For just shy of two decades, Walter Cronkite signed off the CBS Evening News with his trademark line "And that’s the way it is." Cronkite was the managing editor and evening news anchor for CBS and was a source of political and social insight to millions of television viewers. His dedication to report the news fast, accurately, and unbiased led him to be named one of the most trusted figures in the American public. As a working journalist, Cronkite witnessed history in both domestic and foreign affairs.

Walter Cronkite was born November 4, 1916, in St. Joseph, Missouri. He moved with family to Texas when he was a child, and as a young man he was a Boy Scout. He went on to attend the University of Texas, but left his junior year and began pursuing his journalistic career. In his early career, Cronkite covered news and sports for a series of newspapers, but by 1942 he was a United Press war correspondent. In 1950, after rejecting an earlier offer to join CBS, Cronkite became a news correspondent for the network. In 1962, replacing Edward Douglas, Cronkite became the anchor of the CBS Evening News.

For most every year until his retirement, Walter Cronkite enabled CBS to keep a lead in viewer ratings. Cronkite had a demeanor that the public related to and trusted. He also possessed the ability to abandon his journalistic objectivity and convey human emotions during his casts. As the first on the air to report the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Cronkite, who had interviewed Kennedy barely two months before, shed a tear. This emotional, yet historical broadcast can be seen in the opening of Oliver Stone’s film JFK. Similarly, Cronkite personally interjected while providing coverage of the Apollo XI launch when he cheered a hearty "Go Baby, Go," as the mission launched into space.

In addition to his frequent personal interjections and his dignified manner of reporting the news, Cronkite also had the ability to influence domestic and foreign affairs. Though he took few risks, he poignantly reported facts and helped people make their own connections. Cronkite was the viewers’ choice for news until 1981, when he retired in accordance to CBS policy.

Cronkite has not been as passive in retirement as you may think. He has returned to the news on special occasions, such as John Glenn’s space flight in 1998. He has hosted PBS’s New Year’s Eve broadcast of the Vienna Philharmonic, as well as other PBS specials. He has also narrated documentaries for the Discovery channel and the Learning Channel.

Walter Cronkite lost his wife of sixty-five years, Mary Elizabeth "Betsy", in 2005. Together, they have three children and four grandchildren. In 2005, Walter Cronkite celebrated his ninetieth birthday.