CBS Washington newsman Walter Cronkite reads the news in a July 1, 1952, telecast. On-air reporters like Cronkite and NBC’s Chet Huntley and David Brinkley established high credibility with the viewing public during coverage of events like national elections and the U.S. space program. Based in part on that public trust, high-profile reporters evolved into “news anchors” in the late 1950s and 1960s as news programming, initially almost an afterthought, became a major focus of U.S. television networks and an area of intense competition among them. (© AP/WWP)