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When I stepped down from the evening news at the age of 65, in '81, things were still going well. Immediately after that, the whole tenor of the CBS News Department changed.
Walter Cronkite
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the changes in journalism and news reporting after a significant figure retires.

Walter Cronkite's quote highlights the impact of leadership in the news department, suggesting that his departure marked a turning point for CBS News. It underscores how the presence or absence of influential individuals can significantly shape the culture and direction of organizations, especially in journalism, where credibility and trust are paramount.

Themes

NewsJournalismChangeLeadershipMedia

In practice

Example use cases

During a panel discussion on the evolution of news reporting, one might reference Cronkite's quote to illustrate how leadership impacts media.

More from Walter Cronkite

Perhaps if all the peoples of the world understand what war really means, we would eliminate it.
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The death of Churchill at 90 was one of those watershed moments in which the obituary rises to a special calling beyond the sharing of remembered times. It gave an older generation a rare opportunity to explain something of itself to its children.
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I suppose popularity is measured by ratings. If a broadcaster is known as the leader because of ratings, then that's where people most want to be seen and heard, so there's no question that there's an advantage.
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Objective journalism and an opinion column are about as similar as the Bible and Playboy magazine.
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I feel no compulsion to be a pundit. As a matter of fact, I really don't have that much to say about most things. Working with hard news satisfies me completely.
Walter CronkiteRead
I think that our comfort is in our history.
Walter CronkiteRead

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