Birmingham, AL in the sixties didn't even GET Cronkite. We had 2 VHF stations, one ABC, one ran CBS and NBC programming. I grew up on the Huntly-Brinkley report. "Good night, Chet." "Good night, David, and good night from NBC news."
Cronkite, as sooooo many other on-air newsies do, desperately wanted to be an opinion shaper, not a a reporter.