I’m desperately trying to NOT comment on topical news issues, but I couldn’t help a few thoughts about Walter Cronkite’s passing today. I’m sad that such a respected voice of trust is now gone and I’m left to consider what that means for us, the rest of us. We’ve become such a stratified and segmented society. What I mean by that is that we all choose sides and make choices to align ourselves with products and pop culture that reinforces what we perceive as our core values – our brand. We’re all defined by the information that we associate with. This is branding – a process of defining ourselves by our associations for the purpose of creating a perceived perception of who we are. I don’t mean to pick on Fox, but for the most part, it’s more propaganda than news. When you get your news from Fox, you’re making a statement about yourself as much as you are trying to narrow the types of information that influence your perspective. This isn’t a left/right thing – you know what I’m talking about. We seek out information that confirms our assumptions rather than seek the truth. We don’t want our ideas and convictions to be challenged, we want to be validated.
WC represented the trusted voice of America – a voice that I’m sad seems to be absent in our everyday experience. There are still great journalists, but is there a market for them? You have to take all of this in context. The reason that Walter Cronkite was so successful was in-part, a result of his convictions; however, CBS gave him the stage to be as objective as possible.
In summary, we’re experiencing a period of such significant change, that I can’t imagine what information will be available to my daughter when she wants it. I don’t know where she will find a Walter Cronkite in this world and I don’t know how any of us find the perspective to trust anyone, anymore.