Legendary Newsman Walter Cronkite Dies at 92-- Archive Interview Excerpts Online

Walter Cronkite received the moniker, “the most trusted man in America” when he served as the anchorman and managing editor of the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981, due to his honesty, integrity, and, occasionally, his emotional delivery of the day’s news. Below, from his Archive interview, Cronkite discusses how his signoff "That's the way it is" came about.



Walter Cronkite was interviewed by the Archive in two sessions in New York, NY on April 28, 1998 and October 18, 1999; Don Carleton conducted the combined four-and-a-half-hour interview. His full interview will be online soon.

Further excerpts from Cronkite's interview can be found here.

Interview description
Walter Cronkite recalls the moment that led President Lyndon Johnson to declare he’d lost the country’s support of the Vietnam War, by losing Cronkite: “I very clearly said I will have a personal view of this after [the] commercial… I came back and said this is an unusual departure. I’m going to deliver an editorial in effect; I’m going to give you my personal view…. And with that, I said that I thought we should get out of Vietnam.” Cronkite, “the most trusted man in America” served as anchorman and managing editor of the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981. In his two-part Archive interview, Cronkite outlines his early experience in journalism, including positions with various radio stations and the United Press. On joining CBS in the early 1950s, Cronkite spoke of his radio days and his assignment for the six o’clock television evening news on CBS affiliate WOIC, in Washington, D.C. He speaks in detail about the 1952 political conventions and how his anchoring of them (the first time the term was used) raised his profile to a national level. He looks back on other news stories he covered including the first televised tour of the White House (with President Truman) and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He recalls his appearance on the now-classic historical recreation series You Are There, for which he served as a “reporter” to famous past events. He describes taking over the anchoring duties of the CBS Evening News from Douglas Edwards and comments on using the signature sign-off “And that’s the way it is.” Among the many historical events that Cronkite discusses are: the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing, the Vietnam War, and Watergate. In the second part of his interview he recalls the mishaps of “live TV” while doing You Are There; his tenure as host of the Morning Show (and his replacement by Jack Paar); his work on the documentary series The Twentieth Century and Air Power; his interviews with Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy; his on-air commentary about the Vietnam War; and his stepping down from the CBS Evening News. Cronkite reveals how he felt following his final broadcast as anchor: “…when the cameras went off, I threw the script up in the air and said, ‘school’s out, school’s out!’”

Don Mischer at the 2009 Emmy Nominations

Executive Producer of this year's Primetime Emmy Awards & Archive Interviewee, Don Mischer, was interviewed this morning at the nomination ceremony (at 6am!). He was happy to discuss the upcoming broadcast and the talents of this year's hosts, Neil Patrick Harris:


Don Mischer is a Producer and Director who has worked on numerous awards shows including the Tony Awards, The Emmy Awards, the Kennedy Center Honors. The 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast on CBS September 20, 2009. For a complete list of this year's nominees, please visit emmys.com

Detailed Interview:
Producer/Director Don Mischer was interviewed for four hours plus in Los Angeles, CA. Mischer talked about his interest from an early age in television production (“I came of age as television came of age”). He spoke about his schooling and how he had planned to be an academic professionally but continued to be interested in television, with thoughts of being a television cameraman. He described how President Kennedy’s assassination and it’s aftermath illustrated the power of television and how the coverage affected him so personally that he decided to follow his dream and enter the television business. He spoke about getting a grant from the Ford Foundation, which allowed him to study the craft of television at his local television station. He described his work for the USIA, creating programs to be distributed internationally, working with top talent and learning to appreciate professional standards. He talked about his freelance work including how he came to work with Al Perlmutter on the landmark show The Great American Dream Machine. He acknowledged declining an offer to work on NBC’s Saturday Night Live instead choosing ABC’s Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell, describing how and why the show flopped. He talked about some of the acclaimed specials he helmed in the 1970s, including the 75th Anniversary of the Ford Motor Company and Motown 25 (and Michael Jackson’s introduction of the “Moonwalk”). He discussed launching the Kennedy Center Honors, for which he has been long associated. He talked about producing the Barbara Walters Specials, commenting on their significance to Walters’s early work at ABC. He spoke about creating a rapport with celebrities and the importance of an open, creative environment to ensure the success of a show. Mischer gave his impressions of such diverse talent as: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Robin Williams, and Ellen DeGeneres. He gave an overview of the production of several of the ongoing award shows he has helmed including the Tony Awards and the Emmy Awards (extensively commenting on the postponements of the 53rd Annual, following the 9/11 attacks). He talked about the NFL’s interest, in 1993, to revamp the halftime Superbowl show and Mischer’s production of the halftime shows over the years. He spoke about the Olympics Opening Ceremony highlight when Muhammed Ali lit the cauldron at the Atlanta Games, as well as the impact that 9/11 had on the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. The interview was conducted by Beth Cochran on November 7, 2008

Quincy Jones - on working with Michael Jackson

Composer and Music Producer Quincy Jones was interviewed for the Archive in 2002. In this excerpt from his 2 hour interview, he remembers when MTV first formed and how influential Michael Jackson's videos were to the network, and the impact of Thriller on the medium of music videos.


Detailed Interview:
Quincy Jones (Composer/ Producer)
Quincy Jones was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in Bel Air, CA. Jones talked about breaking into writing scores for feature films and then discussed his varied work in television on such projects as The Bill Cosby Show; Sanford and Son; and Roots. He also talked about the work he has done in television as a producer. The interview was conducted by Jon Burlingame on November 14, 2002.
You can view Jones' entire interview online at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E9251426FEC0CF24