In 1950 he joined CBS and first made a name for himslef covering the 1952 presidential nominating conventions. After numerous assignments with CBS, Cronkite took over the position of news anchor in April of 1962. Within a year the program was expanded from 15 to 30 minutes and his first half-hour show included an interview with President Kennedy. A few months later Cronkite made television history by announcing, with tears in his eyes, the assassination of the President.
Cronkite's career would continue to be marked by significant moments in American and World history. Upon his return from Vietnam, he declared the war to be a "stalemate" and encouraged the eventual peace talks. During the Apollo XI mission he remained on the air for nearly 30 hours. In 1972 he encouraged CBS News to continue the investigation of the Watergate scandal. In an interview with Anwar Sadat in 1977 he asked if the Egyptian President would be willing to meet with Israel - resulting in the Camp David peace accords.
In 1981 Cronkite retired from CBS. However he has remained active in television. In his retirement he has hosted numerous television shows and documentaries for CBS, PBS, the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel.
If Walter Cronkite died today he would be worth 11 points for Izzy.
