Walter Cronkite hosted all of CBS's convention and election coverage, with one exception, from 1952 to 1980. However he did not become nighttime anchor until 1962, the job being held by Douglas Edwards. Why was this done? Why couldn't Edwards host the big political events? And did any other networks have a similar arrangement?
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Walter Cronkite question
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Edwards hosted the 1948 Democratic & Republican conventions. Four years later he was replaced by Cronkite. In those days, the evening news show didn't travel to the convention sites. So I imagine it was easier to stay with his staff in NY. Plus the evening news show was more prestigious. Over at NBC, once Huntley & Brinkley took over in 1956, they pounded Edwards in the daily show as well as Cronkite in the convention coverage. This led to Cronkite replacing Edwards. The next convention was anchored by Trout & Mudd, probably for the same reason they split duties before between Edwards & Cronkite. But after the disaster of 64, they made Cronkite overall anchor.
Not specific to your question, but NBC did indeed have Huntley/Brinkley in '56, and in '60. Related: I still have the video of the '60 election night coverage that became an all-nighter and wasn't decided until the Today Show the next morning. '64 and '68 continued with the duo, but by '72, Huntley had retired.
...and Huntley would die in 1974. He really did not have much time at all to enjoy retirement.
Yes - the '60 election between Nixon and Kennedy was a squeaker. Thank God, those dead people in Chicago voted for Kennedy, and decided the election.
I guess your original question was never answered. I will take a stab at this. In the 1950's, national news anchors were also host of the sponsored newscasts, which were usually just 15 minutes long. And it wasn't uncommon for them to do live commercials for the sponsor. Certainly a different world. Perhaps CBS felt the conventions and general elections were not valid as being sponsored and they chose to go with a strong reporter instead of the commercial anchorman. Just a guess here, but I think this may be the reason.
One of the reasons they paired Roger Mudd with Bob Trout in 1964 was that in 1960, they paired Cronkite with Edward R. Murrow and it was a disaster. Murrow didn't know anything about American politics, could not interview a politician to save his life, and his on-camera repore with Cronkite was stiff to say the least.
Not sure about that. He was a Kennedy friend, which should have disqualified him for the job. In 1961, after leaving CBS, Kennedy offered Murrow a job as head of the US Information Agency, parent of the Voice of America.
That seems kind of odd; Cronkite was one of "Murrow's Boys"!
Yesterday I was reading the book by Bruce Morrow and according to "Uncle Brucie" one of WABC radio's biggest fans in the 60's was....Walter Cronkite !! In another book about the history of New Jersey's famous Palisades Amusement Park that came out years ago guess who was photographed on their rides including the roller coaster ?? Walter Cronkite !! Cronkite was apparently friends with the Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys as in the past I had seen pics of him and those groups. I can't see Huntley & Brinkley doing the same though I have to admit the conversation between Chet Huntley and pop singer Janis Joplin on the set of Dick Cavett's show in 1970 was well cool. Both of them were seen having an intelligent conversation and smoking. You don't see THAT on TV anymore !! I guess Walter Cronkite was kind of like one's "hip" uncle.
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Ed Murrow may have been a Kennedy friend as you say, but even he admitted later that he knew nothing of American politics and that pairing him with Cronkite for the conventions was a huge mistake. Also, Walter Cronkite was never one of "Murrow's Boys"...a classification for those reporters who were hired by and worked with Murrow during World War Two. Indeed the first time Murrow tried to hire Cronkite away from the United Press after the war, Cronkite said no. It was only in 1950 that Walter finally said yes to coming to CBS.
It was a mistake for many reasons, and one year later, he was no longer with CBS.
I'm sorry; I'm getting sloppy in my old age. It's been awhile since I read the article that listed Cronkite among "other colleagues". I may have confused him with Eric Sevareid. It's an impressive list nonetheless!
Cronkite was less stodgy than many at CBS, part of the reason he was successful. Americans loved his "Uncle Walter" style...somewhat laid back and folksy, but always authoritative when needed. He loved pop culture, the space program, and the limelight. He even made a guest appearance on the popular Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 70's.
Related: Dan Rather, Cronkites successor in 1981, was made famous for his reporting on a Texas hurricane near Galveston/Houston. This eventually led to him being hired by CBS.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technol...irst-radar-image-of-a-hurricane-on-tv/264246/
Related: Dan Rather, Cronkites successor in 1981, was made famous for his reporting on a Texas hurricane near Galveston/Houston. This eventually led to him being hired by CBS.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technol...irst-radar-image-of-a-hurricane-on-tv/264246/
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That wasn't any old Hurricane in 1961 that hit the Texas coast. Carla was(and is) to this day one of the strongest storms to ever hit the US mainland.
That's very interesting that Murrow said he knew nothing of American politics; of course, Murrow took on Senator McCarthy and on the clips of 1952 election coverage I've seen Murrow certainly knows what he's talking about. I wonder in what context he said that.
The beginning of the end for Murrow at CBS was his 1958 speech where he trashed the push for profits over journalism in television. He closed things out on CBS in style with Harvest of Shame, his classic expose of the exploitation of migrant workers. The show was specifically scheduled to air the night after Thanksgiving, to emphasize the dramatic contrasts of most Americans gorging on food compared to these people trying to get enough just to eat.
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