Walter Cronkite

Known as Uncle Walter to millions of Americans, and "Old Iron Pants" to his former colleagues, anchorman Walter Cronkite was the face of "The CBS Evening News" (1948- ) for 19 years. In that time, Cronkite was a reassuring presence in the face of the greatest - and often tragic - events of the 20th century. From his start as a wire reporter for the United Press during World War II, Cronkite cultivated a reputation for delivering clean, unembellished news that was bolstered by an intense drive to fact-check every detail. Though at first reluctant to make the switch from print to the burgeoning world of television in the early 1950s, Cronkite became one of the pioneers of onscreen journalism, often creating the methods of reporting later generations of television reporters took for granted. When he became the anchor of CBS News in 1962, Cronkite had a unique viewpoint from which to observe one of the country's most turbulent times, reporting on the assassination of a president, a destructive war overseas and the eventual resignation of another president. Through it all, America looked to Uncle Walter for comfort and unnerving perspective, making Cronkite the "most trusted man" in America for over half a century.