Walter Cronkite talks on the phone at his office, prior to his final newscast as CBS anchorman on March 6, 1981, in New York City. (AP Photo)
“And that’s the way it is….” or was, when Walter Cronkite set the standard for television news reporting on CBS from 1962 to 1981. Anyone who is middle age and up will remember Cronkite, who was cited as “the most trusted man in America.”
When Cronkite signed off each newscast with those words, you believed him. Some regional news anchors in that era came from the same mold. Dave Moore reported local news WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, a CBS affiliate. Younger people should learn about them, and older people should remember.
“Walter Cronkite signed off — and trust in the press steadily eroded,” reads the headline for an Aug. 6 article by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. “Once a voice of authority, the decline of trust in the press has mirrored the rise of a more fragmented, polarized media world.”
I wonder what Cronkite and Moore would say about what has happened with CBS and other major networks, and some major newspapers, about their news coverage of the current occupant of the federal executive office. Or lack of real news coverage.
As a former newspaper reporter and editor, I trained for and practiced journalism, inspired by the examples of Cronkite and the nation’s many professional journalists. We revered facts and accuracy, with high standards that almost seemed unattainable. We were embarrassed and deeply chagrined by errors and printed corrections. Today if that were true for outlets such as Fox, Newsmax, or OAN, that would be significant portion of their content.
I wonder what Cronkite and Moore would say about the recent fancy graphic when WCCO reports on “The Trump Presidency.” It almost seems as if that is part of the deal between the FCC and CBS, to require that local affiliates report on the antics of the administration as if they were real and significant news.
The deal, according to an NPR story, was “Redstone and Paramount to secure the approval of the Federal Communications Commission to sell the company to Skydance Media, a deal bankrolled by Oracle founder Larry Ellison, a Trump ally.” And part of the deal, was CBS’ cancellation of “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert.
Court jesters
On many evenings I enjoy watching Colbert, appreciating his intelligence, wit, and character. Along with Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers, they serve in a role with a long history. Centuries ago, when monarchs ruled, court jesters provided, along with entertainment, satire that helped to drain tensions arising from the faults and errors of monarchs.
If the current administration wishes to transform into a monarchy, you could almost, but not quite, argue that it should welcome the court jesters. What’s a little needling as long as it helps you stay in power? That’s not likely here as the authoritarian wannabes have no sense of humor. Sarcastic and demeaning comments and lies about opponents or people on the margins are not humor.
What is humorous, is the belief among the dealmakers that cancelling “The Late Show” will remove Colbert’s voice. More likely, it will be just the opposite. Colbert will show up somewhere, on cable, a podcast or streaming some new video show.
Speaking out
On the news and commentary side, it was also disappointing to see Jonathan Capehart having no choice but to leave the Washington Post editorial staff. In making the announcement Friday, Aug. 1 on MSNBC, Capehart had the courage to speak out against an edict to “communicate with optimism” about the country and the future when he believes “we’re living in the here-and-now where American democracy is in peril.”
A similar message comes from New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. His Aug. 4 column, “The America We Knew Is Rapidly Slipping Away,” concludes with this chilling line, “… though I am a congenital optimist, for the first time I believe that if the behavior that this administration has exhibited in just its first six months continues and is amplified for its full four years, the America you know will be gone. And I don’t know how we will get it back.”
The news departments of various media have always dealt with pressure to soft pedal or ignore embarrassing news. In the past the mostly came from the business side and advertisers. Today, seeing it come from the nation’s highest elected office is truly chilling.
Professional journalism
With all the current pressures, I can’t imagine working in the news media today, other than part-time freelance work of my own choosing. Yet, I am impressed by the numbers and caliber of young people attending journalism schools. They are committed to professional reporting, with the main difference today being the online platforms.
Recently, I have worked with and have been interviewed by young reporters. They are smart, competent, and dedicated to accurate, factual reporting. Enrollment in journalism schools has declined slightly but remains strong. My alma mater, the University of Minnesota School of Journalism, counts about 800 undergrads. We hope that they will continue with the high standards of professional journalism.
“When the noise is most deafening, the right answer is to simply follow SPJ’s (Society of Professional Journalists) code of ethics and trust in yourself that you’re doing the right thing,” one journalism student said. “We need people checking facts, asking tough questions and challenging the powerful and elite; that is the work I believe to be most important in journalism.”
Walter Cronkite’s name continues in the journalism school at Arizona State University, and the ongoing Walter Cronkite Award for journalistic excellence. His legacy may continue in another prominent name in news and commentary, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell.
O’Donnell frequently rails on the mainstream news media for reporting as news whatever madness spews from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. While his opening monologues at times may seem a bit too intense, his reporting and knowledgeable guests value facts, accuracy, and the pursuit of truth.
I wish there were some way that I could convey that to an old guy whom I saw recently at a farm show. He wore a T-shirt emblazoned on the back with “Don’t believe the liberal news media.” That shows how far we have drifted from the main current of social and political reality.
Maybe the old guy remembers Walter Cronkite, and if so, might reconsider his current attitude about news sources that value facts and accuracy more than ideology. Cronkite is credited for swaying public opinion in 1968 away from the Vietnam War. If only we had someone around today who could do that for the current war on democracy.
