Print Says Goodbye to 'America's Anchor'

The man who defined television network news was remembered and honored today -- in print.

Front pages across the country reported the news that Walter Cronkite, former anchor and managing editor of the "CBS Evening News," died Friday night at his home in New York. He was 92.

"America's Iconic TV News Anchor Shaped the Medium and the Nation," says this morning's Washington Post. Cronkite was the anchor of America's first half-hour TV news program. In an appreciation and a column, The Post noted Cronkite's authoritative but calm delivery and a rapport with viewers that garnered him the title "the most trusted public figure in the United States" in 1973.

Before spending 20 years as CBS News anchor, Cronkite's career included radio, public relations and the wire service United Press. Today's Houston Chronicle noted that Cronkite was raised in Houston and got his journalism start there. As a high school student, he delivered The Houston Post. He later wrote for the newspaper. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, a fact The Austin American-Statesman mentioned in its headline. He dropped out to pursue journalism full time.

Cronkite worked in news and sports at KCMO radio in Kansas City. But he was part of the KC media scene long before then, The Kansas City Star reported. His biography noted that at the age of 9, he peddled the Star, making about 10 cents a week.

He loved newspapering but saw the potential of a new medium -- television.

In all, the reporter and anchor covered five decades of history, including stories that defined generations -- the assassinations of JKF, his brother, Robert, and MLK; man's first landing on the moon; and the Watergate scandal.

Cronkite's signature sign-off was "And that's the way it was" followed by the date. Said The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, "most Americans took him at his word."

When the Impossible Happens

Twelve hours after a Metro commuter train crash killed at least seven in the nation's capital, the printed edition of The Washington Post arrived at door steps this morning across the D.C. region. With dual "Probe" and "Impact" headlines, The Post provided some clarity to the frantic live local television coverage of the night before.

The Post examined the What -- "Train Strikes Another, Injuring Scores, Stalling Commute" -- and the Why -- "Experts Suspect Failure of Signal System, Operator Error." An additional headline, "Crash Was Supposed To Be Impossible," highlighted key information and a focus of the investigation:"Metro was designed with a fail-safe computerized signal system that is supposed to prevent trains from colliding."

The Post's online coverage began late Monday afternoon with live blogging by the newspaper's commuter/traffic reporter, Dr. Gridlock, and quickly grew to include audio, video and photo galleries. At one point Monday evening, a local TV anchor quoted comments from witness accounts posted to the site.

The Post allowed viewers to share photos from the scene of the worst accident in Metro's 33-year history and provided an interactive that traces the history of accidents on the Metro commuter line. The death toll was increased from six to seven in an 8:30 a.m. update.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2009

"A-list stars and an equally diverse crowd jammed the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial to celebrate the nation and its historic president-elect yesterday," The Washington Post noted this morning. Indeed, "entertainment royalty" made headlines and images of Bruce Springsteen, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Denzel Washington and others appeared in print and broadcast coverage. But today's most poignant image might actually come from Newsday on Long Island, almost 400 miles from the Mall in Washington. A photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. filled Newsday's tabloid front page. Inset was a photo of the president-elect with a quote that began among African Americans and went viral during the campaign: "Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so we can all fly."

Along Historic Train Route

President-Elect Barack Obama and family boarded a train in Philadelphia on Saturday for a 137-mile journey into history. In a rally before departing for Washington, D.C., Obama paid tribute to his political hero -- President Abraham Lincoln. The Philadelphia Inquirer noted on its Sunday front page that the train trip "was meant to evoke Abraham Lincoln's travel by train to his inaugural in 1861."

2009's inaugural journey stopped in Wilmington, Del., to pick up another passenger -- Vice President-Elect Joe Biden. The News Journal of Wilmington noted that the train stopped to pick up Obama's "co-worker" and described the trip to the capital as "perhaps the most celebrated commute in history."

Before reaching Washington, the train also made a stop in Baltimore, where "Thousands brace the cold to see their next president." The Sun used its dominant image to focus on Obama and said, "Next stop: history."

"A Long Journey Ends," The Washington Post said atop its package of photos, stories and references to inside and Web site content. Its special coverage included a "Grab & Go" Metro section inaugural package and a commemorative Washington Post Magazine.

It might have been a vintage train car, but there isn't anything old-fashioned about new media coverage of the inaugural. The Post offered mobile inaugural alerts starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday. The News Journal led its inaugural Web site with the appropriate headline "Road to the White House Goes Through Delaware."

What Went Wrong?

In a three-part series about the "origins of the economic crisis," The Washington Post publishes a narrative about AIG. Today's first part, called The Beautiful Machine, covers events and characters from 1987-1998. The series is written by Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Brady Dennis. Today's installment was among the most viewed stories on the Post Web site.

Not a Question but a Statement

As President Bush was about to take questions at a press conference in Baghdad, a broadcast journalist threw shoes in protest of U.S. policy in the region. The Washington Post printed a series of four photos that showed shoes flying past the U.S. president and noted that "Throwing a shoe at someone is considered the worst possible insult in Iraq." Similar photos appeared on front pages in other places, including the Middle East. The BBC posted video and reported that the journalist, Muntadar al-Zaidi, works for Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya TV. Modesto (Calif.) Bee reporter Adam Ashton was in the room, and he shared a first-person account on his "Iraq Connection" blog. The Bee noted that it was Bush's last visit to Iraq as president. Said its headline: "War-zone farewell." The Post reported that al-Zaidi is being called a hero by some Arabs. Al-Zaidi's employer called for his release from Iraqi custody on the grounds that he has the right to free expression.

Print is Alive and Well Today

The Washington Post's Web site has most any election angle covered and offers immediacy and interactivity. Yet readers are interested in .... the printed newspaper!

A suburban reader just e-mailed her neighborhood listserv, asking for any extra copies of the Post. Another lamented that the Post is sold out, even after printing 30% more copies. Yet another just walked from his workplace to the Post's office on 15th Street to get extra copies of the newspaper and found a line half-way down the block. People are waiting for the sale of a commemorative edition.

Interest was high for community newspapers as well. At the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, Editor Karen Magnuson wrote about it in her Editors Corner blog. And Wanda Lloyd of the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser wrote that newspapers were the "'first draft of history' in Obama election."

Many have written print off as dead. But it seems that there are times that readers don't buy that obituary. They buy the printed edition.