And that’s the way it is

When I started my career with CBS, the CBS Broadcast Center in New York was truly “Cronkite’s house.” The Cronkite Studio was a newsroom of its own–writers, producers, assistants, with Walter at his anchor desk as the Managing Editor. Every day, the whirl of activity in there grew steadily as airtime approached. As an aspiring broadcaster, I loved walking by the door and catching a quick look inside. It was intimidating, and always mesmerizing. Walter (Mr. Cronkite!) truly was a presence. I was lucky enough to be part of CBS News convention and election coverage, and some of the space mission coverage, when he held the anchor chair. They said he had “iron pants,” because he could sit for so long. You could tell how much he loved it. And I was so inspired.