120-552: Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years, from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll. Cronkite received numerous honors including two Peabody Awards , a George Polk Award , an Emmy Award and in 1981
240-500: A MarketWatch critic for asking tough questions. In 2011, the program was the recipient of both an Emmy for Outstanding Continuing Coverage and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Video News Series for foreign correspondent Terry McCarthy 's feature story "Afghan Bomb Squad." On May 18, 2009, the newscast's graphics were overhauled, using a blue and red color scheme with web -influenced motifs and layouts. The new graphics design featured
360-536: A commercial break, however, the screen went black instead for six seconds before returning to Rather. He apologized twice to viewers about the incident. On May 31, 1993, CBS News correspondent Connie Chung began co-anchoring the broadcast with Rather. Chung normally co-anchored in the studio with Rather, but sometimes one of them appeared on location, while the other remained in the studio. Though Rather never said so publicly, CBS News insiders said he did not approve of her appointment. Chung's last broadcast as co-anchor
480-524: A commercial break, which was followed by show announcer Dan McCullough's usual fee plug for the first half of the program and the network's 1:45 pm station identification break. Just before the second half of ATWT was to begin, the network broke in with the bumper slide a second time. In this bulletin Cronkite reported in greater detail about the assassination attempt on the President, while also breaking
600-439: A documentary series about important historical events of the century composed almost exclusively of newsreel footage and interviews. A long-running hit, the show was again renamed as The 21st Century in 1967 with Cronkite hosting speculative reporting on the future for another three years. Cronkite also hosted It's News to Me , a game show based on news events. During the presidential elections of 1952 and 1956 Cronkite hosted
720-465: A greater capacity for remembering the pleasant than the unpleasant. But today was a day that will live in memory and in grief. Only history can write the importance of this day: Were these dark days the harbingers of even blacker ones to come, or like the black before the dawn shall they lead to some still as yet indiscernible sunrise of understanding among men, that violent words, no matter what their origin or motivation, can lead only to violent deeds? This
840-592: A half-hour tape delay. The CBS Evening News was first transmitted in color as a one-evening test broadcast on August 19, 1965, before permanently switching to the format on January 31, 1966. Cronkite's prime time special report, Who, What, When, Where, Why , broadcast on February 27, 1968, ended with his declaration that the United States could only hope for a stalemate in Vietnam . It is often credited with influencing Lyndon Johnson 's decision to drop out of
960-409: A human commentator would not feel free to utter. I was and I am proud of it." Cronkite also angered the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company , the show's sponsor , by grammatically correcting its advertising slogan . Instead of saying " Winston tastes good like a cigarette should " verbatim, he substituted "as" for "like." He was the lead broadcaster of the network's coverage of the 1960 Winter Olympics ,
1080-417: A little trouble...my eyes got a little wet...[what Kennedy had represented] was just all lost to us. Fortunately, I grabbed hold before I was actually [crying]." In a 2003 CBS special commemorating the 40th anniversary of the assassination, Cronkite recalled his reaction upon having the death confirmed to him, he said: And when you finally had to say it's official, the President is dead...pretty tough words in
1200-614: A look influenced by the graphics that CBS used during the 2008 presidential election coverage . On April 3, 2011, the Associated Press reported that Couric would be leaving the Evening News when her contract expired in June. Couric later confirmed her departure to People magazine, citing a desire for "a format that will allow (her) to engage in more multi-dimensional storytelling." On May 13, 2011, Couric announced that
1320-426: A map or still photograph. When Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, WCBW (which was usually off the air on Sunday to give the engineers a day off), took to the air at 8:45 p.m. with an extensive special report. The national emergency broke down the unspoken wall between CBS radio and television. WCBW executives convinced radio announcers and experts such as George Fielding Elliot and Linton Wells to come to
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#17327806193651440-809: A mission fired a machine gun at a German fighter. He also landed in a glider with the 101st Airborne Division in Operation Market Garden and covered the Battle of the Bulge . After the war, he covered the Nuremberg trials and served as the United Press main reporter in Moscow from 1946 to 1948. In 1950, Cronkite joined CBS News in its young and growing television division, again recruited by Murrow. Cronkite began working at WTOP-TV (now WUSA ),
1560-491: A new dedication to the American concepts that brought no political, sectional, religious or racial divisions, then maybe it may yet be possible to say that John Fitzgerald Kennedy did not die in vain . That's the way it is, Monday, November 25, 1963. This is Walter Cronkite, good night. Referring to his coverage of Kennedy's assassination, in a 2006 TV interview with Nick Clooney , Cronkite recalled: I choked up, I really had
1680-507: A play with fellow student Eli Wallach . He dropped out in 1935, not returning for the fall term, to concentrate on journalism. Cronkite left college in his junior year, in the fall term of 1935, after starting a series of newspaper reporting jobs covering news and sports. He entered broadcasting as a radio announcer for WKY in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma . In 1936, he met his future wife, Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Maxwell, while working as
1800-503: A reason to smile. On Wednesday, the network announced 'Evening News with Scott Pelley' added more than 1.25 million viewers over the past four years – a whopping 21 percent jump. The show also saw audience growth for the fifth consecutive season, the first time any network evening news broadcast has done that since 1987." At the end of the 2015–2016 television season, CBS News announced, " The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley , America's fastest growing network evening news broadcast, finished
1920-587: A regular 15-minute nightly newscast on the CBS television network, including WCBS-TV. It aired every weeknight at 7:30 p.m., and was the first regularly scheduled, network television news program featuring an anchor. (WCBW/WCBS-TV newscasts prior to this time were local television broadcasts seen only in New York City.) NBC 's offering at the time, NBC Television Newsreel , which premiered in February 1948,
2040-460: A report from Washington, DC that came moments later, which said that government sources were now reporting the President was dead (this information was passed on to ABC as well, which took it as official confirmation and reported it as such; NBC did not report this information at all and chose instead to rely on reports from Charles Murphy and Robert MacNeil to confirm their suspicions). At 2:38 pm EST, while filling in time with some observations about
2160-590: A rival correspondent on USS Massachusetts to return to the US and to issue the first uncensored news reports to be published about Operation Torch. Cronkite's experiences aboard Texas launched his career as a war correspondent . Subsequently, he was one of eight journalists selected by the United States Army Air Forces to fly bombing raids over Germany in a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress as part of group called The Writing 69th , and during
2280-489: A situation like that. And they were, um, hard to come by. According to historian Douglas Brinkley , Cronkite provided a sense of perspective throughout the unfolding sequence of disturbing events. In mid-February 1968, on the urging of his executive producer Ernest Leiser , Cronkite and Leiser journeyed to Vietnam to cover the aftermath of the Tet Offensive . They were invited to dine with General Creighton Abrams ,
2400-469: A warmer, more benevolent presence than her two competitors, something that she brought to the program nearly 16 years of goodwill from doing "Today" and becoming America's sweetheart, or else very close to it, and he claimed that this goodwill remained. Shales added that viewers "may find bad news less discomforting and sleep-depriving if Couric gives it to them". He also added that she does not try to "sugarcoat" or "prettify" grim realities. According to Shales,
2520-460: A would-be assassin in Dallas, Texas. Stay tuned to CBS News for further details. Just before the bulletin cut out, a CBS News staffer was heard saying "Connally too," apparently having just heard the news that Texas Governor John Connally had also been shot while riding in the presidential limousine with his wife Nellie and Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy . CBS then rejoined the telecast of ATWT during
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#17327806193652640-413: Is "valor"). In the face of media attention and pleas from his staff, Rather abandoned the signoff on September 8. On September 11, 1987, Rather marched off camera in anger just before a remote broadcast of the program when it appeared that CBS Sports ' coverage of a U.S. Open tennis semifinal match between Steffi Graf and Lori McNeil was going to run over into time allotted for the newscast. Rather
2760-451: Is claimed by some to have said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America." However, this account of Johnson has been questioned by other observers in books on journalistic accuracy. At the time the editorial aired, Johnson was in Austin, Texas, attending Texas Governor John Connally's birthday gala and was giving a speech in his honor. CBS Evening News The CBS Evening News
2880-478: Is solutions-oriented. On April 8, 2022, it was reported that O'Donnell had renewed her contract through at least the 2024 presidential election . A rebranding of the program was unveiled on August 29, 2022, featuring a world map motif (a design that has frequently been used in CBS News programming as an homage to Walter Cronkite's era) and elements of the CBS brand identity first introduced in 2020. As part of
3000-544: Is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News , the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The CBS Evening News is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature stories and interviews by CBS News correspondents and reporters covering events around the world. The program has been broadcast since July 1, 1941, under the original title CBS Television News , eventually adopting its current title in 1963. Beginning on July 15, 2019,
3120-401: Is the larger question that will be answered, in part, in the manner that a shaken civilization seeks the answers to the immediate question: Who, and most importantly what, was Lee Harvey Oswald? The world's doubts must be put to rest. Tonight there will be few Americans who will go to bed without carrying with them the sense that somehow they have failed. If in the search of our conscience we find
3240-653: The American flag background on the news set (which had been used since the 2008 elections, this was last used on Harry Smith interim anchor episodes until 2011) was replaced by a replica of the globe fixture during the Cronkite era, and the James Horner theme was replaced by the 1987–91 theme composed by Trivers-Myers Music that was used during the Rather era (the theme was last used on Up to the Minute on June 24, 2011, and
3360-646: The CBS Broadcast Center and gained a new set to go with it. On May 30, 2017, reports surfaced confirming that Scott Pelley had been relieved of his duties at CBS Evening News . Pelley remained at CBS News as a 60 Minutes correspondent. Pelley reportedly asked staff members to clear out his office. The move was made official on May 31, 2017, and Anthony Mason was named interim anchor. On June 6, 2017, CBS Evening News announced that Pelley would anchor until June 16, 2017. On October 25, 2017, CBS News announced that correspondent Jeff Glor would be
3480-679: The CBS Evening News became the third network evening newscast to begin broadcasting in high definition (behind NBC Nightly News and PBS 's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer ). On August 27, 2008, Mediabistro wrote a piece about the Big Three network newscasts, praising Couric's Evening News for extensive reporting that had, in its opinion, content better than its rivals. Another critic from MarketWatch praised Couric's work and said that people should watch out for her in 2009. Washington Post writer Tom Shales praised Couric as
3600-569: The CBS Evening News began in February 1966. On May 2, 2016, CBS announced that the weekend edition would be rebranded, effective May 7, 2016, as the CBS Weekend News . Weekend newscasts originate from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and were anchored by Reena Ninan on Saturday and Elaine Quijano on Sunday. By the summer of 2020 Ninan and Quijano were replaced by Major Garrett and Jamie Yuccas. In December 2020, it
3720-462: The CBS Evening News to be "[where] they have big news to break". The CBS Evening News expanded to weekend evenings in February 1966, originally anchored by Roger Mudd . The Sunday edition of the program was dropped in September 1971, when CBS began airing 60 Minutes in the 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time (5:00 p.m. Central) slot in order to help affiliates fulfill requirements imposed by
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3840-524: The CBS Evening News to become the #2 evening news broadcast, ahead of ABC's World News Tonight . The ABC News division was in flux following the death of anchor Peter Jennings in 2005, and, with the adoption of a dual-anchor format on World News Tonight , life-threatening injuries suffered by co-anchor Bob Woodruff in January 2006 when an Iraqi military convoy he rode in hit a roadside bomb, leaving Elizabeth Vargas as sole anchor. When Charles Gibson
3960-555: The CBS Evening News , CBS News, and CBS in general. Some of these concerns dated from Rather's position as White House correspondent for the network's news division during the Nixon administration . A shouting match with Vice President George H. W. Bush during an interview on live television in January 1988 related to the Iran–Contra affair did little to dispel those concerns. Rather unapologetically defended his behavior in statements
4080-547: The East Coast and West Coast through the installation of a new coaxial cable connection. That transcontinental link prompted Edwards to start each broadcast with the updated greeting "Good evening everyone, coast to coast." On November 30, 1956, the program became the first to use the new technology of videotape to time delay the broadcast (which originated in New York City ) for the western United States . On April 16, 1962, Walter Cronkite succeeded Edwards, and
4200-518: The Evening News may be a more hospitable, welcoming sort of place than its competitors. He concluded by stating that "it's naive to think that viewers choose their news anchor based solely on strict journalistic credentials, though Couric's do seem to be in order, despite her critics' claims." The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric won the 2008 and 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for best newscast. In September 2008, Couric interviewed Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin , earning respect from
4320-578: The Evening News would undergo a retool and introduce a multi-anchor format with an emphasis on its "ensemble of journalists"; John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois will be taking over as co-anchors, while Margaret Brennan of Face the Nation and WCBS-TV weather reporter Lonnie Quinn will serve as contributors. On November 22, 2024, O'Donnell announced that her last day as host will broadcast on January 24, 2025. Dickerson and DuBois will debut on January 27, 2025. 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens
4440-587: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s Prime Time Access Rule . The Sunday edition returned in January 1976, when the network moved 60 Minutes one hour later to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, where that program remains to this day (except when the NFL on CBS is scheduled to air a doubleheader; on those Sundays, 60 Minutes is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET). Harrison Salisbury Too Many Requests If you report this error to
4560-469: The Murrow Boys team of war correspondents, relieving Bill Downs as the head of the Moscow bureau. CBS offered Cronkite $ 125 ($ 2,235 in 2020 money) a week along with "commercial fees" amounting to $ 25 ($ 447 in 2020) for almost every time Cronkite reported on air. Up to that point, he had been making $ 57.50 ($ 1,027 in 2020) per week at UP, but he had reservations about broadcasting. He initially accepted
4680-523: The New York Times reported that 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley was considered to be the front-runner to replace Couric as anchor of the program. On May 3, 2011, CBS confirmed that Pelley would replace Couric as anchor for the CBS Evening News in June. The graphics were subtly updated (the Couric 2009-2011 graphics were used for the first two days of Pelley's tenure as anchor in 2011),
4800-656: The Pacific Time Zone and 5:30 p.m. in the Alaska time zone and on tape delay in the Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone . At midnight Eastern, the Western Edition is posted on the website for CBS News and their YouTube channel. The Western Edition additionally airs along with the weekend versions on CBS News' streaming channel . As of April 11, 2024, CBS Evening News remains in third place of
4920-553: The assassination of President John F. Kennedy . In late 1972, Cronkite prodded the show's producers to feature two nights of lengthy explanation on the Watergate scandal , which had been extensively covered by The Washington Post , but had not received major national coverage. After the first half of the report, shown on a Friday, ran for 14 minutes, roughly half of the air time of the broadcast, White House officials complained to CBS founder William S. Paley . The second half of
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5040-465: The 1991–92 season. Couric began working at CBS News in July 2006. During her first broadcast as anchor on September 4, 2006, a new graphics package and set, and a new theme composed by Academy Award -winning composer James Horner were introduced. Similar graphics and music would be introduced on other CBS News programs such as Up to the Minute , CBS Morning News and The Early Show throughout
5160-409: The 2015–16 television season with CBS's highest ratings in the time period in 10 years (since the 2005–06 season), according to Nielsen most current ratings. The CBS Evening News has grown its audience for six consecutive seasons, a first-time achievement for any network evening news broadcast since the advent of people meters (since at least 1987). Under Pelley, who assumed the anchor chair in June 2011,
5280-540: The CBS Evening News added 1.4 million viewers and an audience increase of 23%, double NBC and ABC's growth combined over the same period (since the 2010–11 season). Pelley has refocused the program towards hard news and away from the soft news and infotainment features of the early Katie Couric era. Story selection has focused more on foreign policy, Washington politics, and economic subjects. The program's audience viewership began to grow immediately, closing
5400-590: The CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C.. He originally served as anchor of the network's 15-minute late-Sunday-evening newscast Up To the Minute , which followed What's My Line? at 11:00 pm ET from 1951 through 1962. Although it was widely reported that the term " anchor " was coined to describe Cronkite's role at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, marking the first nationally televised convention coverage, other news presenters bore
5520-485: The CBS news-discussion series Pick the Winner . Another of his network assignments was The Morning Show , CBS' short-lived challenge to NBC 's Today in 1954. His on-air duties included interviewing guests and chatting with a lion puppet named Charlemane about the news. He considered this discourse with a puppet as "one of the highlights" of the show. He added, "A puppet can render opinions on people and things that
5640-489: The CBS television studios at Grand Central Station from the radio network's base at 485 Madison Avenue, to give information and commentary on the attack. The WCBW special report that night lasted less than 90 minutes, but it pushed the limits of live television in 1941 and opened up new possibilities for future broadcasts. As CBS wrote in a special report to the FCC, the unscheduled live news broadcast on December 7 "was unquestionably
5760-584: The President was dead but stressed it was not confirmed. After several minutes, the coverage came back to the CBS newsroom where Cronkite reported that the President had been given blood transfusions and two priests had been called into the room. He also played an audio report from KRLD that someone had been arrested in the assassination attempt at the Texas School Book Depository . Back in Dallas Barker announced another report of
5880-633: The anchor of American network television's first nightly half-hour news program. Cronkite's tenure as anchor of the CBS Evening News made him an icon in television news. During the early part of his tenure anchoring the CBS Evening News , Cronkite competed against NBC 's anchor team of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley , who anchored The Huntley–Brinkley Report . For much of the 1960s, The Huntley–Brinkley Report had more viewers than Cronkite's broadcast. A key moment for Cronkite came during his coverage of John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963. Another factor in Cronkite and CBS' ascendancy to
6000-453: The arms of his wife Mrs. Kennedy, was carried to an ambulance and the car rushed to Parkland Hospital outside Dallas, the President was taken to an emergency room in the hospital. Other White House officials were in doubt in the corridors of the hospital as to the condition of President Kennedy. Repeating this bulletin: President Kennedy shot while driving in an open car from the airport in Dallas, Texas, to downtown Dallas. Cronkite then recapped
6120-480: The audience of the unresolved situation, ending only on Day 444, January 20, 1981. Cronkite is vividly remembered for breaking the news of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on Friday, November 22, 1963. Cronkite had been standing at the United Press International wire machine in the CBS newsroom as the bulletin of the President's shooting broke and he clamored to get on the air to break
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#17327806193656240-405: The battle. And with each escalation, the world comes closer to the brink of cosmic disaster. To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. On
6360-491: The break would be the last anyone would see of any network's programming until Tuesday, November 26. During the commercial, the bumper slide interrupted the proceedings again and Cronkite updated the viewers on the situation in Dallas. This bulletin went into more detail than the other two, revealing that Kennedy had been shot in the head, Connally in the chest. Cronkite remained on the air for the next ten minutes, continuing to read bulletins as they were handed to him, and recapping
6480-569: The broadcast was retitled Walter Cronkite with the News . On September 2, 1963, the newscast, retitled CBS Evening News , became the first half-hour weeknight news broadcast on network television and was moved to 6:30 p.m. Eastern time (NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report expanded to 30 minutes exactly one week later on September 9, 1963). As before, some affiliates (including flagship owned-and-operated station WCBS-TV in New York City) had
6600-565: The death of the President, mentioning that it came from a reliable source. Before the network left KRLD's feed for good, Barker first announced, then retracted, a confirmation of Kennedy's death. CBS cut back to Cronkite reporting that one of the priests had administered last rites to the president. In the next few minutes, several more bulletins reporting that Kennedy had died were given to Cronkite, including one from CBS's own correspondent Dan Rather that had been reported as confirmation of Kennedy's demise by CBS Radio. As these bulletins came into
6720-576: The deputy commander of all forces in Vietnam, whom Cronkite knew from World War II. According to Leiser, Abrams told Cronkite, "we cannot win this Goddamned war, and we ought to find a dignified way out." Upon return, Cronkite and Leiser wrote separate editorial reports based on that trip. Cronkite, an excellent writer, preferred Leiser's text over his own. On February 27, 1968, Cronkite closed "Report from Vietnam: Who, What, When, Where, Why?" with that editorial report: We have been too often disappointed by
6840-539: The dictation of peace terms. For it seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. This summer's almost certain standoff will either end in real give-and-take negotiations or terrible escalation; and for every means we have to escalate, the enemy can match us, and that applies to invasion of the North, the use of nuclear weapons, or the mere commitment of one hundred, or two hundred, or three hundred thousand more American troops to
6960-478: The events as they had happened: that the President and Governor Connally had been shot and were in the emergency room at Parkland Hospital , and no one knew their condition as yet. CBS then decided to return to ATWT , which was now midway through its second segment. The cast had continued to perform live while Cronkite's bulletins broke into the broadcast, unaware of the unfolding events in Dallas. ATWT then took another scheduled commercial break. The segment before
7080-488: The events as they were known. He also related a report given to reporters by Texas Congressman Albert Thomas that the President and Governor were still alive, the first indication of their condition. At 2:00 pm EST, with the top of the hour station break looming, Cronkite told the audience that there would be a brief pause so that all of CBS' affiliates, including those in the Mountain and Pacific time zones which were not on
7200-420: The fact that it was only a matter of time before the assassination was confirmed. He appeared to concede this when, several minutes after he received the Rather report, he received word that the two priests who gave the last rites to Kennedy told reporters on the scene that he was dead. Cronkite said that report "seems to be as close to official as we can get", but would not declare it as such. Nor did he do so with
7320-419: The first-ever time such an event was televised in the United States. He replaced Jim McKay , who had suffered a mental breakdown . On April 16, 1962, Cronkite succeeded Douglas Edwards as anchorman of the CBS's nightly feature newscast, tentatively renamed Walter Cronkite with the News , but later the CBS Evening News on September 2, 1963, when the show was expanded from 15 to 30 minutes, making Cronkite
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#17327806193657440-437: The following Thursday, May 19, 2011, would be her last broadcast. Despite originally retooling the newscasts to add more features, interviews, and human interest stories, over time it returned to the hard news format popularized by Cronkite. Harry Smith served as an interim anchor until Pelley's tenure started on June 6, 2011 (like Couric before him, Smith would also depart from CBS a month later). In an April 2011 article,
7560-581: The following day, and Bush went on to win the presidential election in November. Earlier, on September 1, 1986, amidst a brewing battle among CBS's Board of Directors for control of the company and turmoil at CBS News, Rather closed his Monday broadcast with the word "courage," repeating it the following night. On September 3, Rather said the masculine noun for the Spanish word for "courage," "coraje" (the primary translation for "courage" in Spanish
7680-446: The format of a news report. His famous last line for these programs was: "What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times ... and you were there." In 1971, the show was revived and redesigned to attract an audience of teenagers and young adults, hosted again by Cronkite on Saturday mornings. In 1957, he began hosting The Twentieth Century (eventually renamed The 20th Century ),
7800-527: The gap between the CBS Evening News and its competitors by one million viewers within a year, although the CBS program remains in third place among the network evening newscasts. In late May 2016, a new theme tune composed by Joel Beckerman of Man Made Music was introduced. Later that same year in December, the program moved permanently into CBS Studio 57, which the newscast used during their 2016 election coverage (moving from its longtime home of studio 47) at
7920-796: The high school newspaper. He was a member of the Boy Scouts . He attended college at the University of Texas at Austin (UT), entering in the fall term of 1933, where he worked on the Daily Texan and became a member of the Nu chapter of the Chi Phi Fraternity . He also was a member of the Houston chapter of DeMolay , a Masonic fraternal organization for boys. While attending UT, Cronkite had his first taste of performance, appearing in
8040-410: The importance of reading, in a piece substantially lifted from a Wall Street Journal column by Jeffrey Zaslow . Couric appeared to personally reminisce about her first library card — "I still remember when I got my first library card, browsing through the stacks for my favorite books" — but the words were all Zaslow's. It was later determined that a producer had actually plagiarized the piece, and
8160-434: The matter and several CBS staffers were fired or asked to resign. After departing from the Evening News , Rather remained with CBS News as a correspondent. On June 20, 2006, CBS News President Sean McManus announced that Rather and CBS had agreed to end his 44-year career with the network. On March 13, 2005, Rather was succeeded on an interim basis by Face the Nation host and CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer . At
8280-541: The men's final. By 1990, the CBS Evening News had fallen to third place in the ratings, behind ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings and NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw . On January 22, 1991, demonstrators from the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) broke into the CBS News studio and chanted "Fight AIDS , not Arabs " during the show's introduction. One protester was seen on camera just as Rather began speaking. Rather immediately called for
8400-551: The month of October. A new opening title sequence was designed, with Walter Cronkite providing the voiceover, replacing Wendell Craig unless a temporary voice-over was needed. Following Cronkite's death months earlier, actor Morgan Freeman recorded a new voice-over for the title sequence, which debuted on January 4, 2010. The program also debuted a new feature called "freeSpeech" in which different Americans, ranging from well-known national figures to average people, would provide news commentary. After overwhelmingly negative reaction,
8520-621: The months following Rather's departure, the program came to emphasize live exchanges between Schieffer and various CBS News correspondents around the world. In contrast to traditional network news practice, these exchanges were unrehearsed as part of an effort to make the language on the broadcast sound more "natural". Viewership increased over this period, with the program being the only network evening news broadcast to gain viewers during 2005. In November 2005, CBS announced that CBS Evening News executive producer Jim Murphy would be replaced by Rome Hartman, who took over in January 2006. Schieffer led
8640-437: The most stimulating challenge and marked the greatest advance of any single problem faced up to that time." Additional newscasts were scheduled in the early days of World War II , including War Backgrounds (December 1941–February 1942), World This Week (February–April 1942), and America At War (March–May 1942). In May 1942, WCBW (like almost all television stations) temporarily suspended studio operations, which resulted in
8760-465: The new CBS Evening News anchor. On November 26, 2017, the organization announced his first official air date for December 4, 2017. Together with Glor's debut, the newscast also updated its looks and used a new logotype and updated typography, using Ridley Grotesk as its base. However, the theme music and set from the later Pelley era were retained. On May 6, 2019, it was announced that Glor would leave CBS Evening News . His last day of his broadcast
8880-404: The news as he wanted CBS to be the first network to do so. There was a problem facing the crew in the newsroom, however. There was no television camera in the studio at the time, as the technical crew was working on it. Eventually, the camera was retrieved and brought back to the newsroom. Because of the magnitude of the story and the continuous flow of information coming from various sources, time
9000-403: The news of Governor Connally's shooting: ...President Kennedy was shot as he drove from Dallas Airport to downtown Dallas; Governor Connally of Texas, in the car with him, was also shot. It is reported that three bullets rang out. A Secret Service man has been...was heard to shout from the car, "He's dead." Whether he referred to President Kennedy or not is not yet known. The President, cradled in
9120-426: The newsroom, it was becoming clearer that Kennedy had in fact lost his life. Cronkite, however, stressed that these bulletins were simply reports and not any official confirmation of the President's condition; some of his colleagues recounted in 2013 that his early career as a wire service reporter taught him to wait for official word before reporting a story. Still, as more word came in, Cronkite seemed to be resigned to
9240-407: The next four days, along with his colleagues, Cronkite continued to report segments of uninterrupted coverage of the assassination, including the announcement of Oswald's death in the hands of Jack Ruby on Sunday. The next day, on the day of the funeral, Cronkite concluded CBS Evening News with the following assessment about the events of the last four dark days: It is said that the human mind has
9360-419: The next sentence of the news report: Vice President Johnson (clears throat) has left the hospital in Dallas, but we do not know to where he has proceeded; presumably he will be taking the oath of office shortly and become the 36th President of the United States. With emotion still in his voice and eyes watering, Cronkite once again recapped the events after collecting himself, incorporating some wire photos of
9480-495: The nightly broadcast has been anchored by Norah O'Donnell and has been titled CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell ; starting on December 2, 2019, the newscast has originated from CBS News' bureau in Washington, D.C. Previous weeknight anchors have included Douglas Edwards , Walter Cronkite , Dan Rather , Connie Chung , Bob Schieffer , Katie Couric , Scott Pelley , and Jeff Glor . Saturday and Sunday broadcasts of
9600-479: The off chance that military and political analysts are right, in the next few months we must test the enemy's intentions, in case this is indeed his last big gasp before negotiations. But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could. Following Cronkite's editorial report, President Lyndon B. Johnson
9720-615: The offer. When he informed his boss Harrison Salisbury , UP countered with a raise of $ 17.50 ($ 312 in 2020) per week; Hugh Baillie also offered him an extra $ 20 ($ 357 in 2020) per week to stay. Cronkite ultimately accepted the UP offer, a move which angered Murrow and drove a wedge between them that would last for years. Cronkite became one of the top American reporters in World War II , covering battles in North Africa and Europe. He
9840-703: The optimism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds. They may be right, that Hanoi's winter-spring offensive has been forced by the Communist realization that they could not win the longer war of attrition, and that the Communists hope that any success in the offensive will improve their position for eventual negotiations. It would improve their position, and it would also require our realization, that we should have had all along, that any negotiations must be that – negotiations, not
9960-553: The option of carrying a later edition, scheduled at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. NBC also allowed this practice for the Huntley-Brinkley Report , with ABC later following it for the ABC Evening News (now ABC World News Tonight ). The networks ended this practice after 1971, although some affiliates – mostly in larger markets – continued to carry the national newscasts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on
10080-483: The race for President . "If I've lost Walter Cronkite... [I]'ve lost Middle America," he stated. Under Cronkite, the newscast began what would eventually become an 18-year period of dominating the ratings among the network evening news programs. In the process, Cronkite became "the most trusted man in America" according to a Gallup Poll , a status that had first been fostered in November 1963 through his coverage of
10200-572: The rebrand, the show introduced a new theme composed by Antfood , which is an arrangement of the Trivers-Myers theme used during the Dan Rather and Scott Pelley eras that incorporates Antfood's sonic branding for the network. On July 30, 2024, O'Donnell announced that she would step down as anchor of the CBS Evening News after the 2024 elections; she will remain with CBS News as a senior correspondent. On August 1, CBS News announced that
10320-487: The report was aired the following Monday, but only for eight minutes. Cronkite was replaced as anchor of the program the Monday after his retirement, March 9, 1981, by 49-year-old Dan Rather , who had been with CBS News as a correspondent since the early 1960s and later became a correspondent for the network's newsmagazine 60 Minutes . Concerns about excessive liberalism in the media were frequently leveled at Rather,
10440-526: The room for a while. At about 3:30 pm EST, Cronkite came back into the newsroom to relay some new information. The two major pieces of information involved the Oath of Office being administered to now-President Johnson, and that Dallas police had arrested a man named Lee Harvey Oswald whom they suspected had fired the fatal shots. After that, Cronkite left again to begin preparing for that night's CBS Evening News , which he returned to anchor as normal. For
10560-424: The same schedule, could join the network. He then left the radio booth and went to the anchor desk in the newsroom. Within twenty seconds of the announcement, every CBS affiliate except Dallas' KRLD (which was providing local coverage) was airing the network's feed. The camera was finally operational by this time and enabled the audience to see Cronkite, who was clad in shirt and tie but without his suit coat, given
10680-691: The security presence in Dallas, which had been increased due to violent acts against United Nations Ambassador Adlai Stevenson in the city earlier that year, Cronkite was handed a new bulletin. After looking it over for a moment, he took off his glasses, and made the official announcement: From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official: (reading AP flash) "President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time." (glancing up at clock) 2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago. After making that announcement, Cronkite paused briefly, put his glasses back on, and swallowed hard to maintain his composure. With noticeable emotion in his voice he intoned
10800-420: The segment was discontinued. On March 8, 2007, The New York Times reported that the program's executive producer Rome Hartman was being replaced by television news veteran Rick Kaplan . Hartman left as executive producer on March 7. Kaplan came to the Evening News after stints at MSNBC , CNN , and ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings . On April 4, 2007, Couric read a one-minute commentary about
10920-449: The show would be moving to Washington, D.C. , on December 2, 2019. This marked the first time that a major network evening news program was based outside of New York since 1978, when ABC World News Tonight used bureaus in Washington, Chicago and London for its broadcast. O'Donnell's approach has been described by her as " hard news with heart", combining investigative reporting and original storytelling which connects with people and
11040-620: The soap opera As the World Turns (ATWT) , which had begun at the very minute of the shooting. A "CBS News Bulletin" bumper slide abruptly broke into the broadcast at 1:40 pm EST. Over the slide, Cronkite began reading what would be the first of three audio-only bulletins that were filed in the next twenty minutes: Here is a bulletin from CBS News: in Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting. While Cronkite
11160-497: The son of Helen Lena (née Fritsche) and Dr. Walter Leland Cronkite, a dentist. Cronkite lived in Kansas City, Missouri , until he was 10, when his family moved to Houston , Texas . He attended elementary school at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School (now Baker Montessori School ), junior high school at Lanier Junior High School (now Lanier Middle School ) in Houston, and high school at San Jacinto High School , where he edited
11280-436: The sports announcer for KCMO (AM) in Kansas City, Missouri . His broadcast name was "Walter Wilcox". He would explain later that radio stations at the time did not want people to use their real names for fear of taking their listeners with them if they left. In Kansas City, he joined the United Press International in 1937. With his name now established, he received a job offer from Edward R. Murrow at CBS News to join
11400-404: The station sharply cutting back its live program schedule, and resorting exclusively to the occasional broadcast of films. This was primarily because much of the staff had either joined the military service or were redeployed to war-related technical research, and to prolong the life of the early, unstable cameras which were now impossible to repair due to the wartime lack of parts. In May 1944, as
11520-689: The summer months. In 1969, during the Apollo 11 (with co-host and former astronaut Wally Schirra ) and Apollo 13 Moon missions, Cronkite received the best ratings and made CBS the most-watched television network for the missions. In 1970, when Huntley retired, the CBS Evening News finally dominated the American TV news viewing audience. Although NBC finally settled on the skilled and well-respected broadcast journalist John Chancellor , Cronkite proved to be more popular and continued to be top-rated until his retirement in 1981. One of Cronkite's trademarks
11640-415: The three major television news programs, with around 4,969,000 total viewers. Upon becoming commercial station WCBW (channel 2, now WCBS-TV ) on July 1, 1941, the pioneer CBS television station in New York City broadcast two daily news programs, at 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. weekdays, anchored by Richard Hubbell. Most of the newscasts featured Hubbell reading a script with only occasional cutaways to
11760-592: The time Schieffer took over, it was uncertain how long he would host the broadcast, whether it would retain its current structure, or instead adopt some kind of multiple host or alternative format. Under Rather in the years leading up to his retirement, the CBS Evening News trailed its rivals at ABC and NBC by a fairly large margin. White House correspondent John Roberts , and Scott Pelley , his predecessor in that position, were often mentioned as possible successors to Rather when he retired. Jim Axelrod became White House correspondent when Roberts later left for CNN . In
11880-430: The title before him. Cronkite anchored the network's coverage of the 1952 presidential election as well as later conventions. In 1964 he was temporarily replaced by the team of Robert Trout and Roger Mudd ; this proved to be a mistake, and Cronkite returned to the anchor chair for future political conventions. From 1953 to 1957, Cronkite hosted the CBS program You Are There , which reenacted historical events, using
12000-431: The top of the ratings was that, as the decade progressed, RCA made a corporate decision not to fund NBC News at the levels that CBS provided for its news broadcasts. Consequently, CBS News acquired a reputation for greater accuracy and depth in coverage. This reputation meshed well with Cronkite's wire service experience, and in 1967 the CBS Evening News began to surpass The Huntley–Brinkley Report in viewership during
12120-478: The urgent nature of the story. Cronkite reminded the audience, again, of the attempt made on the life of the President and tossed to KRLD news director Eddie Barker at the Dallas Trade Mart, where Kennedy was supposed to be making a speech before he was shot. Barker relayed information that Kennedy's condition was extremely critical. Then, after a prayer for Kennedy, Barker quoted an unofficial report that
12240-553: The video was subsequently removed from the CBS News website. Zaslow responded that CBS had "been very gracious and apologetic, and we at the Journal appreciate it." Furthermore, this was a notable case of "double plagiarism": the producer claimed the text from Zaslow, and the anchor claimed the words from the producer. That producer, Melissa McNamara, was fired hours after the Journal contacted CBS News to complain. The network promised changes to its procedures. On July 28, 2008,
12360-433: The visit and explaining the significance of the pictures now that Kennedy was dead. He reminded the viewers that Vice President Johnson was now the President and was to be sworn in, that Governor Connally's condition was still unknown, and that there was no report of whether the assassin had been captured. He then handed the anchor position to Charles Collingwood , who had just entered the newsroom, took his suit coat, and left
12480-625: The war began to turn in favor of the Allies, WCBW reopened the studios and the newscasts returned, briefly anchored by Ned Calmer , followed by Alan Jackson, Everett Holles, and Dwight Cooke. After the war, expanded news programs appeared on the WCBW schedule. The station's call letters were changed to WCBS-TV in 1946. Anchors included Bob McKee, Milo Boulton, Jim McMullin, Larry LeSueur, Tom O’Connor , and, beginning in 1947, Douglas Edwards . On May 3, 1948, Edwards began anchoring CBS Television News , now
12600-421: Was May 10, 2019. John Dickerson , Major Garrett , Margaret Brennan , Anthony Mason , David Begnaud , Jim Axelrod , and Maurice DuBois anchored on an interim basis until Norah O'Donnell took the anchor chair on July 15, 2019. On May 6, 2019, CBS News announced that Norah O'Donnell was named anchor and managing editor of CBS Evening News to replace Glor, effective July 15, 2019. It also announced that
12720-406: Was a segment featured on a September 2004 broadcast of 60 Minutes Wednesday , questioning President George W. Bush 's Texas Air National Guard record. Conservative activists challenged the authenticity of the documents used for the report. A number of bloggers analyzed scans of the documents, and rapidly concluded they were forgeries. Subsequently, CBS commissioned an independent inquiry into
12840-572: Was also known for his extensive coverage of the U.S. space program, from Project Mercury to the Moon landings to the Space Shuttle . He was the only non-NASA recipient of an Ambassador of Exploration award. Cronkite is known for his departing catchphrase , "And that's the way it is", followed by the date of the broadcast. Cronkite was born on November 4, 1916, in Saint Joseph, Missouri ,
12960-607: Was announced that Adriana Diaz and Jericka Duncan would be the new weekend anchors. The weeknight edition of the CBS Evening News airs live at 6:30 p.m. in the Eastern and 5:30 p.m. in the Central Time Zones and is tape delayed for the Mountain Time Zone . A "Western Edition", with updated segments covering breaking news stories, airs pre-recorded at 6:30 p.m. for most stations in
13080-489: Was appointed sole anchor of World News Tonight in May 2006, after Elizabeth Vargas resigned in connection with her pregnancy, ABC regained stability and momentum to regain the #2 spot. Bob Schieffer 's final CBS Evening News program was broadcast on August 31, 2006. Russ Mitchell filled in for the following night (September 1, 2006), after which he was succeeded by Katie Couric on September 4, 2006. On December 1, 2005, it
13200-747: Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter . Cronkite reported many events from 1937 to 1981, including bombings in World War II ; the Nuremberg trials ; combat in the Vietnam War ; the Dawson's Field hijackings ; Watergate ; the Iran Hostage Crisis ; and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy , civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr. , and Beatles musician John Lennon . He
13320-450: Was ending the CBS Evening News with the phrase "...And that's the way it is," followed by the date. Keeping to standards of objective journalism, he omitted this phrase on nights when he ended the newscast with opinion or commentary. Beginning with January 16, 1980, Day 50 of the Iran hostage crisis , Cronkite added the length of the hostages' captivity to the show's closing in order to remind
13440-515: Was in Miami covering the visit to the city by Pope John Paul II . When the tennis match ended sooner than expected at 6:32 p.m. Eastern Time , Rather was nowhere to be found, and six minutes of dead air followed before he returned to the broadcast position; nearly half of the audience watched and waited. Rather attempted to explain his actions with a statement release on Sunday, but made no mention of it on his next newscast on Monday, delayed by
13560-421: Was named supervising producer, and fellow 60 Minutes producer Guy Campanile was named executive producer. CBS News and Stations CEO Wendy McMahon stated that the program's new format "won't be the traditional headlines that move from one clipped story to the next", and would share the "values" of 60 Minutes . Its correspondents will also be heavily featured in the new format, with McMahon stating that she wanted
13680-469: Was of the essence but the camera would take at least twenty minutes to become operational under normal circumstances. The decision was made to dispatch Cronkite to the CBS Radio Network booth to report the events and play the audio over the television airwaves while the crew worked on the camera to see if they could get it set up quicker. Meanwhile, CBS was ten minutes into its live broadcast of
13800-402: Was on May 19, 1995. The newscast returned to a solo anchor format on May 22, 1995, with Dan Rather continuing in his role as anchor. At age 73, Rather retired from the Evening News on March 11, 2005, 24 years after succeeding Cronkite. Rather left the anchor position amidst controversy and a credibility crisis over reports broadcast during the 2004 presidential election campaign. The report
13920-462: Was on board USS Texas starting in Norfolk, Virginia , through her service off the coast of North Africa as part of Operation Torch , and then back to the US. On the return trip, Cronkite was flown off Texas in one of her Vought OS2U Kingfisher aircraft when Norfolk was within flying distance. He was granted permission to be flown the rest of the distance to Norfolk so that he could outpace
14040-432: Was reading this bulletin, a second one arrived, mentioning the severity of Kennedy's wounds: ...President Kennedy shot today just as his motorcade left downtown Dallas. Mrs. Kennedy jumped up and grabbed Mr. Kennedy, she called, "Oh no!," the motorcade sped on. United Press [International] says that the wounds for President Kennedy perhaps could be fatal. Repeating, a bulletin from CBS News: President Kennedy has been shot by
14160-567: Was replaced by the Rather and Pelley theme the same year). In his first nine months in the anchor chair, Pelley gained an additional 821,000 viewers. CBS News also enjoyed increases in its audience for special news events. After election night in 2012, Variety wrote, "With Scott Pelley front and center; the Eye was up 8% from four years ago." The CBS Evening News had increased its audience every year from 2011 through 2015. On May 29, 2015, media website The Wrap wrote: "These days, CBS brass may finally have
14280-527: Was reported that Katie Couric, co-anchor of NBC's Today , was considering an offer by CBS to anchor the Evening News . Couric officially signed a contract to become anchor of the CBS Evening News on April 1, 2006, and formally announced four days later on Today that she would be leaving the show and NBC News after a 15-year run as the morning show's co-anchor. Ratings during Couric's period as anchor fluctuated, seemingly improving at times, but also posting historic lows rivaling those dating back to at least
14400-464: Was simply film footage with voice narration. The network also broadcast a recap of the week's news stories on a Sunday night program titled Newsweek in Review , which was later moved to Saturday and retitled The Week in Review . In 1950, the nightly newscast was renamed Douglas Edwards with the News , and in September the following year it became the first news program to be broadcast simultaneously on
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