Legendary newsman Walter Cronkite, 92, dies at home

Walter Cronkite, the iconic television news anchor whose steady delivery and dignified bearing during turbulent times led him to be known as “the most trusted man in America,” died Friday after a long illness. He was 92.

Mr. Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. at his Manhattan, N.Y., home surrounded by his family. The cause of his death was cerebrovascular disease, his longtime chief of staff, Marlene Adler, told the Associated Press.

The baritone-voiced broadcaster took the helm of the “CBS Evening News” in 1962 and became the face of American news for two tumultuous decades. Over the course of his celebrated career, he broke the news of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, reported extensively on the Vietnam War and Watergate, and announced that a man had walked on the moon.

“He was a great broadcaster and a gentleman whose experience, honesty, professionalism and style defined the role of anchor and commentator,” said CBS Corp. Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves.

President Obama said Friday that Mr. Cronkite “set the standard by which all others have been judged.”

“He was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day, a voice of certainty in an uncertain world,” said Mr. Obama. “He was family. He invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down. This country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and he will be truly missed.”

Mr. Cronkite was the first television broadcaster to be called “anchor,” a title coined for him in his role as coordinator of CBS’ coverage of the 1952 Democratic and Republican national conventions. His name literally became synonymous with “anchorman” in Sweden, where broadcast anchors are known as “Kronkiters,” and in Holland, where they’re “Cronkiters.”

Mr. Cronkite helped “define the job,” former CNN anchor Aaron Brown, who covered the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and later hosted the network’s “NewsNight,” told The Washington Times .

“I think the rest of us, quite honestly, followed his script,” Mr. Brown said.

Mr. Cronkite’s signature sign-off line, “And that’s the way it is,” was one of the most instantly recognized television phrases of the day, right up there with “Here’s Johnny!”

His straightforward Midwestern persona and intrinsic decency made him the ideal messenger for an era of bad news. In his signature broadcast, he took of his glasses and blinked back tears as he informed grief-stricken Americans that their young president had been shot in Dallas.

Six years later, he could barely contain his sense of awe and wonder as astronaut Neil Armstrong took his giant leap for mankind. “He had a passion for human space exploration, an enthusiasm that was contagious, and the trust of his audience. He will be missed,” Mr. Armstrong said of Mr. Cronkite on Friday.

Mr. Cronkite maintained a lifelong interest in space exploration, narrating an IMAX film about the space shuttle and covering astronaut John Glenn’s return to space after 30 years. In 2006, he was honored by NASA as an Ambassador of Exploration, the only non-astronaut or NASA employee to receive the award.

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