# Walter Cronkite, 40 years ago today, final newscast

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walter-cronkite-40-years-ago-today-final-newscast/937358>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 6, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walter-cronkite-40-years-ago-today-final-newscast/937358 "2021-03-06T21:07:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walter-cronkite-40-years-ago-today-final-newscast/937358/1 "2021-03-06T21:07:58Z")

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I just heard this on news radio: 40 years ago today, Walter signed off the air for his final newscast as CBS anchor.

**Forty** years! Time sure flies by. Therefore we must be having fun.

Right?

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walter-cronkite-40-years-ago-today-final-newscast/937358/2 "2021-03-06T21:54:42Z")

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And the quality of News has been all downhill since.

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**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walter-cronkite-40-years-ago-today-final-newscast/937358/3 "2021-03-06T21:57:12Z")

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He lived for almost another 30 years. Hard to come to terms that someone with a pretty consequential and renowned role in a chapter of American history could go mute for so long.

I love watching the old Apollo broadcasts and his coverage. The guy had a awe-inspiring reaction that comes across so humble and reflective of the whole world. I have also long wanted to listen to the full program he did live from the Oval Office where he did a live phone-in with President Jimmy Carter. Apparently over the course of two hours nine million Americans called the CBS hotline and forty two lucky individuals got the chance to ask the President of the United States a question of their choice while the rest of the nation listened in. Would have been pretty revolutionary to do way back then. And perhaps even now!

All that exists online is this short clip and SNL’s parody.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6AQhq6aqK5U/hqdefault.jpg "President Carter makes history 37 years ago today") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AQhq6aqK5U)

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-68iTvhWNB0/maxresdefault.jpg "Ask President Carter - SNL") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-68iTvhWNB0)

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**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walter-cronkite-40-years-ago-today-final-newscast/937358/4 "2021-03-07T00:37:20Z")

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Here’s how the _Tonight Show_ imagined Walter’s final broadcast:

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BPK9Uoh-uHM/hqdefault.jpg "Johnny Carson as Walter Cronkite") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPK9Uoh-uHM)

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**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walter-cronkite-40-years-ago-today-final-newscast/937358/5 "2021-03-07T04:24:56Z")

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I enjoyed those videos!