Showing posts with label Johnny Carson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Johnny Carson. Show all posts

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Walter Cronkite

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com

One thing I haven't heard about Walter Cronkite yet is his similarity to Johnny Carson.

They will forever be historically similar (whether history pairs them or not) as the last famous men to be the only show in town in their respective fields.

Cronkite WAS the news back then. Him and your local newspaper, and maybe the your local news, was the only news you knew. Oh, and maybe the odd magazine you picked up. Such news bottle-necking will never again be repeated. The internet and cable news have ensured that. But it wasn't just that he was the only show in town- he was also phenomenal at his job. If he were on today, he'd still be a success, there would just be other options, and the nation's conscious wouldn't run through him alone.

Johnny Carson was the same. He was the only show in town. Back then there wasn't a comedy central, or the internet, or comedy DVDs, or even Comedy VHS. There wasn't much political comedy at the time, and if Carson wasn't acting as the nation's satirical watchdog, who was? No one else was doing the kind of show that he was doing. Furthermore, he had little competition. If you were watching TV at 10:30, he was the only entertaining show on. It wasn't that he was the only show in town per se- he was also phenomenal at his job. If he were on today, he'd still be a success, there would just be other options and the nation's conscious wouldn't run through him alone.

And that's why they'll always be linked. At least to me.