The Cronkite Doctrine

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 15

Walter Cronkite has been old for a really long time.

So long that he thinks it's a good idea to poke fun at people who stutter in front of a room of reporters.

So long that he remembers when the network news operations weren't required to make money.

So long that he thinks the effort of news operations to make money does not affect content.

So long that virtually every story he told at Winter TV Press Tour 2006 Sunday he'd told a dozen times before.

At age 89, Walter Cronkite hasn't been the anchor of the "CBS Evening News" since 1981, but no one has ever replaced him as The Most Trusted Man in America. And so his appearance at the tour to tout PBS's July "American Masters" biography on him drew The Reporters Who Cover Television to him like Jedi trainees at the feet of Yoda, gobbling up his every word on the state of journalism, politics and the war in Iraq:

Mr. Cronkite, can you talk about how that weekend you did a marathon anchor stint during the Kennedy assassination changed the way news is covered?

Mr. Cronkite, how much has the role of the network anchor diminished in recent years?

Mr. Cronkite, what do you think of the anchor team at ABC?

Mr. Cronkite, who do you think should be the replacement for Bob Schieffer at "CBS Evening News"?

Mr. Cronkite, did you see the movie "Good Night, and Good Luck" and what did you think of it?