Walter Cronkite, RIP

Back when I was growing up, my Dad watched Walter Cronkite virtually every night, and his was a more familiar voice and face than even some of my relatives. I remember his hosting the various NASA launchings throughout the sixties, and I remember him from a couple of programs that I always took to be aimed at kids-- The 20th Century and You Are There-- though I'm sure a lot of adults enjoyed (and learned from them) too. (Sidenote: why doesn't someone release those classic programs on DVD?). I generally don't make a big deal out of media/entertainment retirements, last shows and the like, but I remember making a special effort to make sure I didn't miss Cronkite's last regular broadcast in 1981: I was out of the house, and realizing that his sign-off was imminent, made my way to a nearby department store to watch it on the whole row of TV screens on display in the electronics department. Having studied media history, I still think of Edward R. Murrow as the dean of broadcast journalists, but Cronkite wasn't far behind. Although both were associated with CBS, Cronkite was not one of the "Murrow Boys" recruited by Murrow to the network during the World War II years. But when Cronkite became their colleague later on (during the war he was a correspondent for the AP), he quickly established he was the equal of Charles Collingwood, Eric Severeid, Larry LeSeuer, Howard K. Smith, and the others in terms of erudition and integrity; and perhaps surpassed them in demonstrating as strong an empathy for his audience as for the stories he covered. It's a sad commentary to realize that we're unlikely to see his like again on TV news, and tragic that those in charge of the media don't seem to care (despite what will certainly be a plethora of tributes from them over the next few days).