EOTO 3 Reactions

 During the third EOTO, my classmates taught me about various figures in media in journalism. The major figures who left the most profound impression on me were Walter Cronkite, Howard Cossell, and Gloria Steinem.  

Walter Cronkite was a major news anchor from 1937 to 1981. He covered major historical events during this time such as the Nuremberg trials and the assassination of John F Kennedy. He was called the most trusted man in news. He was originally born in Missouri. He became a sports announcer and met his wife when he was working there. Cronkite was also known for his coverage of the Vietnam War. He called for the United States to leave the Vietnam conflict in 1968. This called for President Johnson to announce that he would not run for reelection. Johnson is famous for the quote "If I lost Cronkite, I've lost America." This shows that Cronkite was seen as a unifying figure throughout the country. It is hard to imagine this today due to the current division in our country. 

The next person that interested me the most was Howard Cossell. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He first started his career on WABC running a little league show. This show would have Little League baseball players asking professional players questions. Cossell was hired by ABC and got his own show called Speaking of Sports. He was known for his blunt approach. This was offensive to some, but popular with others. Mr. Cossell came up with iconic phrases such as "that was a nacho run" and "he could go all the way".  

Howard Cossell and Muhammad Ali

Cossell was supportive of the civil rights movement, particularly the iconic boxer Muhammed Ali. His civil rights record was damaged when he referred to Alvin Garret as a monkey. This event caused his career to decline. He was able to be inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and remains a major icon in Sports advertising. 

The last person that left a major impact on me was Gloria Steinem. She is a major feminist icon. She is still active today and talks about feminist issues such as Roe vs Wade.  She got her start in journalism by investigating the Playboy company. She reported on how many of the Playboy waitresses, known as bunnies, were underpaid and sexually harassed. This was an important step for the role of women in journalism, although it didn't seem to damage the reputation of Playboy magazine that much. 

Steinem was the creator of a magazine known as Ms. Magazine. This magazine was targeted at women. The first issue of the magazine showed a Hindu goddess with eight arms holding a clock, skillet, typewriter, rake, mirror, and telephone. This represented the various tasks that women were expected to do. This was a time when women were entering the workforce and expected to still do housework. Ms. Magazaine still issues to this day, although Gloria Steinem is not involved in the editing.

I am glad I got to learn about these figures in Journalism. Journalism has helped boost the civil rights and feminist movements in this country. I'm glad that I was able to learn more about these figures in American history.