When television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 2) was in its infancy during the late 1940s and early 1950s, news reports became an important part of daily programming. The major networks set aside a time period each evening to broadcast national and international news. Local stations did the same for local events. As such programs evolved, they consisted of field reporters passing along information on specific events, along with accompanying visual images on 16-millimeter (16-mm) film. Holding each program together was the news anchor, a constant presence throughout the broadcast. The anchor described news events and introduced field journalists and news clips. The most successful anchors are recognized for their calming, steadying presence, particularly in times of crisis.

The best news anchors have strong journalism backgrounds. For nineteen years beginning in 1962, Walter Cronkite (1916–) anchored the evening news on CBS. Cronkite brought to the...