This is a very sad day not only for the journalism field, but for our country. The legendary Walter Cronkite died at the age of 92. Cronkite retired before I was born and so my generation never saw him report the news on a daily basis. However, my parents told me he was one of the best when it came to telling a story, almost as if he were in the living room and was part of the family telling everyone the news of the day. He covered it all.....the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King, Watergate, and the Vietnam War to name a few. Cronkite was the historian for many milestone world events.
Lately, I have been extremely frustrated with the news business. There have been many layoffs and cutbacks at news affiliates nationwide. It seems massive amounts of content is preferred over good quality news. I think we're too caught up in how fast we can get something on the air as opposed to using creative ways to capture the viewer's attention. I have worked for a CBS affiliate in Wheeling, West Virginia the past 2 years. Recently, I resigned from my position as an anchor and a reporter. I truly enjoy the work in the news business, but I could not bring myself to walk through the doors everyday where issues of overtime and staffing trump what news we need to cover for the day. I have had one of my worst weeks both personally and professionally and I won't go into those matters. Just when I thought I couldn't stay in the news businesses any longer, Cronkite's death reminds me how important news is and it's a public duty to inform.
Everyone should take notes of Cronkite's career even if you're not in the news business. He reported stories with precision, thoroughness, and he was honest to the public. Those are qualities we should all try to emulate.
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