Perhaps if all the peoples of the world understand what war really means, we would eliminate it.
Walter CronkiteRead
I can swear on a stack of Bibles that not once in doing the 'CBS Evening News' for 19 years - well, I take it back. Once perhaps. But during 19 years, with perhaps one exception, was I ever aware of any political or commercial pressure on that broadcast whatsoever.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Walter Cronkite emphasizes the independence of journalism from external pressures.
In this quote, Walter Cronkite reflects on his extensive career as a news broadcaster, asserting that his reporting on the 'CBS Evening News' was largely free from political or commercial influence. He acknowledges a rare exception but underscores the importance of maintaining journalistic integrity and objectivity in delivering news to the public, which he considers crucial for a functional democracy.
Themes
JournalismIntegrityFreedomPressureNews
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about the importance of independent journalism.
More from Walter Cronkite
All quotes →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.
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I think that our comfort is in our history.
Walter CronkiteRead
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