Hello, everybody. We have some very sad news to report, and one that we've been expecting for quite some time.

Four weeks after we unexpectedly lost Michael Jackson comes the loss of a great television icon who was once known as "The Most Trusted Man in America." Walter Cronkite, the longtime anchor of the "CBS Evening News" who for 19 years (1962-81) gave America a front row seat to the most significant events in our history, died early Friday night at age 92 after suffering from cerebovascular disease.

For most of the 20th Century, it was Cronkite who we turned to whenever something big in the world was happening. From World War II to Vietnam, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II to the assassination of President Kennedy, the Space Age culminating with the Apollo 11 moon landing (which is 40 years ago this week), the Watergate scandal that cost Richard Nixon the presidency, all the way to the hostage crisis in Iran, Cronkite was either at the anchor desk or right there where the action was. And this was all before 24-hour cable news channels and the Internet!

Walter was of course a journalist who was never afraid to let his feelings show on camera. We shared our tears with his when he reported to the world of Kennedy's death in 1963, and we cheered along with him over his reaction to Neil Armstrong making his footprint on the moon. In between that, he really had something to say about the Vietnam War, with President Johnson quoting thereafter, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America."

And Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. did come from middle America...St. Joseph, Missouri, to be exact, born November 4, 1916. His family moved to Houston when he was 10, and that was where he got his journalism chops working for the "Houston Post" (where he would later do full-time) and later correspondent for the University of Texas. He joined the Associated Press's rival United Press in 1937 after a brief time at a Kansas City radio station and with the help of World War II, that was where he really shined, making his first on-camera appearance in a Paramount newsreel. After the war, his next big assignment was the Nuremberg trials before returning to the United States in 1948, quitting the United Press to cover the Washington beat for a group of Midwest radio stations.

Then in 1950, after turning him down before, Edward R. Murrow invited Walter to join CBS; this time, he said "Yes." In his early years, he had a hand in hosting the panelist show "It's News To Me" as well as "You Are There", which re-enacted historical events like the assassination of Julius Caesar and the takedown of crime king John Dillinger. The program was revived briefly in the 1970's. Walter also briefly hosted a morning show, joined alongside by a sidekick being a puppet.

Cronkite returned across the Atlantic to cover the Queen Elizabeth coronation in 1953, and to ensure same-day viewing back in the States, Canberra jet bomber planes flew the films from London to Goose Bay, Labrador in Canada before another plane immediately transferred them to Boston. Now this was in 1953...decades before today's satellite equipment would bring events like these live to the world. A year earlier, he brought the Democratic and Republican national conventions to our living rooms for the first time.

Then in 1962 came the ultimate job opening as Cronkite succeeded Douglas Edwards to take the anchor chair at the "CBS Evening News." At the time, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley with the "Huntley-Brinkley Report" on NBC was the most popular network newscast on the air, but it would be one event on November 22, 1963 that Walter would finally make a name for himself.

President John F. Kennedy was visiting Dallas, Texas that day where was he going to give a luncheon speech at the Dallas Trade Mart. Moments later, the limousine carrying the president, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and Texas Governor John Connally and wife Nellie approached the Texas School Book Depository building where inside, Lee Harvey Oswald would fire three shots into the limo.

Meanwhile, CBS was cutting away from "As The World Turns" which aired live to the East Coast. Over a "CBS NEWS BULLETIN" slide, Cronkite broke the news from an audio booth because the cameras inside the studio had to be turned on, warmed up, and be in place:

"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. More details just arrived. These details about the same as previously: 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 says that the wounds for President Kennedy perhaps could be fatal."

40 to 45 minutes later came this: "From Dallas, Texas, this flash apparently official: President Kennedy died at 1:00 p.m., Central Standard Time." For four days straight, the coverage of the assassination and aftermath was the only thing on television. He also did the Civil Rights movement of the '60s, culminated with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968...a very heavy year which also saw Robert F. Kennedy being gunned down followed by the turmoil at the Democratic convention in Chicago.

Cronkite was also right there when the U.S. and the Soviet Union were battling it out in the race for space with Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and of course, Apollo 11. That mission would also introduce Alaska to live network television for the first time, made possible by his friend and fellow broadcasting pioneer, the late Augie Hiebert.

Watergate, legalization of abortion, gas shortages, the end of the Vietnam War, and the 444-day-long hostage crisis in Iran would all follow in the 1970's. And on March 6, 1981, he would say his familiar closing line "That's the way it is" for the final time as anchor though he would continue to do other television work in the years since.

However, his rise to the top was not that easy. Cronkite in the '60s was a straightforward anchor compared to the rugged Huntley and the witty Brinkley; but poor ratings for the 1964 Republican convention led CBS executives to drop him for the Democratic convention, replaced by Robert Trout and Roger Mudd. That too was a disaster, and CBS realized their mistake. And at one time in 1967, a union strike forced Walter off the air temporarily, with some unknown named Arnold Zenker taking his chair. I touched on that while going through other television strikes in 2007 with the writers' strike imminent.

Walter was married to his wife Betsy from 1940 until her death in 2005 and raised three children. Along with countless Emmys and an induction to the Television Academy Hall of Fame, his honors also included a 1974 George Polk Award and a William Allen White Award in 1969.

Upon news of Cronkite's death, tributes from all over began pouring in:

• President Barack Obama: "For decades, Walter Cronkite was the most trusted voice in America. His rich baritone reached millions of living rooms every night, and in an industry of icons, Walter set the standard by which all others have been judged. He was there through wars and riots, marches and milestones, calmly telling us what we needed to know. And through it all, he never lost the integrity he gained growing up in the heartland. But Walter was always more than just an anchor. He was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day; a voice of certainty in an uncertain world. He was family. He invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down. This country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and he will be truly missed."
• Barbara Walters: "He was a jolly and supportive friend. He will be missed by each of us individually who knew him and by the whole country who loved him."
• Astronaut Neil Armstrong: "For a news analyst and reporter of the happenings of the day to be successful, he or she needs three things: accuracy, timeliness, and the trust of the audience. Many are fortunate to have the first two. The trust of the audience must be earned. Walter Cronkite seemed to enjoy the highest of ratings. He had a passion for human space exploration, an enthusiasm that was contagious, and the trust of his audience. He will be missed."
• Senator John McCain: "I'm saddened to learn of the passing of Walter Cronkite - one of the most influential newsmen of our time. I will never forget our memorable visit together to Hanoi on the 10th anniversary of the fall of Saigon."
• Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw: "What was so remarkable about it was that he was not only in the midst of so many great stories, he was also the managing editor of CBS News and the managing editor for America. Walter always made us better. He set the bar so high."
• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: "For decades, Walter Cronkite was the fixture in American living rooms whose reassuring voice reported on some of the most important moments in our nation’s history. He was the most trusted man in America who calmly explained monumental events such as the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the moon landing - events that shaped and defined a generation. Walter remains the benchmark for what it means to be a television journalist and he will be missed. Maria and I join all Californians in expressing our sadness over his passing and we send our thoughts and prayers to Walter’s family and friends."
• Larry King (via Twitter): "I'll miss Walter Cronkite. There will never be a newsman again, ever, who will have that clout."

For generations young and old, we will all miss Walter Cronkite, a man who was a pure example of what television news was really all about: To the point with no flashy graphics, elaborate sets, or eye candy ruining the atmosphere. A man who brought the world into our living rooms night after night telling it like it is with a style and manner all his own. And without question, a man who would set the standard for today's aspiring journalists who want to continue a legacy he left behind.

And that's the way it was for Uncle Walter. So long and stay strong.