How the Media Can Escape Its Doom Loop of Distrust

Walter Cronkite was often described as “the most trusted man in America” in the 1960s and ‘70s. The avuncular CBS News anchor was admired for reporting fairly and accurately, even when his view challenged the official line or popular opinion. After a 1968 reporting trip to Vietnam, for example, Cronkite told his 30 million viewers that the American war there was an unwinnable “stalemate,” a judgment that helped turn the public against the war. Conservative pundit George Will said the history of journalism in our era could be divided into “Before Cronkite” and...