And that's the way it is

Although we hadn't really seen or heard much about him for many years, it was still sad to hear of the death of iconic anchorman and journalist Walter Cronkite. Reading the memorium in the Wall Street Journal written by blogger Susan Toepfer, I was shocked to realize it was 28 years ago that I watched his last broadcast with a group of Computerworld journalist colleagues. It was in a bar (of course; we were journalists) and I still remember our editor, Drake Lundell, lifting his glass to toast "Uncle Walter."

He was a mainstay of my youth and represented the kind of steady reporting you could count on to understand exactly what was happening that we sadly often have to question now. Toepfer's piece said it best: 

"Like an earlier, mid-century hero, “Dragnet” detective Joe Friday, Cronkite was interested in “just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” And that’s what he gave us: No massaging. No white-washing. No revving up for ratings. Cronkite only devolved to the personal in such seemingly benign ways as indulging his love for the space program by allotting it more time.

For that self-control, that now-extraordinary ability to keep his feelings and alliances to himself, he is to be remembered, respected…even revered."

He has already been missed and we communicators mourn his passing.