No cable news. No satellite dish. No streaming internet video, no podcasts, not even a remote control. Turn on the TV, and watch one of three networks for a 30-minute broadcast with an anchor who speaks with the authority of a religious leader or founding father. In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, this is how most Americans got their newsâ??and the man who defined this era, more than any other, was Walter Cronkite.
â??For somebody of my generation, he was the pillar of American broadcast journalism,â? says David Ward, a historian at the National Portrait Gallery. â??He was always the responsible father figure. According to polls, he was the most trusted man in Americaâ??more than the first lady, the Pope or the president.â?
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