America’s Top Newsman Dies

Walter Cronkite, the broadcasting legend who was known as “the Most Trusted Man in America,” died in his New York home July 17 at age 92.

For 19 years, he delivered the news into millions of American living rooms as anchor of the “CBS Evening News.” He took over the anchor desk for CBS in 1962 after establishing himself as a tough reporter for newspaper, radio and TV. He loved getting the story first and, more importantly, getting it right.

As anchorman, he held to his reporting values and turned his news broadcast into a ratings blockbuster.

In his deep, uncle-like voice, Cronkite delivered the news each night with poise. Sometimes the news was triumphant, like when astronauts first set foot on the moon. Sometimes the news was tragic, as when he informed tens of millions of Americans that President John F. Kennedy had been killed. The way Cronkite handled the news set the standard for all other journalists. He earned the trust of his viewers.

“He invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down,” President Barack Obama said after Cronkite’s passing. “This country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and he will be truly missed.”

In 1983, ASU opened its Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“As a journalist, he brought us the values that we follow here at the school. He always (made) sure his reporting was accurate, fair, objective and ethical,” points out Frederic Leigh, assistant dean for the journalism school. “As a person, he was very approachable…very down-to-earth. He was always very interested in talking with his students, hearing what they had to say and answering their questions,” Leigh adds.

Whether it came to breaking a news story or being at the top of the TV news ratings, Cronkite was very competitive. “Walter originally was a newspaper reporter,” Leigh explains. “He had that drive originally to get the story, to get it first, but to get it right. That carried over into his television broadcasts as well.”

TV Reporters Freed by North Korea!

BURBANK, Calif.—Two TV reporters were back on American soil Aug. 5 after being freed from a North Korean prison. It took an overseas visit by a former president to negotiate the release of Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, ending their 140-day nightmare.

North Korea and the United States have been at odds over North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons. As tensions between the countries reached a boiling point, the two reporters ended up caught in the middle. North Korean soldiers took Ling and Lee into custody March 17. The reporters had been in China on assignment when they strayed into North Korea. The two were sentenced in June to 12 years hard labor for crossing into the country illegally.

Many people throughout the world were surprised by such a harsh sentence.

Ling and Lee work for Current TV, a media company started by former Vice President Al Gore and a partner. Sometimes, having strong political connections really helps! When the North Korean government indicated that it was willing to negotiate with Bill Clinton, the former president made the overseas flight to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Clinton made it clear that he would not be representing the United States government in the talks, but was on a strictly “humanitarian mission.”

Talks went well, and Kim issued a pardon for the reporters. Clinton and his negotiation team posed for a formal photo with the North Korean leader.

“Thirty hours ago, Euna Lee and I were prisoners in North Korea. We feared that at any moment, we could be sent to a hard labor camp,” Ling said in a speech after landing in Burbank early in the morning.

“Suddenly, we were told that we were going to a meeting. We were taken to a location, and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton!...We knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. And now we stand here home and free,” she added.