Cronkites death puts an exclamation point on the changing news process

The end to an era has been revealing itself for years, when Walter Cronkite died last week it was like putting an exclamation point on the process – news gathering and reporting as we knew it is over.  Freedom of the press has been extended in a way no one could have ever dreamed.  Cronkite said several years ago that he felt he should have stayed on the anchor desk a little longer.  If he had done that many of our younger citizens would have been exposed to real news and not pop culture news which is what it has become. 

If you are over 30 years of age you probably have memories of Walter Cronkite.  The older you are the more you probably remember.  In the last few days more words have been written about him than at any other time when he was alive.  Fortunately, for him, he received years of high praise long before he passed away. I doubt there is anything that has been written or said in the last week that he didn’t hear long before he passed away.

In that regard, he was a lucky man, most of us will never hear how people feel about us, because outside of our relatives and closest friends people don’t take the time to let us know and we don’t take the time to let other people know.  Many people considered Walter as part of their extended family or a friend and that is probably why he did know how people felt about him.

He has been recognized for his courage, honesty, integrity and hard work throughout his life. As a reporter he stands out as the best of the best. If Walter said it you could count on it.  We will probably never see many, if any, more people like him.  If for no other reason than the entire process of gathering and reporting the news has changed.  Even what they are now calling news has changed. 

During his time check, check and re-check were the guidelines before something was reported.  That has all changed over the last decade.  It was to be expected.  Reporting the news has gone through many stages throughout history.  Prior to the American Constitution the press was constantly used to spread the word, but not necessarily the truth.

Our Constitution provides for the freedom of the press.  That does not mean the truth of the press.  Fortunately, for many newspaper and other media owners the truth was the only thing that mattered.  The shows or publications that are designed to not be as truthful have, by their own design, been easy to pick out and be labeled as such. 

When television came along the big three CBS, NBC and ABC competed with each other but always reported the news as truthfully as they knew it.  Among the hundreds of people who have reported the news over the years over airways Cronkite stands out, he was known as the most trusted man in America.

It was a time when people could trust the anchormen and women, to have done all they could to insure the public got the truth each and every day.  The power of the press was a real power that reporters respected and they did not violate their responsibilities.  Checking the news was just as important as delivering the news. 

I wonder how Cronkite felt during the past ten years as everything has changed. There are fewer news people whether on television or in print that you can say you trust that they have done their best to make sure whatever they report is correct.  The mantra today is to be first, let the facts come in as things move along.  It is like the producers and editors are saying never let the facts get in the way of a story.

The news has also changed.  Hard news seems to take second place to pop culture news. The so called news shows are more fluff than fact.  No matter what show you watch they spend as much time promoting other shows and ventures, which in most cases they have a business relationship with, than they do reporting the news.  Now the ratings are all that count.

Truth in news is hard to find anyplace.  There are many older reporters and newscasters who understand the price that has been paid for freedom of the press and providing the truth to their readers, but there are more and more people who do not care.

 Reporters are routinely fired or disciplined for plagiarism or making stories up. Plagiarism from the internet has become a short cut to research; the problem is that just because it is on the internet does not make it true.  There was a time when kids did reports for school that they automatically researched newspapers and magazines to gather their information, now they have to verify those sources to make sure they are true.  It has gotten to the point that some colleges have programs that check student papers line for line with what is on the internet. 

The internet has proven that anyone can say anything and find people who will believe it. They even have web sites to debunk what are called urban legends and myths.  A few them are www.snopes.com; urbanlegendsonline.com; and www.scambusters.org/legends.html. The problem is the word gets around so fast the truth never catches up with it.  They even have web sites, www.toptenz.net, that talk about the top ten legends or myths.

In all the days of reading something or hearing something over the air waves and believing you have just heard the truth are limited.   At least my generation had Walter Cronkite and he will always stand out as the one person who you could count on to – tell it like it is.