As I learned of the passing of newsman Walter Cronkite tonight, I can only ponder and think back to what newscasting was and how much I miss what it should be.

Growing up as a child, I knew of no other newscaster than Walter. There were other greats on NBC and ABC, but I don’t think they were on the same level as Walter. In retrospect, it was like he really wore the news on his sleeve but he didn’t shove it down your throat like people in newscasting do today. And it wasn’t so much what he said, it was very much the vocal inflections he used to make you understand something was important. And it wasn’t just the vocal range of his voice. He had just the right emotion behind everything. If a soldier died in Viet Nam he wouldn’t just say “Bob Smith died.” He said it like, “Bob Smith….. Died….” He didn’t just read news. He got you to understand it regardless of how big or small the story was. The one statement from Walter that I will never forget was when my family was listening on CBS radio this month exactly 40 years ago-almost to the day. The statement was, “They’re on the moon….”

When I got into radio years ago, I wanted to be (and got into) radio news to a large degree because of the effect he had on me. From watching and listening to him I learned that newscasting meant being in control (and I mean leading the listener, not an emotional thing), don’t compromise, tell it like you see it and make sure your audience knows you consider them important. Unfortunately, the ”sold-out” newscasting standard on tv and radio blew all that out the door years ago.

During this past month, it seems like a dozen or more famous people have died. That’s strange in itself. But none of those deaths affects me personally like Walter Cronkite’s passing. But the flame has not gone out, it’s just getting passed on to the next torchbearer(s). My only hope they will not compromise and will hold to the same standards as Walter set as an example.

And that’s the way it is. Friday July 17th, 2009. I’m Ronnie Powers, goodnight.

And thank you, Walter.

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