Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009
Walter Cronkite
In the cramped suburbia of my youth, we could always tell when our neighbors were watching the same thing we were, because the flashing and dancing light against their windows matched what was on our screen. During the bygone era of the "family dinner hour," more often than not it was the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. He was a modest college dropout from Missouri who explained our world each night. Wars (cold and hot), Watergate, the race to the moon and a dark day in Dallas. He held our hand when we needed it. We loved him because he was one of us. He was the voice of America. He was the best there ever was.
—Brian Williams
Williams is the anchor of NBC Nightly News