Golden Uncle Walter

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The WORDmeister sez: It’s somehow fitting, coming two days after the death of CBS bulldog Mike Wallace at 93, that Monday marked the golden 50th anniversary of the first Walter Cronkite broadcast of the CBS evening news, which changed journalism. Uncle Walter died at 92 in 2009.

And That’s the Way It Was

“(CBS News)—Fifty years ago, John Kennedy was in the White House, and Barack Obama was in diapers. The future of Berlin was in the morning papers, and the future of CBS News moved into the anchor chair.

“‘Good evening from CBS News headquarters in New York. Civil war threatens Algeria tonight,’ Walter Cronkite announced during one of his early broadcasts.” . . .

“‘This is the evening edition of CBS News with Walter Cronkite,’ the announcer proclaimed.

“The new set featured a bank of black-and-white monitors. Variety, the showbiz magazine, called it ‘visual razzmatazz.’ The technology was primitive by today’s standards.” . . .

“Unfortunately, Cronkite’s debut was not recorded. This edition—four months later—is the only known recording of the broadcast from that era. ‘More news in a moment after this word from Aerowax,’ Cronkite said.” . . .

“[Cronkite’s] first broadcast . . . ended in Cronkite inviting viewers to get the details of the stories he’d reported in the next day’s papers. ‘An explosion broke out amongst the suits and management, who were very upset that Walter was sending people to read newspapers instead of coming to him for the news,’ [producer Sanford] Socolow recalled.

“So Cronkite came up with an alternative sign-off, the one he’d use for the next 19 years: ‘And that’s the way it is.’”

—Scott Pelley, CBS News,
“50 years after Cronkite took the anchor chair, his legacy lives on,”
April 16, 2012
VIDEO: CBS News marks historic Cronkite anniversary
VIDEO: A golden Cronkite anniversary

• Editorial Comment: TV advice to read the news in the papers—is that 1962-style convergence?

• RERUN: Dental Hygienists Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs on a study that finds journalism among the worst jobs in 2012, while dental assistants and actuaries rank at the top? Click here.

• 2012 JCOM Awards: The JCOM Department celebrates the end of a GREAT year and congratulates its Class of 2012 Friday at 2 p.m. in the Ag Building Auditorium (#101), followed by a reception and open house of new JCOM offices and labs. Outstanding Student Awards, 2012-13 Scholarships, general hilarity in the last week of classes. Junior Emily Landeen produced this video of student feedback on the department.

News from our award-winning student news site, The Hard News Café
• Weekly HNC News Roundup
• JCOM Prof, SLTrib Photographer Win Journalism Ethics Award
• Laketown man gets August trial date for ER sex charge, by Tmera Bradley
• Richmond Council approves use of building for Zumba class, by Chris Lee
• Sign up now if you want to be in Hyrum’s 4th of July parade and fest, by Tara Alvey
• Aggie journalists collect 17 prizes at annual Mark of Excellence Awards, by D. Whitney Smith
• ATV News (4/12): Fraternity drinking, the BYU ‘It Gets Better’ video, Baby Animal Days . . . and more!
• Remembering the 2005 van crash victims at Ag building memorial, by Allie Jeppson
• GUEST COLUMN: Obama leads the way in kindness, civility, by Helen Cannon
• Should Mormons be vegetarians? Yes, says guest speaker, by Sean O’Sullivan
• Search warrant for dorm room leads to three arrests, by Josh Ruggles
• Up Close at the 2012 Utah Legislature: An Intern’s Perspective, by Lis Stewart

PeezPIX by Ted Pease
Catalog here


Fang the Wonder Cat died last week, 1995-2012
Hairballs in Heaven




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