Walter Cronkite
Cronkite stands alone above the rest as perhaps the Most Trusted Man in America (that actually is his title, so this one was easy). He made a name for himself while covering World War II, and even managed to continue reporting while an active Coast Guard member. His resume is quite impressive, and his professional and comprehensive coverage of everything from the Nuremberg Trials to presidential elections (and helping to expose corruption within the government such as the Watergate scandal) to the Vietnam War secured his spot at the top.
Peter Jennings
Jennings made a big splash when he first got into the reporting biz after dropping out of high school in 10th grade. Apparently a GED wasn’t a necessity for him, as he became the youngest U.S. network anchor at 26. Focusing largely on Middle East affairs, he was also responsible for establishing the first American TV bureau in the Arab world and exposing the U.S. to critical developments overseas. He developed a reputation as a straight shooter, avoided “unimportant” stories, and his coverage of the September 11 attacks (that lasted for 17 straight hours) was the most watched of the day. He barely made the list, however, as he is Canadian, but squeaked by as he fairly recently became an American citizen.
Tom Brokaw
The man with the golden voice, Tom Brokaw manned the NBC Nightly News desk for 22 years, along with stints on The Today Show and Meet the Press. Even after all of that, he still serves as a special correspondent amidst all of his book writing, documentary making, and world saving (probably). He’s racked up the awards for his work, but it was his straightforward and honest approach to reporting the news that puts him on the list.
Dan Rather
Dan Rather put in his time (and then some) as anchor for the CBS Evening News, covering stories spanning 24 years – including the JFK assassination, Watergate, and even accompanying Nixon to China to report from there. He now manages and anchors his own show on a different network, Dan Rather Reports, but spent a total of 43 years with CBS, also contributing frequently to 60 Minutes. Though he left CBS following a controversial story about George W. Bush’s military service and the authenticity of some documents, it was one black mark in a seriously long and illustrious career.
Brian Williams
Filling Tom Brokaw’s shoes is no easy task, but the current anchor of NBC Nightly News (now called The Nightly News with Brian Williams) has done a pretty stellar job. He first came to relative fame following his reporting of the 1987 stock market collapse, but solidified his spot as one of the greats during his comprehensive but emotional coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 – this also helped dispel the notion that he was too stiff to connect with audiences. He is now a household name, and luckily one of the few on this list who still graces the airwaves – hopefully for years to come.
Howard Smith
On paper and in reality, Howard Smith is a stand-up guy. After graduating from college as a Rhodes Scholar (not too shabby, Howie!), he immediately began his reporting career. He interviewed prominent members of the Nazi party in Berlin in the 1940s, chaired the first televised presidential debate in 1960, and established himself as an avid supporter of desegregation. He even left his position at CBS rather than remove a quote at the end of a documentary about Birmingham and joined the ABC Evening News team instead. He made a name for himself as a reporter who stood by his beliefs while reporting the full story, and was one of the first prominent people to call for Nixon’s resignation, despite previously close relations with the president.
Frank Reynolds
Frank Reynolds’ legacy is a pretty impressive one. His coverage of the Iranian hostage crisis from 1979-1981 in a program named “America Held Hostage” resulted in the permanent and influential program, “Nightline.” He also anchored and co-anchored ABC’s evening newscast “World News Tonight” with Peter Jennings and Max Robinson. A reporter to the core, he continued anchoring “World News Tonight” despite a severe hepatitis infection until three months before his death.
Edward Murrow
Edward Murrow may not have been an anchor in the truest sense at the beginning, but the influence he had even before the invention of TV was enormous. Through live radio broadcasts, he kept Americans informed of critical developments in World War II, during which he released his signature signoff, “Good night and good luck.” Once TV came around in the 1950s, he seamlessly made the switch and began covering controversial stories nobody wanted to touch, including the unraveling of Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch hunt.
Chet Huntley and David Brinkley
These two get paired due to their success with NBC’s “The Huntley-Brinkley Report.” One is rarely talked about without the other. Through their years of coverage on the Vietnam War, ratings soared and they became preeminent sources of information. The two would pass the ball back and forth seamlessly, with Huntley handling the bulk of the international news and Brinkley stepping in to cover Washington and more domestic issues. Plus, they had a really cute sign-off: “Good night, Chet. Good night, David. And good night, for NBC News.”
Jon Stewart
It used to be a joke that Jon Stewart was one of the most highly-trusted news anchors, given that he hosts Comedy Central’s “fake news” program, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” However, the show is not so much fake news as exposing the real stories in a humorous way, and highlighting the mainstream media’s botched coverage. He goes after politicians, some of whom are guests on the show, and asks the hard questions that regular programs shy away from. Even when he steps off his own set onto others, such as CNN’s “Crossfire” or Bill O’Reilly’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” he never backs down and welcomes thoughtful, if somewhat spirited, debate. Either way, he’s a pleasure to watch, and manages to deliver news in a way that is palatable to many Americans.
