Walter Cronkite was the most trusted television newsman in American history. His iconic announcement in 1963 that President Kennedy had died “the flash now official, President Kennedy died at 1PM eastern standard time, some 38 minutes ago,” is etched in the memories of many Americans and the clip is used in just about every documentary and film about the assassination.

In this week’s Face the State flashback, we will bring you an interview with Cronkite that aired nearly 34 years ago on WFSB Channel 3 on May 5, 1979. This interview is unusual because it was conducted by an 11 year old. Say what?

Yes, David Ushery was a mere child when he hosted the show Saturday morning children’s show “Kidsworld,” which entertained and educated youngsters all over southern New England. After that, David grew up, went to college and returned to Channel 3 to become one of the station’s top reporters for Eyewitness News. A few years later, this extremely talented journalist was snapped up by WABC in New York, and later across town by WNBC, where he works today.

In Sunday’s video, David traveled to CBS News in New York to sit down with the man known as “Uncle Walter.” David’s interview subject revealed some interesting information I’d never heard before. For example, did you know the other field Cronkite considered entering as a career?

On a personal note, I’ll say David is one class act, and this comes through in this vintage footage. When I first started at Channel 3, David was one of the nicest and most helpful people at Broadcast House in Hartford, and I will never forget his kindness. He was also a reporter I learned quite a bit from.

For those of you who live in southwestern Connecticut and have WNBC on your cable, I hope you watched David’s Cronkite interview this Sunday on “Face the State with Dennis House” on WFSB at 11AM, then caught David’s show “The Debrief with David Ushery” on WNBC at noon.

If you missed Face the State, Watch the segment right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8237032

About the author: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/marking-20-years-at-wfsb/