Schieffer: News Trumped All for Walter

'Nothing Got in Front' of Story for Him, Says Longtime Colleague

(CBS)  "Nothing got in front of the news for Walter Cronkite," says Bob Schieffer in remembering his longtime boss.

Cronkite, the iconic CBS News anchor, died Friday at 92 after a long illness.

Schieffer, now CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent and host of "Face the Nation," summed up what he says was the essence of Cronkite on "The Early Show Saturday Edition":

"Walter loved the news. And people understood that. Nothing got in front of the news for Walter Cronkite. He had this great respect for the news, and the people who covered it and also the people who made it."

Schieffer described "what we as reporters loved" about Cronkite: "If you came up with a story, you got it at the last minute, you just called Walter directly (when Cronkite was anchoring the "CBS Evening News") and he would take your call and you'd say, 'Walter, we need to get this story on the air and here's why.'

"And he had this great sense of news, and Walter delighted in just tearing the whole broadcast apart at about 6:20 (minutes before air) and putting in a new lead story, and if it was your lead story, your story ... you liked it even more!. But he was the guy that you went to. And you knew that Walter knew what news was and so, you know, we'd would call him and say, 'Walter, we've got to get this in. NBC is going with this story, or ABC,' and Walter would say, 'Well, we've gotta have that in the broadcast.'

"And, man, he would turn things upside down! It was just a wonder to behold to see him in action. He really saw himself as the editor. ... Walter actually had had a blue pencil that he used from time to time. I mean, he did the whole deal."

President Johnson once called Cronkite while he was on the air and, says Schieffer, "My guess is that Walter probably took that call. Walter talked about people would try to call him. But if Walter thought there was some news there, he'd find a way to take that call. And he was always open to news. ... Walter once said to me, 'You know, there's nothing like a little news to pep up a newscast.'

"Walter knew what newscasts were about. And that was getting the news and putting it on television. Nothing got in front of the news as far as Walter was concerned. That came first. Nothing got in front of the news, including Walter himself. He knew what the anchor's job was, it was to report the news, not to be the news."

Special Section: Walter Cronkite: 1916-2009

Cronkite's love of the news, says Schieffer, was what set him apart. Also, "This is what people understood and why people came to trust him and depend on him. Walter was exactly off camera as he was on camera. This was the real deal.

"He was a reporter. He had been there. When you were reporting for Walter Cronkite, you knew that Walter understood the problems you were having getting a story. He knew the stories didn't just walk up to you and say, 'Hey there, I'm a story, you can broadcast me now.' Walter knew the trouble you had to go to do get the story. Reporters loved that.

"People understood that Walter was guiding you through these events. You never saw Walter Cronkite come off as someone who thought he was smarter than the rest of us. He was just somebody who did his homework, who was interested in the news, and who really liked to gather the news."

Schieffer added, "Walter knew 12 presidents. Walter liked to talk to presidents. Not because they were president, but because he wanted to find out what was on their mind.

"He had this insatiable, almost childlike curiosity about everything he did. And he brought this enthusiasm to the broadcast. And, you know, the leader always sets the tone. That's the most important thing that the leader does. And Walter always set the right tone. He set the right standards. He set the right kind of enthusiasm. And he just wanted to make you get out there and get some news for people ... because that's what he liked to do, and that's why he made this organization what he did."

In fact, Schieffer recalled that, "Walter, when I was a young reporter, Walter was my idol. He was who I wanted to be when I grew up. And, you know, when I got the chance to come to work at CBS News and come into the great Washington bureau (in 1969), I was just beyond myself. I thought it would never get any better than that. And the fact of the matter is, it never did. Working for Walter Cronkite was one of the great honors of my life. ... I never got over it. This is someone we'll never see his likes again. He was a great mentor to me. He was the major influence on journalism in the 20th century."

Schieffer noted, "Dan Rather was a White House correspondent" in that Washington bureau when Schieffer came aboard, "Roger Mudd was a Capitol Hill correspondent, Marvin Kalb, Daniel Schorr, Eric Sevareid was doing the commentaries," as he reeled off a virtual correspondents' all-star team. "I felt like I was some Little Leaguer who just been called to Yankee Stadium. ... I couldn't believe I was there.

"But, you know, when you got a good story, Walter used to talk to the reporters, he'd call you out on the beat, 'What's going on? Why'd they say this? Why did they do that?' But on those days when Walter would call you after the broadcast and say, 'Good job on that tonight,' you really felt good about it. That was the highest compliment you could get."

Schieffer pointed out that Cronkite was the first person that they used the term "anchorman" to describe. "Nobody had ever called anybody an anchorman or an anchor. And someone, no one knows quite where the term came from, but someone started calling Walter the anchorman and he, for me, will always be that, the anchorman."

[Yes_ABWH_Fan]

My favorite memory of Cronkite was getting out of HS science class once a month because our teacher would show us films of his special show "21st Century with Walter Cronkite". I am STILL waiting for many of those visions of the future to come true!

[amhpol]

It is getting harder and harder to find news reporting at the highest level as demonstrated by Mr. Cronkite. For me his reporting of the news was and still is the epitome of journalistic excellence. There are fewer and fewer places to listen to journalists reporting the news without production and fanfare. He was missed when he left broadcasting and he will continue to be missed.

[lantrim--2008]

Walter Cronkite was not just an anchor and reporter--he was a leader. When I think of the trademarks of leadership, Cronkite had them all: trust, compassion, curiosity, honesty, insight, vision. Had he chosen business and not reporting, he would have been THE captain of industry. And all business leaders can look to Cronkite as a leadership role-model.