Goodbye, Uncle Walter

He emotionally informed us President John F. Kennedy had been shot. He guided us through the first lunar landing. He demonstrated the stalemate in Vietnam ... and he made Americans feel informed, reassured and interconnected.

Iconic news anchor Walter Cronkite died Friday at his home in New York, and his passing allows Americans to reflect on the trustworthy, plainspoken beloved media figure who reported the news nightly for CBS from 1962 to 1981.

A New York Times story on his passing reminds us why so many Americans worshiped Cronkite. "He became something of a national institution, with an unflappable delivery, a distinctively avuncular voice and a daily benediction: 'And that’s the way it is.' He was Uncle Walter to many: respected, liked and listened to."

He was also something quite rare in today's media industry: modest. His goal was to report on the news, not be the center of the story. "I am a news presenter, a news broadcaster, an anchorman, a managing editor — not a commentator or analyst,” he said in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor in 1973. “I feel no compulsion to be a pundit."

Uncle Walter served as a role model for journalists and for all Americans, who remind us that hard work, passion and integrity are attributes that can get you far in life. And that’s the way it is.