By Odeisel
Trust is the bridge that connects our hearts to reality. We believe what we allow ourselves to embrace. For many of us, it isn’t easy to make that connection, let alone place that trust in one person. Trust is earned by performance in times of necessity, tumult, and uneasiness. Anyone can be trusted with nothing on the line.
In the 20th Century, one man earned the trust of America through earnest service and execution in our most luminous of moments and our darkest of hours. His name was Walter Cronkite. The loss of such a giant of journalism is always immense, although we lack precedence for a loss of this magnitude. But when you consider the present media landscape, where they use hysteria and sexy announcers to get you to tune in to your local news, and with speed taking precedence over sound journalism, the lost of Cronkite signals the end of an era where ethics had a place in journalism.
We live in an era of camera phones and Photoshop, where anyone can generate content and get it up almost instantly. But do we trust its accuracy? Can we take it for truth? In our microwave era of instant gratification, news is often delivered half-baked, where the urgency and immediacy of the breaking news story supercede tone, context, and proper gravity of an event. It’s an OMG world where headlines supplant their supporting paragraphs in importance.
Our generation lacks a voice we can trust. No Ralph Wiley. No Ed Bradley. No Dan Rather ( retired). And now, with great sadness, no Cronkite. News breaks and the first question we ask, is “Is it true?” Then we look for a source. Then we search for corroboration. When Cronkite spoke, his world took it as Gospel truth. There was no need to search further, because his word was the ultimate cosign.
Mr. Cronkite’s journey began long before television. It spanned every technological advance going from print, to radio, and ultimately to the place where he made his mark: The evening news. His presence comforted America through assassination, informed them in times of war, celebrated with them in triumphs of moon landings, and languished with them as they watched hostage situations. For every occasion, in his chair as anchor for CBS nightly news, he was there for the better part of the most tumultuous and dynamic periods of the Pax Americana (albeit with very little pax). In times of change, people cling to what they know and trust and Cronkite in the truest sense of the word was America’s anchor.
For everyone who calls themselves a journalist, and is true to the word, you owe a debt of service to his legacy. For those masquerading as “journalists” you have done him the most insidious of disservices. And to the American people you have lost a beacon of trust, dependability and rock solid consistency. His service to you was devoid of ego and hubris, and wholly constituted by professionalism and a search to give his generation their world in terms that they could navigate and understand sans patronage and pandering to the lowest common denominator.
When you watch your evening news tonight, check your RSS feed or, God forbid, read your morning paper, pay attention to how your news is laid out for you. The way it’s arranged and how it’s headline and fear driven. This is what they think about you. It is how they think you need to be served. Watch your TV news full of glistening white teeth, long hair, rock music, and cleavage all set to distract you from the happenings of your world. Watch how whimsical celebrity foolishness takes precedent over death, taxes and globalization. When you do, tip your hat to Walter Cronkite. Acknowledge the respect and the measured sense of duty he took towards bringing you your world with respect. Pray for the repose of his soul and that you find someone you can trust, to bring you your world your way, with dignity and honest respect.
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