Cronkite, Walter (krŏng`kīt, krŏn`–), 1916–, American news broadcaster, b. St. Joseph, Mo. He left the Univ. of Texas to write for the Houston Press and later for other Scripps-Howard newspapers. After joining United Press in 1939 he served as a war correspondent (1942–45) and reporter at the Nuremberg trials. He joined the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in 1950, where he covered (1952) the first televised presidential nominating conventions and in 1962 became managing editor and anchorman of "The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite." In 1981, he stepped down from that role and became a special correspondent for CBS News. His books include Challenges of Change (1971) and a memoir (1996).

Cronkite, Walter (Leland, Jr.)

(born Nov. 4, 1916, St. Joseph, Mo., U.S.) U.S. journalist and television newscaster. He began his career as a reporter with the Houston Post and later worked for United Press (1939–48) and served as a war correspondent in Europe (1942–45). He joined CBS in 1950 as a news reporter and became managing editor and anchor of the widely watched CBS Evening News (1962–81). He hosted numerous documentaries and special reports, notably on the assassination of Pres. John F. Kennedy and the 1969 Moon landing. His reassuring, avuncular manner made him one of the most trusted figures in U.S. broadcasting.

Cronkite, Walter (Leland, Jr.) (1916– ) television journalist; born in St. Joseph, Mo. Raised in Houston, Texas, he decided to become a journalist after reading a magazine article about a foreign correspondent. He left the University of Texas to work for the Houston Post in 1935, later working for Midwestern radio stations. During World War II, he covered the European front for United Press and served as chief United Press correspondent at the Nuremberg trials. Joining Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) News in 1950, he worked on a variety of programs, and covered national political conventions and elections from 1952 to 1981. He helped inaugurate the CBS Evening News in 1962, and anchored it until his 1981 retirement; "And that's the way it is" was his nightly closing epithet. The hallmarks of his style were honesty, objectivity and level-headedness; identified in public opinion polls as the man Americans most trusted, he provided a voice of reason during the Vietnam and Watergate eras. After retiring, he hosted CBS's Universe (1982), coproduced Why in the World (1981) for Public Broadcasting System, and hosted Dinosaur (1991) for Arts and Entertainment Cable television.