Back when there were only 3 networks, and the news coverage was limited to 30 to 60 minutes a day, in 1 or 2 broadcasts, a mere "anchorman" (which Cronkite helped create as a position) had a lot of influence, compared to today's infotainment-saturated, TMI culture of Tweet-induced soundbite narcissism. Not to mention the endless parade of shouting pundits and the boot-licking toadies from the Russert School of Brown Lipstick. Print, radio, and TV were the only 3 mediums which delivered the news, and it wasn't a 24/7 thing.

When the president of the United States, in 1968, saw Cronkite declare Vietnam unwinnable, he knew it was over, for his presidency, and for any chance of keeping the public bamboozled. If that isn't being a part of history, for a mere "anchorman and news reader", then nothing is.

For decades, Cronkite was consistently hailed in polls as the "most trusted man in America." Not merely in television, or journalism, or any other narrow category, but in the ENTIRE COUNTRY, on ALL levels. Now THAT'S influence, and THAT'S being a part of our history that even a deranged self-loathing pederast could never hope to attain. Okay, I grant you, Wacko Jacko sold more CD's than Cronkite, and it is true that Cronkite never hibernated in an oxygen tank, had his nose deflated, set his hair on fire while whoring for Pepsi, or slept with 8 year old boys when he was a grown man, but yeah, he was a part of our history. Not WJ. Unless the parts of history include foisting upon the masses slickly produced mediocre R&B, and encouraging the mindset that album sales equal quality music.