“[Cronkite was] the most trusted man in America. But here’s the thing, that title wasn’t bestowed on him by a network.
It was earned by year after year and decade after decade of painstaking effort; a commitment to fundamental values; his belief that the American people were hungry for the truth, unvarnished and unaccompanied by theater or spectacle. [Cronkite’s standard was] a little bit harder to find today [with] instant commentary and celebrity gossip and the softer stories that Walter disdained…
We weren’t told to believe it by some advertising campaign. It was earned.
’What happened today?’ is replaced with ‘Who won today?’ The public debate cheapens.”
Barack Obama (via mattpayton)
