Did 'Uncle Walter' Aid Vietnam Protesters?

Now this would be a shocker, huh? A high-profile media hack sympathizing with anti-war protesters? No wonder he's such an icon on the left.

Legendary CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite allegedly collaborated with anti-Vietnam War activists in the 1960s, going so far as to offer advice on how to raise the public profile of protests and even pledging CBS News resources to help pull off events, according to FBI documents obtained by Yahoo! News.

The documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, say that in November 1969, Cronkite encouraged students at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., to invite Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie to address a protest they were planning near Cape Kennedy (now known as Cape Canaveral). Cronkite told the group's leader that Muskie would be nearby for a fundraiser on the day of the protest, and said that "CBS would rent [a] helicopter to take Muskie to and from site of rally," according to the documents.

The claims are contained in an FBI memo recounting a confidential informant's report on a November 1969 meeting of a Rollins College protest group called Youth for New America. The group was planning rallies near Cape Kennedy on Nov. 13 and 14 — the latter being day of the Apollo 12 launch from Cape Kennedy, which President Nixon would be attending — as part of a nationwide Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam. That protest action culminated in a huge march on Washington on Nov. 15.

According to the informant, the group's leader (whose name is redacted in the documents) told the attendees that during a visit to a local CBS News station to drum up publicity for the protests, he ended up in a 45-minute phone conversation with Cronkite.

Just nine months before, Cronkite had delivered his famous on-air judgment that the "bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate." Even so, such tight collaboration between a news organization and the anti-war movement — particularly the offer of CBS News resources to help ferry a sitting senator and future presidential candidate around in opposition to the war — was highly unusual and would presumably have been explosive if known widely at the time. It's unclear whether Muskie ever actually attended the event.

Considering his successor helped try and derail the re-election of George W. Bush by using phony documents on the air, nobody should be all that shocked. The only difference between Cronkite and today's media is they're much more out in the open with helping the enemies of America.

Hot Air and Verum Serum link. Thanks!

Viewers Prefer Dead Guy to Modern News Anchors

If you need any further evidence as to the dire state of the network evening newscasts, consider the fact the recently deceased Walter Cronkite is viewed more favorably by Americans than any of the current talking heads at CBS, NBC, and ABC.

All the Walter wannabes have a ways to go to match the dean of television newscasters who died last Friday. Americans like longtime CBS newscaster Walter Cronkite much more than the current crew of network anchors, perhaps because they see him as less ideologically liberal.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 78% of Americans have at least a somewhat favorable view of Cronkite, including 52% whose opinion of him is very favorable.

Only 12% have an unfavorable opinion of Cronkite, who stepped down as CBS-TV’s nightly anchorman in 1982.

By comparison, Katie Couric, who now anchors the CBS Nightly News, is viewed unfavorably by more that three times as many adults (38%). Forty-nine percent (49%) have a favorable opinion of Couric.

NBC’s nightly anchorman Brian Williams has 47% with a favorable opinion and 28% unfavorable.

For ABC anchorman Charles Gibson, favorables total 50% and unfavorables total 28%.

Could be a few reasons for this. First, Americans have far more viewing options and the percentage of the population watching any of the evening newscasts is far less than in Cronkite's days. It also stands to reason many of those who were loyal Cronkite viewers have passed on already considering his last CBS broadcast was 28 years ago.

Then there's ideology. While in his years since retirement Cronkite was unabashedly to the left, history portrays him as being non-partisan, although many would argue with that. The current anchors, on the other hand, well, it's not a stretch to call all three liberals, although a couple are better at hiding it (hint: it's the men).

In terms of ideology, only 20% of adults say Cronkite was a liberal, while nearly twice as many (39%) believe that of Couric. Just 25% say Williams is liberal, and 26% believe that of Gibson.

Seventeen percent (17%) say Cronkite was conservative, and 37% view him as a moderate. Couric is seen as conservative by 10% of adults and moderate by 27%.

Williams is viewed as a conservative by only eight percent (8%) of Americans, while 33% regard him as a moderate. Thirteen percent (13%) say Gibson is conservative, but 29% think he is a moderate.

I'd like to know what color the sky is in the world of anyone who thinks Couric is a conservative. They're either to the left of Hugo Chavez or have never seen her on the air.

For all four newscasters, however, anywhere from one-quarter to one-third of adults are not sure where they stand ideologically, which is either good news for journalists who hope to be seen as ideologically neutral or suggests that a sizable number of adults are not watching them enough to form an opinion.

I'd lean toward the latter. Considering on a strong day the three combined total about 20 million viewers, it seems many Americans have no clue who these people are and still cling nostalgically to Cronkite.

Celebutard Nitwit: 'I Hate the World Without Walter Cronkite'

There's an obvious solution to your misery, George. You're bright guy. You can figure it out.

George Clooney, Hollywood's unofficial spokesman for everything, was among the first to pay tribute to that other great voice of a generation, Walter Cronkite.

"He was the most important voice in our lives for thirty years," the Oscar winner, who delved into the history of the CBS newsroom when he directed and costarred in Good Night and Good Luck, said in a statement Friday night.

"And that voice made people reach for the stars. I hate the world without Walter Cronkite. "

Dude, he read a TelePrompter. Get over it.

H/T Hot Air.

Uncle Walter Returning to TV

Well, as we've seen with Dan Rather, dignified retirement is out of the question.

Now his predecessor on the CBS Evening News, 91-year-old Walter Cronkite, is returning to television, on the appropriately named Retirement Living TV.

For those of you under 30, this guy used to be a big deal. Since he left CBS, he's gone on to become a bitter lefty crank.

Walter Cronkite, the former anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” will contribute weekly editorials to the start-up channel Retirement Living TV.

Mr. Cronkite’s first commentary will be shown on Nov. 20 during the channel’s signature show, “Daily Cafe,” a two-hour talk-and-variety program in the afternoon.
This morning’s announcement caps more than two months of negotiations between the 91-year-old Mr. Cronkite and the one-year-old channel, which is designed for people 55 and older.

In September, The New York Times reported that Mr. Cronkite “would be the highest-profile hire for the channel.” Mr. Cronkite’s son Chip works for Retirement Living TV, which is based in Columbia, Md.

In his “Cronkite Commentaries,” he will comment on topics like the presidential primaries, political party conventions and environmental issues, the channel said in a news release.