A precious legacy
ignored today, still offers
great hope and promise for tomorrow.
Objective journalism, in his
Mind, was an oxymoron. To Him it was
absurd pretend that certain facts were in dispute. Ignoring or downplaying the truth to give the
appearance of fairness was inherently dishonest. He had no intention of placating
those who would never accept the truth, even in light of a preponderance of
proof. To Walter, objectivity was
irrelevant, for it had nothing to do with truth, logic or reality.
It was his half-hour report on February 27, 1968 on
the Tet Offensive in Vietnam that shone the bright light of truth on
all the lies Americans had been told about that war. Cronkite's
continuous reporting on the carnage became the impetus in Americans demanding
an end to our involvement in Southeast Asia. It was after the airing
of his documentary that President Johnson was rumored to have said: “If
I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America."
In 1972, as the Watergate scandal
was developing, multiple attacks were launched to discredit the Washington Post
and Woodward and Bernstein by the most powerful forces in America. Cronkite’s reporting on their efforts gave
them the credibility they needed and thus acted as a springboard for them to
continue with their investigation.
Cronkite was
the epitome of integrity, journalistic responsibility and professionalism -
none of which are valued to any significant
degree by today’s journalists and news media outlets.
And that is
precisely why the Walter Cronkite’s and Edward R. Murrow’s are so very
important today. For they are the
idyllic models waiting to be resurrected for future journalists to once again
emulate. Without their legacy of
excellence, the Fourth Estate is rudderless – with no hope of being any better
than they are today – Which bodes badly for America tomorrow.
“And
that’s the way it is this Tuesday July 30, 2019”
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