I remember thinking how important it was when Walter Cronkite spoke out against the Bush Administration in 2003, and then how sad I felt when I heard he had died in July of this year. This, in spite of the fact that I had never heard one of his live news broadcasts; he retired in 1980, and I wasn’t born until ‘83. But I had heard the recordings and knew him by the sound of his voice. I also knew how important he was to the millions of Americans for whom he was the voice of news, delivering a summary of everything important going on far from home.
Now we live in era when people can turn to any number of news sources, and there is no the voice anymore. Even as a child, pre-www, there were competitive herds of newscasters to choose from. When given a choice, I chose PBS and NPR. And to tell the truth, I could only keep track of Mr. MacNeil and Mr. Lehrer – I’m a visual person and suck at remembering names.
But I also knew Carl Kasell. Not by his name, but by the sound of his voice. He was the standard to which I compared all other news voices - he was my the voice of news. When people conversed about Walter Cronkite, it was actually Carl Kasell’s voice that ran through my head.
Today he broadcast his last newscast after 30 years on the job. Mr. Kasell, you will be missed. I might start listening to Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me more just to get my fix.
