ARLA/CLUSTER: Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD (SK)

[Salomao Fresco]

 O conhecido apresentador de TV americano, Walter Cronkite faleceu.Fonte:
ARRL

CumprimentosSalomão Fresco
CT2IRJ

Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD (SK)
  [image: KB2GSD] <http://www.arrl.org/news/images/nms/fullsized/1047.jpg>
Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD (SK)
 [image: ART] <http://www.arrl.org/news/images/nms/fullsized/1046.jpg>
Narrated by former CBS news anchorman Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD, *Amateur
Radio Today* showcases the public service contributions made by hams
throughout the country.
 [image: Fallon] <http://www.arrl.org/news/images/nms/fullsized/1045.jpg>
ARRL Hudson Division Director presented Cronkite with the ARRL President’s
Award. Cronkite was awarded this honor in 2005 in recognition of his
outstanding support of the ARRL and Amateur Radio by narrating the
videos *Amateur
Radio Today* and *The ARRL Goes to Washington*. [Photo courtesy Frank
Fallon, N2FF]

Legendary CBS newsman Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD, who held the title of "Most
Trusted Man in America," passed away Friday, July 17 after a long illness.
He was 92. The avuncular Cronkite anchored *CBS Evening
News<http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/eveningnews/main3420.shtml>
* for 19 years until 1981 when he retired. During that time, he reported on
such subjects as the Kennedy assassinations, the Civil Rights movement, the
Apollo XI lunar landing, Vietnam and the Vietnam-era protests, the
Arab-Israeli Six Day War, Watergate and the Begin-Sadat peace accords.

Cronkite, an ARRL member, narrated the 6 minute video *Amateur Radio
Today<http://www.arrl.org/ARToday/>
*. Produced by the ARRL in 2003, the video tells Amateur Radio's public
service story to non-hams, focusing on ham radio's part in helping various
agencies respond to wildfires in the Western US during 2002, ham radio in
space and the role Amateur Radio plays in emergency communications. "Dozens
of radio amateurs helped the police and fire departments and other emergency
services maintain communications in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington,
DC," narrator Cronkite intoned in reference to ham radio's response on
September 11, 2001. "Their country asked, and they responded without
reservation."

Walter Leland Cronkite was born in St Joseph, Missouri on November 4, 1916,
the only child of a dentist father and homemaker mother. When he was still
young, his family moved to Texas. "One day, he read an article in
*Boys Life<http://boyslife.org/>
* about the adventures of reporters working around the world -- and young
Cronkite was hooked," said his obituary on the CBS Web
site<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/17/eveningnews/main5170556.shtml>.
"He began working on his high school newspaper and yearbook and in 1933, he
entered the University of Texas at Austin <http://www.utexas.edu/> to study
political science, economics and journalism. He never graduated. He took a
part time job at the *Houston Post<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Post>
* and left college to do what he loved: report."

*Cronkite's Professional Career*

Cronkite made his mark as a World War II correspondent for United Press
where he covered the D-Day invasion and bombing missions over Germany. After
the war, he served as UP's chief correspondent at the Nuremburg War Crimes
Trials <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Trials> and spent two years
in Moscow. He joined CBS in 1950 as a Washington correspondent. He
distinguished himself with his coverage of the 1952 and 1956 political
conventions and as narrator of the documentary series *The 20th
Century<http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/T/htmlT/the20thcent/the20thcent.htm>
*. In 1962, he was named anchor of *CBS Evening News*, then 15 minutes in
length; the following year, it became network TV's first 30 minute weeknight
newscast. Cronkite's nightly sign-off -- "And that's the way it is" --
became part of the popular lexicon, his gravelly voice instantly
recognizable.

At the time, the *CBS Evening News* lived in the long shadow cast by
NBC's *Huntley-Brinkley
Report <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntley-Brinkley_Report>*, the most
popular television newscast in the country. "Expectations for the Cronkite
newscast were not high," the CBS obituary said. "But in 1963, the broadcast
was expanded to 30 minutes -- and Cronkite won a title for which he had long
campaigned, Managing Editor. The added time gave the broadcast more depth
and variety, and the title gave Cronkite more influence over the content and
coverage. And it came at a significant time. In September of that year,
Cronkite launched the expanded program with an extended interview with
President John F. Kennedy. Two months later, it was Cronkite who broke into
the soap opera *As The World
Turns<http://www.cbs.com/daytime/as_the_world_turns/>
* to announce that the president had been shot -- and later to declare that
he had been killed."

CBS called it a "defining moment for Cronkite, and for the country. His
presence -- in shirtsleeves, slowly removing his glasses to check the time
and blink back tears -- captured both the sense of shock, and the struggle
for composure, that would consume America and the world over the next four
days."

One of Cronkite's enthusiasms was the space race. In 1969, when America sent
a man to the moon, he couldn't contain himself. "Go baby, go!," he said, as
Apollo XI took off. He ended up performing what critics described as "Walter
to Walter" coverage of the mission -- staying on the air for 27 of the 30
hours that Apollo XI took to complete its mission.

In 1977, Cronkite interviewed Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat, who,
according to CBS, told Cronkite that, if invited, he'd go to Jerusalem to
meet with Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The move was unprecedented. The
next day, Begin invited Sadat to Jerusalem for talks that eventually led to
the Camp David accords and the Israeli-Egyptian treaty.

"In 1981, Cronkite announced he would retire at the age of 65, to make way
for a new anchor in the chair, Dan Rather," CBS said. "A commentator said it
was like 'George Washington leaving the dollar bill.' Cronkite said on March
6, 1981, as he conclude his final broadcast as anchorman: 'Old anchormen,
you see, don't fade away, they just keep coming back for more. And that's
the way it is.'"

After leaving the evening news broadcast, Cronkite was seen and heard
occasionally as a special correspondent for CBS, CNN and NPR. From
1987-1992, he filled his last role for CBS News: *Walter Cronkite's 20th
Century*, a 90 second radio segment for CBS Radio. A production company he
cofounded in 1993, the Cronkite Ward Company, produced documentaries for the
Discovery Channel, PBS and other networks. In 2004, he wrote a weekly
syndicated newspaper column that appeared in 186 newspapers. For many years,
Cronkite hosted the annual Vienna New Year's
Concert<http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en&cccpage=newyearsconcert>on
PBS and the Kennedy
Center Honors<http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/honors/index.cfm>
.

In 2000, Cronkite was designated a Living
Legend<http://www.loc.gov/about/awardshonors/livinglegends/bio/cronkitew.html>by
the Library
of Congress <http://www.loc.gov/index.html>. Established during its
Bicentennial celebration in 2000, the Library of Congress' Living Legend
award is selected by the Library's curators and subject specialists to honor
artists, writers, activists, filmmakers, physicians, entertainers, sports
figures and public servants who have made significant contributions to
America's diverse cultural, scientific and social heritage. The professional
accomplishments of the Living Legends have enabled them to provide examples
of personal excellence that have benefited others and enriched the nation in
a variety of ways.

NASA honored Cronkite by giving him their Ambassador of Exploration Award in
2006 <http://www.arrl.org/?artid=6130>. "His marathon, live coverage of the
first moon landing brought the excitement and impact of the historic event
into the homes of millions of Americans and observers around the world,"
NASA said in a news release announcing the award. NASA presented the
Ambassador of Exploration Award to the 38 astronauts and other key
individuals who participated in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space
programs for realizing America's vision of space exploration from 1961 to
1972. Cronkite was the first non-astronaut and only NASA outsider to receive
the award, which consists of a small sample of lunar material encased in
Lucite and mounted for public display. The material is part of the 842
pounds of moon rocks brought back to Earth during the six Apollo expeditions
between 1969 and 1972.

*KB2GSD*

Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML, was Cronkite's radio engineer at CBS for many years.
"I had many chances to discuss my favorite hobby, ham radio, with 'the
world's most trusted anchor man,'" he told the ARRL. "Gradually, his
interest increased, but on finding that he had to pass a Morse code test, he
balked, saying it was too hard for him; however, he told me he had purchased
a receiver and listened every night for a few minutes to the Novice bands.

At the CBS Radio Network, Walter would arrive 10 minutes before we went on
the air to read his script aloud, make corrections for his style of grammar
and just 'get in the mood' to do the show. In those days Rich Moseson, W2VU,
was the producer of a show called *In the
News<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_News>
*, a 3 minute television show for children voiced by CBS Correspondent
Christopher Glenn. On this day, Rich was at the Broadcast Center to record
Chris' voice for his show and had dropped by my control room to discuss some
upcoming ARRL issues [Mendelsohn was ARRL Hudson Division Director at the
time *-- Ed*].

"When Walter walked into the studio, I started to set the show up at the
behest of our director, Dick Muller, WA2DOS. In setting up the tape
recorders, I had to send tone to them and make sure they were all at proper
level. Having some time, I grabbed *The New York Times* and started sending
code with the tone key on the audio console. For 10 minutes I sent code and
noticed Walter had turned his script over and was copying it.

"We went to air, as we did every day, at 4:50 PM and after we were off,
Walter brought his script into the control room. Neatly printed on the back
was the text I had sent with the tone key. Rich and I looked at the copy, he
nodded, and I told Walter that he had just passed the code test. He laughed
and asked when the formal test was, but I reminded him that it took two
general class licensees to validate the test and he had just passed the
code. Several weeks later he passed the written test and the FCC issued
KB2GSD to the 'most trusted anchorman in America.'

Having passed the licensing test, Walter was now ready to get on the air.
His first QSO was on 10 meters about 28.390 MHz. He was nervous and I called
him on the phone to talk him through his first experience. As we talked on
the air, a ham from the Midwest come on and called me. Acknowledging him, I
asked the usual questions about where he was from, wanting to give Walter a
bit of flavor of what the hobby was about. I turned it over to Walter, and
following his introduction, the gentleman in the Midwest said, 'That's the
worst Walter Cronkite imitation I've ever heard!'

"I suggested that maybe it was Walter and the man replied, 'Walter Cronkite
is not even a ham, and if he was, he certainly wouldn't be here on 10
meters.' Walter and I laughed for weeks at that one."

In 2007, the Radio Club of America (RCA <http://www.radioclubofamerica.org/>)
presented Cronkite with the Armstrong
Award<http://www.radioclubofamerica.org/people.php?page=awards.html>,
the RCA's foremost achievement award and named for its first recipient,
Major Edwin Armstrong. Upon presenting the award to the esteemed newsman,
Richard Somers, W6NSV, said, "Each year, the Radio Club of America
recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of wireless communications
by honoring individuals who have made significant contributions to the
industry and the public it serves. The highest and most prestigious award
given by the Club is the Armstrong Medal, created in 1935 and named after
Major Edwin Armstrong, wireless pioneer and inventor of FM radio. Since that
time, this award has been presented infrequently and only to the most
accomplished and deserving individuals -- those who have made important
contributions to the radio art and science. As his significant contribution,
our award recipient has used the medium of television to keep the American
public informed of the news in a manner never before imagined. And tonight,
we have the distinct privilege of having that individual with us, America's
best known and most respected broadcast journalist, Walter Cronkite."

When Somers was done with his speech, Cronkite stepped to the podium and
Somers handed him the award. Cronkite simply said: "Thank you for accepting
me as one of you and for your accomplishments in the field of
communications."

Before the RCA banquet and ceremony, ARRL Hudson Division Director Frank
Fallon, N2FF, presented Cronkite with the ARRL President's Award. This
award, created in 2003 by the ARRL Board of Directors, recognizes an ARRL
member or members who "have shown long-term dedication to the goals and
objectives of ARRL and Amateur Radio" and who have gone the extra mile to
support individual League programs and goals. Cronkite was selected to
receive the award in April 2005 in recognition of his outstanding support of
the ARRL and Amateur Radio by narrating the videos Amateur Radio Today and *The
ARRL Goes to Washington* <http://www.arrl.org/pio/VTS-video.wmv>. "It was
quite a thrill to make this presentation to Cronkite," Fallon said. "He has
long been recognized as the 'most trusted man in America,' so lining our
causes to his face, name and voice has been a great help."

Mendelsohn remembered Cronkite as a wonderful friend with a great sense of
humor: "On one particular day, I was a bit withdrawn and missed several cues
on the radio show. After the show, Walter come into the control room and
asked our director, Dick Muller, WA2DOS, what was wrong. Dick explained that
my dad had just had an operation and that I was quite worried, as my father
was in his late 60s. Later that night, I went to visit my father in the
hospital and when I arrived, all he would talk about was how thrilled he was
talking with Walter Cronkite on the phone for a half hour before I arrived!
I was stunned, as I had not told anyone but the director about the
operation. I found out the next day that Walter had asked his secretary to
call all of the hospitals on Long Island to find my dad and talk with him,
and even though I saw Walter in the hallway after work, he never told me he
had talked with my dad. This was the measure of the man, never too busy to
help someone he worked with. To me, Walter was always a friend, not just The
Most Trusted Anchorman in America."

Cronkite is the recipient of a Peabody Award <http://www.peabody.uga.edu/>,
the William White Award for Journalistic
Merit<http://www.journalism.ku.edu/school/waw/awards/wawmedal/WAWMedal.html>,
an Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences<http://www.emmys.tv/>,
the George Polk Journalism
Award<http://www.brooklyn.liu.edu/polk/history.html>and a Gold
Medal <http://www.irts.org/awards/gma/gma.html> from the International Radio
and Television Society <http://www.irts.org/awards/gma/gma.html>. In 1981,
during his final three months on the *CBS Evening News*, Cronkite received
11 major awards, including the Presidential Medal of
Freedom<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom>.
In 1985, he became the second newsman, after Edward R. Murrow, to be
selected for the Television Hall of
Fame<http://www.emmys.org/awards/halloffame.php>
.

In 2006, Cronkite was asked in an interview with Gail
Shister<http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cbs/walter_cronkite_gravely_ill_119333.asp>if
he ever thought about death. "When you get to be 89," he said, "you
have
to think about it a little bit. It doesn't prey on me, and it doesn't keep
me awake nights. Occasionally, when I'm upset about something else, I think,
'My gosh, I don't know if I should do this or that because I'm not sure I'll
be here that long to enjoy it.'"
-------------- próxima parte ----------
Um anexo em HTML foi limpo...
URL: http://radio-amador.net/pipermail/cluster/attachments/20090718/08aff0f9/attachment.html