[OldDave]

Since I've been a journalist for 40+ years, I'm sure my take on this is a bit different than others. Cronkite always said he worked hard to not let anyone know his political views. I think that's the best a journalist can hope for. And I believe he accomplished that pretty well. That was the pricipal that guided me in my career. I always turned down offers to express my personal opinion or to become involved in anything that required me to take sides. That's pretty hard to do sometimes. Reports today don't even think about that as is seen with reports sitting in on every opinion show you can find. (I mentioned I ran NPR stations. Their reports are all over the place offering personal opinons.)

Or course I haven't read the book yet, so I will not come to any conclusions until I do. Whether you think he was "the most trusted man in American" or not he certainly was in a position to be one of the most influencial. And as we've seen over the years, not many people manage to avoid the temptations that come with that kind of influence.

I hope the Adminstrator will allow me to just briefly comment on some of the asides here, because I do think they are relevant to this topic. I continue to be amused that people who watch Fox or MSNBC believe their channel of choice is telling the absolute truth in a "fair and balanced" way. People want to be told that their prejudices are OK. It makes them feel better.

For me both FOX and MSNBC in no way even imagine to be fair or balanced. They have each become the mouthpiece for the two extremes that seem to be dominating the "news" in this country. And I find them both truly sad.

It is an odd notion to me that the media is liberal. Nearly every radio commentator that is successful is conservative. Liberals have attempted to be, but have failed. On TV again you have the split of polar opposites, with CNN trying to find the middle ground. But ever since they swore off shows with two people from different views talking over each other, their ratings have gone done. Apparently viewers do view the fighting more than they like news.

No matter your opinion, the era of Cronkite is gone. People younger than us probably don't even know who he is so his legacy is mostly becoming a moot point anyway. Someone asked why we have to write negative books about people after they're dead. The answer remains the same as it always has been: it sells newspapers.