somewhat greater detail about the assassination attempt, while also breaking the news of Governor Connally's shooting.
"Here is a bulletin from CBS News. Further details on an assassination attempt against President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. President Kennedy was shot as he drove from Dallas Airport to downtown Dallas; Governor Connally of Texas, in the car with him, was also shot. It is reported that three bullets rang out. A Secret Service man has been...was heard to shout from the car, "He's dead." Whether he referred to President Kennedy or not is not yet known. The President, cradled in the arms of his wife Mrs. Kennedy, was carried to an ambulance and the car rushed to Parkland Hospital outside Dallas, the President was taken to an emergency room in the hospital. Other White House officials were in doubt in the corridors of the hospital as to the condition of President Kennedy. Repeating this bulletin: President Kennedy shot while driving in an open car from the airport in Dallas, Texas, to downtown Dallas."
Cronkite then recapped the events as they had happened: that the President and Governor Connally were shot and in the emergency room at Parkland Hospital and no one knew their condition as of yet. He then reminded the viewers that CBS News would continue to provide updates as more information came in.
CBS then decided to return to ATWT, which was now midway through its second segment. The cast had continued to perform live while Cronkite's bulletins broke into the broadcast, apparently unaware of the developing story taking place in Dallas. ATWT then took its second scheduled commercial break. It would be the last anyone would see of the show- or for any normal broadcast television- until Monday November 25.
As he had twice before, Cronkite broke in with an audio-only bulletin accompanied by the (at least for that day) ever-present CBS News Bulletin bumper slide:
"Here is a bulletin from CBS News...President Kennedy has been the victim of an assassin's bullet in Dallas, Texas. It is not known as yet whether the President survived the attack against him."
This particular bulletin went into even more detail than the other two, as for the first time Cronkite detailed where the shooting victims were wounded (Kennedy had been shot in the head, Connally in the chest). At the conclusion of the bulletin Cronkite told viewers to stay tuned for further details, perhaps implying that the network would be returning to regular programming. However, Cronkite remained on the air for the next ten minutes continuing to read bulletins as they were handed to him, followed by recapping the events as they were known and interspersing the new information he'd received where it was appropriate. He also brought up recent instances of assassination attempts against sitting Presidents (including the murder of Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak in a botched assassination attempt on then-President-elect Franklin Roosevelt), as well as a recent attack of United Nations ambassador Adlai Stevenson in Dallas which resulted in extra security measures being taken for Kennedy's visit to the city. He also received word that Congressman Albert Thomas of Texas had been told that for the moment the President and Governor were still alive.
By 2:00 EST, Cronkite was informed that the camera was ready, and told the viewers over the air that CBS would be taking a station identification break so the affiliates could join the network. Within twenty seconds all the CBS affiliates (with the exception of KRLD in Dallas, who was covering the tragedy locally) joined the network's coverage of what was taking place. Cronkite appeared on-air in shirt and tie but without his suit coat, given the urgent nature of the story, and opened with this:
"This is Walter Cronkite in our newsroom in New York. There has been an attempt, as perhaps you know now, on the life of President Kennedy. He was wounded in an automobile driving from Dallas Airport into downtown Dallas, along with Governor Connally of Texas. They have been taken to Parkland Hospital there, where their condition is as yet unknown."
Cronkite then tried to throw to KRLD's coverage of the Dallas Trade Mart meeting that the President was supposed to address, but the camera was not ready. After a few seconds Cronkite started speaking again, but shortly after he had begun the broadcast abruptly cut into the aforementioned meeting where the station's news director Eddie Barker was reporting (a director was audibly heard saying "Okay, go ahead. Switch it" while Cronkite was talking). He said that the President was still alive (as Cronkite had been told by the report from Congressman Thomas earlier and directly by Congressman Jim Wright just moments before Barker's report was filed). About five minutes later Barker reported that rumors had begun to circulate that Kennedy was in fact dead.
Cronkite reappeared several minutes after Barker reported that Kennedy was rumored to have been killed, advising that two priests had been called to Kennedy's bedside although the reasons for which were not made clear. He also played an audio report by KRLD's Jim Underwood, recounting that someone had been arrested in the assassination attempt at the Texas School Book Depository. After said report, Cronkite was told that KRLD was reporting that that the President was dead and Barker was reporting that he had been told by a doctor at Parkland Hospital of the President's death. While the coverage continued at the Dallas Trade Mart meeting Barker said that the assassination was officially confirmed, but neither the Associated Press or United Press International had done so. He then retracted the statement, saying that it still had yet to officially be confirmed that the President was dead. Shortly thereafter CBS stopped showing KRLD's coverage and returned to their own coverage of the incident.
As he had been doing, Cronkite again reported the events as they were known. At 2:27 PM EST, word reached Cronkite of a report filed by Dallas bureau chief Dan Rather, which had stated that the President was dead but was unconfirmed. Rather's report had been originally given to CBS Radio, which relayed the report as if Kennedy actually was dead. There was some debate going on in the newsroom at the time whether or not to air said report. Cronkite delivered the news to the nation. Since Rather's report, as he had delivered it, only theorized that the President was dead and no word to that effect had come from any wire service (although Kennedy had died nearly thirty minutes before Rather's report was filed), Cronkite stressed that the report was not an official confirmation of the President's death and continued to report on the incident as if the President was still alive.
Further information: Timeline of the John F. Kennedy assassination
Cronkite later reported that the priest (Father Oscar Huber) called in to perform the Last Rites to the President did not believe that he was dead when he performed them, seeming to contradict what Barker and Rather had been reporting (and contrary to what Huber had told other reporters on the scene, as he had said Kennedy was dead when he entered the room to perform the Last Rites and had to pull back a sheet covering his body to perform them). Ten minutes later he received a report that the two priests who were with Kennedy were now saying that he was dead, declaring that it was as close to official as they could get. However, Cronkite continued to stress that there was no official confirmation of the death of Kennedy from the hospital (although his words seemed to indicate that this was the most likely outcome).
Cronkite then continued to report for the next several minutes while still waiting official word of the President's apparent death. While continuing to affirm that there was no official confirmation he reminded viewers that the priests, Rather, and several government sources were relaying word that in fact Kennedy was dead. At approximately 2:38 p.m. EST, Cronkite was remarking on the increased security presence in Dallas for the President's visit for fear of protests, bringing up the assault on Adlai Stevenson again. While Cronkite was speaking one of two news editors who had been standing by the newsroom's two wire machines pulled a bulletin from the Associated Press machine and began walking toward Cronkite's desk with it.
"Throughout the streets of Dallas, the Dallas Police have been augmented by some 400 policemen called in on their day off because there were some fears and concerns in Dallas that, uh...that there might be demonstrations, at least, that could embarrass the President. Because it was only on October 24 that our ambassador of the United Nations, Adlai Stevenson, was assaulted in Dallas leaving a dinner meeting there..."
Just as he had said that, the editor handed Cronkite the bulletin. Cronkite stopped speaking, put on his eyeglasses, looked over the bulletin sheet for a moment, took off his glasses, and made the official announcement:
From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official: (reading AP flash) "President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time." (glancing up at clock) 2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago.
After making that announcement, Cronkite paused briefly, put his glasses back on and swallowed hard to maintain his composure. There was noticeable emotion in his voice as he intoned the next sentence of the news report:
"Vice President Johnson *cough* has left the hospital in Dallas, but we do not know to where he has proceeded. Presumably, he will be taking the oath of office shortly and become the 36th president of the United States."
With emotion still in his voice, Cronkite then proceeded as he had before in recapping the events after collecting himself, this time incorporating wire photos of Kennedy's visit to Dallas that had been taken during the day and telling viewers what the pictures signified. After that Cronkite reminded the viewers one final time that it had now been confirmed that the President was dead, that Vice President Johnson was now the President and was to be sworn in (although he would not be for another hour), that Governor Connally's condition was still unknown but many reports said that he was still alive, and that there was no report if the assassin had been captured (despite the reports of arrests earlier at the Texas School Book Depository). He then tossed coverage of the events to colleague Charles Collingwood and left the newsroom, but would return several hours later to anchor The CBS Evening News as scheduled.
Footage from this historic broadcast was featured in the opening scenes of Oliver Stone's film JFK.
Two days later, at 2:33 PM EST on November 24, Cronkite broke into CBS' coverage of the memorial services in Washington to relay news regarding a situation that Harry Reasoner, his colleague, had earlier broken into the funeral coverage to report:
From our CBS newsroom in New York, a bulletin: Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who Dallas police say killed President Kennedy, himself is dead. He was cut down by a single bullet an hour and fifteen minutes before he died in Parkland Hospital in a room just ten feet from that room where President Kennedy died. He was being taken from the Dallas City Jail to to the Dallas County Jail but in the basement of the Dallas City Jail, before he left that building, he was shot. The man Dallas police seized at the scene and are holding has been identified as Jack Rubenstein, known in Dallas as Jack Ruby, a man who years ago moved to Dallas from Chicago and was operating two nightclubs, and well-known nightclubs, in Dallas. He is fifty-two years old, balding, with black hair. He is being held by the Dallas police, who say they will charge him with the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald
Referring to his coverage of Kennedy's assassination, in a 2006 TV interview with Nick Clooney Cronkite recalled:
"I choked up, I really had a little trouble...my eyes got a little wet... was just all lost to us. Fortunately, I grabbed hold before I was actually ."
In a 2003 CBS special commemorating the 40th anniversary of the assassination, Cronkite said that he was standing at the United Press wire machine when the bulletin broke and was clamoring to get on the air as fast as was possible. Recalling his reaction upon having the death confirmed to him, he said:
And when you finally had to say it's official, the President is dead...pretty tough words in a situation like that. And they were, um, hard to come by.
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