American journalism icon, Walter Cronkite has died in his New York home at the age of 92 after an extended battle with cerebrovascular disease.

In a career spanning more than 70-years, Cronkite was the one voice most American’s considered to be believable and the person they turned to for truthful and accurate reporting on events such as the Vietnam War, the assassination of US president John F. Kennedy, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Watergate scandal.

Following Cronkite’s editorial report during the Tet Offensive that the Vietnam War was unwinnable, President Lyndon Johnson is reported to have said, “if I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.”

Beginning January 16, 1980, day 50 of the Iran hostage crisis, Cronkite added the length of the hostages’ captivity to the show’s closing to remind the audience of the unresolved situation, ending only on “Day 444″, January 20, 1981.

In addition to his accuracy and professionalism, Americans trusted Cronkite because he was easy to understand. He was constantly cited in opinion polls and invariably referred to as the “Most Trusted Man in America”.

Sean McManus, president, CBS News and Sports, said, “it is impossible to imagine CBS News, journalism or indeed America without Walter Cronkite. [He was] more than just the best and most trusted anchor in history, he guided America through our crises, tragedies and also our victories and greatest moments.”

McManus added, “no matter what the news event was, Walter was always the consummate professional with an un-paralleled sense of compassion, integrity, humanity, warmth, and occasionally even humor. ”

“There will never be another figure in American history who will hold the position Walter held in our minds, our hearts and on the television. We were blessed to have this man in our lives and words cannot describe how much he will be missed by those of us at CBS News and by all of America”.

One of Cronkite’s trademarks was ending the CBS Evening News with the phrase, “…and that’s the way it is” followed by the days date.

Cronkite remained anchor of CBS until 1981, a record 19-years, before he was succeeded by Dan Rather.

At the end of his final broadcast, Cronkite said in part, “furthermore, I’m not even going away. I’ll be back from time to time with special news reports and documentaries.

“Old anchormen, you see, don’t fade away; they just keep coming back for more. And that’s the way it is: Friday, March 6, 1981.”

In July 2006, the 90-minute documentary Walter Cronkite: Witness to History aired on PBS.

The special was narrated by Katie Couric, who assumed the CBS Evening News anchor chair in September 2006 and on which the voice of Cronkite can be heard in the introduction.