Book #15: Walter Cronkite - A Reporter’s Life

 

A Reporter’s Life

Walter Cronkite

 Released: October 28th, 1997

 (Was originally written April 10th, 2023)

Book #15 completed for the year.

Took me substantially longer to get through this one.  Very good read.  If you want to know what a true journalist is like, read this book.  Completely forget the world of news as you know of today, and find out what truly objective news reporting is.  Who, What, Where and When.  

First of all, Walter Cronkite is a legend.  Arguably the greatest news icon of all time.  Reading this book surprised me.  This man saw a great deal more than I could even imagine.

Things I took away from this one:

- His father used to stroke his mustache when deep in thought or admiring something (something I do with my beard)

- A good cigar is “A long-leaf wrapper and a short-leaf filler.”

- Unwritten rules of the 1920’s traveling man:

1. Don’t drink out of the glass, you don’t know what people have used it for

2. Wash the wash bowl before you use it - Same reason

3. Steam the wrinkles out of your coat in the bathroom — careful that the heat doesn’t curl the paint

4. Press your pants between the springs and the mattress overnight

5. The socks you’ve just taken off will give your shoes a nice shine.

- His parents divorced when he went to college much like my own did

- “I learned early on that In the real world the mask of tragedy and comedy adorn the proscenium of every life.”

- While attending a social function at his father’s boss’ home in Houston, he witnessed a situation where a young man, after making a delivery, was punched bloodied in the face and told to “stay off a white man’s porch.”  They immediately left and walked all the way home.  His father distanced himself

- “If America is a melting pot, so is each section of it.”

- Watching his co-worker leave for a delivery and never return.  Shot and killed by a shotgun blast for his skin color.

- He disliked fishing and hunting because of the pain he felt it caused the animals

- “I am one of the number who have an aversion to the slightest hint of regimentation or group conformity, although I carry an antigen of distaste for challenging authority or conspicuous nonconformity.”

- Carried an unfounded guilt complex 

- [The boss would say] “Cronkite!  The Chronicle spells this guy's name “S-m-y-t-h”. We've got is “i-t-h”. Which is it?”  Or: "The Chronicle says it was at 1412, we say 1414 Westheimer.  Who's right?"  He was a stickler for that kind of accuracy, but most editors were in those days. They understood a fundamental truth about newspapers and how the public perceived them. One mistake "y" or “¡." "1412" or "1414" standing alone didn't make that much difference perhaps. But for each such mistake there was a given number of readers who recognized the error and whose trust in the paper was diminished thereby. And each of them probably told their friends, and the circle of doubt grew.

- Regrettably, there isn't that sort of accuracy today. There can't be, and that may be a contributing factor to the distrust in which a portion of our population holds the press.

- Met Ray Hamilton during a secret assignment with a reporter

- Went to get a picture for a newspaper to report on a lady’s death.  Swiped the picture from and empty house to appease his boss, only to realize he grabbed it from the wrong house

- Had bosses with Charles Dickins-style names

- The LGBT community was prevalent underground in Kansas City during the 1930’s.  Most citizens didn’t realize this.

- When working in Kansas City, he would call football games from the Wire given to him Morse Code.  He would sometimes have to “fill in” when the Wire went down.  A couple hundred miles away, an up and coming broadcaster named Ronald Reagan was doing the same thing.  Decades later at the White House, both Cronkite and the president would joke about who stole the idea of filling dead air when the wire went down.

- In 1937, there was an explosion at an children’s school in New London, TX.  The structure of the school had been built on vertical tiles.  The administration made the decision to tap into local gas lines as it fed into local companies for sale and distribution (an illegal, but sort of an “everybody’s doing it” type of thing.  A leak caused a build up, and with a few minutes before school let out, a kid turned off a bandsaw which caused a spark and BOOM down came the 2 story building on to 294 young victims.  The sad irony is that a blackboard remained standing stating “Oil and natural gas are East Texas’ greatest mineral blessings.  Without them this school would not be here and none of us would be here learning our lessons.”

- Accuracy of a story is in direct relation to how soon after the event it is recorded, and how frequently the story has been retold.

- Not wanting a job very much does all sorts of wonders for strengthening one’s bargaining ability.

- “As long as nations cannot learn to live cooperatively, there must be conflict.  As long as there are aggressors, there will be resistors.”

- Per the Geneva Convention, if a war news correspondent is armed, the penalty if captured is execution

- Cronkite flew in an airplane in World War 2, and was assigned a gunner role

- Flew and landed in a military plane with active bombs set to explode on impact.  No bombs went off, and everything was fine.

- Spent 2 years in Soviet Russia during the late 1940’s

- Russian propaganda dictated that they had invented nearly every modern device.  It went a step further when it was declared that Russians had invented baseball and the Jeep.  

- Cronkite realized how effective lies can be when the truth is suppressed

- The flow of information to the ear is so transitory with radio that, “You have to tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you’ve told them.”

- As late as November 1948 few people have portable radios or automobile radios

- His mother courted Douglas MacArthur.  He even asked for her hand in marriage but was turned down by her father due to age

- Nearly died during an operation for appendicitis.  Went into shock and the doctor almost didn’t notice

- “In emphasizing political manipulation rather than issues, the press has probably contributed to the public cynicism about the political process.”

- "I was asked what I really thought of [Presidential Candidate]. I gave my standard answer about not rendering personal opinions of figures in the news.”

- Bought an Austin Healey in the 1960’s

- Became an amateur car racer

- “Total objectivity doesn’t please fringe fanatics.  Their concept of objectivity boils down to their own prejudices.”

- In the 60’s, the Washington Press, like the media elsewhere, operated on a rule of thumb regarding the morals of our public officials.  The rule had it that, as long as their outside activities, alcoholic or sexual, did not interfere with or seriously endanger the discharge of his public duties, they were entitled to their privacy.

- President Nixon held a grudge against the press, but considered Cronkite the “best of a bad lot.”

- Cronkite considered Jimmy Carter the best brained of all the presidents since Hoover for his ability to read complicated material and file and catalog it in his memory to be recalled instantly when needed.

- Carter once did a call-in with CBS to speak with ordinary Americans about issues that plagued them.  One called asked about rising milk prices, and Carter went into an “excruciatingly long dissertation” on the history of all agricultural supports with facts and figures relating to every increase in milk prices since World War I

- Eisenhower suffered a heart attack on a golf course in Colorado after phone calls from one of his cabinet members

- Gerald Ford was very warm and welcoming.  He sought a co-presidency if added to the 1980 ticket with Ronald Reagan

- Ronald Reagan was the most affable president according to Cronkite.

- He was invited to a small get together with a select group of people for a now famous picture of leaders laughing hysterically in an office.

- Gave a now famous editorial on the Vietnam War.  It led to President Johnson’s decision to not run for re-election in 1968 when he utter the famous words, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America.”

- Almost went to space, but the program was replaced by one for a teacher (Challenger)

- Researched the depths of the earth in the oceans off California

- Fought against racial injustice.  He saw segregation and division in schools but not at home where his father railed against it, setting in motion his views on the matter and realizing what is right as opposed to what he saw

- Was banned from South Africa after giving a speech where the Prime Minister demanded an apology for comparing them to the Soviet Union

- When Kennedy died, it was a national tragedy.  Phone lines rang off the hook the rest of the day.  He answered one where a lady complained about him and his emotions despite having a disliking of Kennedy.  He let her know that she was speaking directly to him and that she was a “damned idiot”.  You couldn’t get away with that these days

- Hosted a program called “You Are There” in the 1950’s where they would recreated historical moments as if they occurred in the television era.  They would air on non-Broadway nights, which gave actors and actresses an opportunity to try television.

- Helped create peace between Egypt and Israel 

- There is a Chinese tradition where the hosts serves a number of courses equaling the number of guests 

- Frank Sinatra would take care of friends who were down on their luck

- Held a strong belief that news anchors should strive to be as impartial about a story as possible.  Objective or bust.

- “Press freedom is essential to our democracy, but the press must not abuse this license.”

Overall an outstanding read.  It may take some more time to process if you’re not an in-depth reader, but you certainly pull away with an immense wealth of knowledge and just a great sense of a man who just wanted to inform the world.

Highly recommended.

On to Book #16: The Hunger Games