Newswise — In the wake of veteran CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite's death, two American University journalism professors are available to provide commentary on on the journalist many called the most trusted man in America.
Cronkite was noted as one of the best in the business, but according to associate professor W. Joseph Campbell, Cronkite, surprisingly, was also at the center of one of American journalism's most widespread media myths.
The myth stems from Cronkite's 30-minute special report on Vietnam, televised in late February 1968. As the program neared its end, Cronkite declared that the U.S. war effort in Vietnam was "mired in stalemate." Drawing on his recent visit to Vietnam in the aftermath of the communists' surprise Tet offensive, Cronkite said military victory seemed out of reach for U.S. forces.
Supposedly, President Lyndon Johnson was at the White House watching Cronkite's program and, upon hearing the call for negotiations, snapped off the television set and said, in effect, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."
According to Campbell, Johnson wasn't at the White House when Cronkite's report aired. The president was in Texas, at a birthday party in Austin for Gov. John Connally and did not see the program when it originally aired.
Over the years, the special report and Johnson's despairing response have become the stuff of legend—ranking among the most unforgettable moments in American journalism. The Cronkite-Johnson anecdote is a chapter in Campbell's forthcoming book, Getting It Wrong, about media-driven myths.
Associate professor Jane Hall was a young budding journalist herself when she received the dream assignment to interview a recently retired Cronkite for a People magazine article in the early 1980s. Her task was to interview Cronkite about his new book on sailing, but the new journalist who had grown up in the era of the big three took her line of questioning beyond sailing and delved into his thoughts on the changing nature of the news business.
In an opinion piece for FoxNews.com, she writes, "Walter Cronkite stood for the best in journalism, in challenging times, before the media—rightly or wrongly —were questioned daily."
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