For anyone in the news business, just the name “Cronkite” conjures up images of a bygone era when journalists covered, and could at times impact, the most important stories of the day, rather than the most “compelling” or salacious. Redford and Hoffman’s “All The Presidents Men” was the big screen image of journalists rather than Will Ferrell’s “Anchorman.”

Even if that memory has been glorified a bit, it’s for that reason that every major journalist is now vying to be part of the Cronkite coverage (including, I suppose, this one). No question so many grew up watching Cronkite’s masterful work over the years — from war zones to the White House. And those who knew him well have offered moving tributes to Cronkite the man. But showing one’s respect for Walter Cronkite also means paying homage to what the Cronkite name has come to represent –a time when it would have been unthinkable to cover Michael Jackson’s death day after day. When the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would still be front and center rather than the vicissitudes of the hottest reality show.  As some in media speak wistfully about the Cronkite days, they are also making decisions that would make Cronkite cringe. To watch a rerun of a Cronkite news program today is to see something more akin to a current PBS broadcast than much of what appears on network news.

Actions speak louder than words. Even in reporting on his death many journalists have violated one of Cronkite’s basic tenets: report the news don’t become it.  How many times this weekend have we heard top journalists memorializing Cronkite with sentences beginning with the word I. “I met Cronkite in. . .” or “I remember seeing him. . .”

Let’s be honest, the Cronkite era passed long before his death. Financial pressures, the demand of ratings, the changing tastes of the American public all led to new decisions in newsrooms about what to cover and how. Having reported on many of the most notorious trials of the past two decades (including that of Michael Jackson) I have no claim to Cronkiteian journalistic purity.

The same applies, however, to some of my colleagues now attempting to tether themselves to Cronkite’s legacy. I am confident Cronkite would have frowned on that too.

Patrick W. Gavin
@pwgavin First Tweet I received on Cronkite? @nytimes at 8:10pm

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Patrick W. Gavin
@pwgavin: This might be the first time that I ever have empathy for whatever it is Andy Rooney must be going through.

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Ann Curry
@AnnCurry: George Clooney: “I hate the world without Walter Cronkite.”

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Patrick W. Gavin
@pwgavin : If CBS’ “Face The Nation” was smart (and yes, it might sound opportunistic) they’d find a way to make this weekend’s show #1 for once.

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Ann Curry
@AnnCurry: Obama: Walker Cronkite “invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down.”

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Ann Curry
@AnnCurry: Tom Brokaw: Walker Cronkite “cared..passionately about the place of a free press in a democratic republic.”

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Dan Abrams
@danielabrams As every major journalist in America tries to connect him or herself to the legendary Cronkite, the rest of us can ask “are you worthy?”

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Patrick W. Gavin
@pwgavin : Interestingly–and telling–one of Cronkite’s rare quotes given towards the end was on Tim Russert in my Politico piece http://tr.im/sT3a

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Brian Stelter
@brianstelter: Sean McManus defended decision not to go wall-to-wall tonight; few viewers watch on Fridays; Sunday night spot is much more prominent.

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Brian Stelter
@brianstelter: Thanks for the Qs. Answers: Cronkite’s voice — which has opened “CBS Evening News” since 2006 — will be retired, probably immediately.

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Maggie Shnayerson
@shnayerson: “I was eight, watching him on black and white television every night in Elmira, NY. In our home, my…” http://tumblr.com/xti2dnljh

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Rebecca Leigh Wright
@rebeccaleighfox: 7 Memorable Walter Cronkite Broadcasts: http://bit.ly/3fRxHT (via @thedailybeast)

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Howie Kurtz
@HowardKurtz: True, @jeffjarvis, no one wants to return to voice-of-God anchors. Cronkite was a man of his time, of far fewer information choices.

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Sarah Weinman
@sarahw: Cronkite was the news, even to Canadians years after the fact.

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Karen Tumulty
@ktumulty: What you should watch about Cronkite: http://bit.ly/ORJCi

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Jay Rosen
@jayrosen_nyu : Walter Cronkite (RIP) was a great journalist and a great broadcaster; those are different–but related–things.

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Patrick W. Gavin
@pwgavin: WH: Cronkite (rightfully) bigger deal than MJ. Not hesitating to put out statement. “Set the standard by which all others have been judged.”

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Mark Lisanti
@marklisanti: With Walter Cronkite gone, the title of Most Trusted Man in America passes to Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush. He’ll handle it w/ distinction.

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Ann Curry
@AnnCurry: Cronkite’s legacy includes his worry that journalism has become too soft, too vulnerable to financial interests.

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LizGlover
@LizGlover: http://twitpic.com/apr4b – @sethcolterwalls caption reads “I learned a lot about perserverance & humility”

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Marc Ambinder
@marcambinder: RT @GregMitch: Here is transcript of famous Cronkite “Vietnam” commentary in 1968: http://bit.ly/cLntW

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Rachel Sterne
@RachelSterne: RT @brianstelter Obama: “Walter invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down.” New Media Decoder link: http://bit.ly/xlWx3

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Marc Ambinder
@marcambinder: CBS News plans a one hour special on Cronkite in place of 60 Minutes on Sunday. For more: @peterkingcbs, @cbsandrewcohn @markknoller

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David Folkenflik
@davidfolkenflik: h/t @tigerbeat: Cronkite on NPR from 2001-2005: http://www.npr.org/news/spe…

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Jonathan Glick
@jonathanglick: RT @YankeeUpdates: NYT NEWS ALERT: Broadcast Journalist Walter Cronkite Has Died at Age 92, According to His Family (via @nytimes)

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Brian Stelter
@brianstelter: Obama: “Walter invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down.” New Media Decoder link: http://bit.ly/xlWx3

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David Folkenflik
@davidfolkenflik: Walter Cronkite, Nation’s Narrator, dead at 92: NPR obit http://tinyurl.com/flik-Cro… #waltercronkite

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Mike Madden
@mikemaddenAnd that’s the way it is.

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Marc Ambinder
@marcambinder: RT @cbsandrewcohen “Funny and somewhat sad to watch cable channels, who break all of the rules by which Cronkite lived, now praising him…”

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Jake Tapper
@jaketapper: RT @cbsandrewcohen “Funny and somewhat sad to watch cable channels, who break all of the rules by which Cronkite lived, now praising him…”

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Global Edition
@nytimesglobal: Walter Cronkite, Iconic Anchor, Is Dead http://bit.ly/15XVh7

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Drudge Report
@Drudge_Report: Walter Cronkite dies at 92… http://tinyurl.com/mm3jng

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David Folkenflik
@davidfolkenflik: Walter Cronkite, Nation’s Narrator, dead at 92: NPR obit: http://tinyurl.com/flik-Cro…

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David Folkenflik
@davidfolkenflik: mister cronkite has signed off for the last time…

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Mark Knoller
@markknoller: Former Pres. Bush (41) was qucik to issue a statement calling Cronkite a pioneer in television journalism and a towering & respected figure.

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Drudge Report
@Drudge_Report: Walter Cronkite dies at 92… http://tinyurl.com/ndkchk

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Jake Tapper
@jaketapper: fyi, it has already been done: #waltercronkite

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Brian Stelter
@brianstelterThe New York Times obituary for Walter Cronkite is now online. http://bit.ly/MuKqw Coverage continues this evening.

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Ann Curry
@AnnCurry: Watching Walter Cronkite cover Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement is why I became a journalist.

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Brian Stelter
@brianstelter”It is impossible to imagine CBS News, journalism or indeed America without Walter Cronkite,” the head of CBS News says. http://bit.ly/vpLY0

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Liz Glover
@LizGlover: Cronkite. Noooo!

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Jake Tapper
@jaketapper: deepest condolences to our friends at CBS @katiecouric @cbsandrewcohen @markknoller @cbskellywallace and everyone else –

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Mark Knoller
@markknoller: I came to CBS News after Cronkite relinquished the anchor chair. I regret I never got to work with him. But his legacy will inspire always.

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Marc Ambinder
@marcambinder: And he memorably lent his voice to Katie Couric’s Evening News intro.

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Marc Ambinder
@marcambinder: In the past few years, Cronkite kept an office at CBS News in New York and would visit the newsroom on occasion and pose for pictures.

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Mark Knoller
@markknoller: I grew up watching Walter Cronkite. He was one of the reasons I admired and wanted to work at CBS News. A great journalist has died.

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Marc Ambinder
@marcambinder: CBS News reports that Walter Cronkite has died. http://twurl.nl/dnfxnw

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Gideon Yago
@gideonyago: Dateline: Heaven – you are there! RIP to Walter Cronkite, the Gold Standard. Was lucky to work with him in 2004. None better at the job.

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Ann Curry
@AnnCurryNYT: Walter Cronkite has just died. At 92, his was a long life well lived.

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Mark Knoller
@markknollerRT CBSNews CBS News legend Walter Cronkite has passed away in New York. He was 92

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Joseph Weisenthal
@TheStalwartRIP: Cronkite. A great Longhorn. Hook ‘em.

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Jake Tapper
@jaketapper: R.I.P. Walter Cronkite 1916-2009 (per @cbsandrewcohen)

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Brian Stelter
@brianstelterWalter Cronkite died today at the age of 92. http://bit.ly/vpLY0

The rolling rise and fall of his voice and the rhythms and pauses he built into his prose gave his reporting the subtle weight of blank verse. Cronkite cut his teeth telling stories in print and over the radio; he knew how to make pictures from words. Similarly trained reporters dominated TV news for the medium’s first decades; it was an oratorical era. But as they aged and retired, the networks turned to more telegenic models, to prettier people and — reasonably enough — a more visual approach to the news.

Network news anchors still aim for that mix of eloquence and authority that Cronkite embodied, but they compete, at a disadvantage, with the noise of an ascendant punditocracy and the mountain-from-molehill nattering of cable news organizations that live on crises — it’s not the old voice of reassuring honesty that they cultivate, but one of perpetual anxiety. There are many more rooms in the mansion that is television news nowadays, but they have grown proportionately smaller; they are no longer fit for giants.

Here is a video of Cronkite talking about his coverage of the Apollo moon landing, which took place 40 years ago this Monday. Cronkite called it the most important story of the 20th Century.