Was Walter Cronkite Lying?
If history is fake too, what do we do?
Over the past few years, the news industry has been exposed as clearly and obviously fake. From Pulitzer Prizes awarded to New York Times reporters for lies to Dan Rather advocacy (not reporting) to cable “news” channels like MSNBC brainwashing viewers, few people bother to believe that the “news is honest.”
The news business - refashioned as the science of “journalism” with universities, curricula and high falutin language of “serving Democracy” - is shown to be on the take for USAID and government handouts OR dominated by one or two special interests.
All of it is simple: CORRUPT.
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So, was Walter Cronkite lying?
It seems clear that the early era of news with guys like Cronkite (and his bosses) had the same bias and desire for power and money found in every human endeavor. The news over the past 100 years has made lots of money and had lots of influence and it’s hard to believe it was exempt from the corruption.
So, was Cronkite just biased or was he lying for a cause? I am not sure it matters or that we will ever know.
What we can see today - and say about it - is that the news is lying. They don’t even seem to hide it.
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Which brings us to the question of history. Why would the writing of history and the “reporting“ of historical activity be exempt from the lying?
The answer is obviously that today’s historians cannot be called serious or their history trusted as true and honest.
I like to hold on to the belief that historians of the past were moral and honorable and better formed than the historian hacks of today. (Pliny the Younger was ok, right?) But it’s probably wishful thinking.
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So how do I get out of bed in the morning and check the newspaper or study the history of an era with any confidence?
The answer is go to the source. Go as close as you can get through social media and primary sources. Observe closely.
And find a few good people who you trust and whom you can critique closely. If you can test them and trust them, that’s a gift. And uncommon.
I hope to be one of them.
All the best.
Ed
In Walter cronkites autobiography, A Reporters Life, he admitted that he lied about the TET offensive because he opposed the Vietnam war. This, for those unfamiliar with this period of American history, was the turning point in public support for the war. He also said he was a card carrying communist. In light of revelations by James comey (FBI) and John Brennan (CIA), they also have admitted flirtations with communism while in college, so we are still far from being safe from this ideology within our government and trusted media voices.
Ed I trust you and I hope we find all the truth about Jan 6 and the Biden administration so we can get the history more balanced and truthful.