I remember that day vividly, not in front of the tv but in a press pen along Constitution Ave. where my ex managed to get us into by flashing his government id. It was a time before cell phones and rumors about the hostages made their way through the crowd.
I was only in my mid-teens, still living in the UK, and remember thinking it very weird, which likely owes as much to skeptical BBC coverage as it does to precocious critical thinking skills. Fast forward to the mid -80s when, even though I had only seen Cronkite after he was resigned, I wore an "I miss Walter" button to the Society of Professional Journalists conference in Phoenix, where I was repping our campus chapter. He was very pleased, I got a hug, and I've been dining out on that story ever since. I knew a political journalist in the early 80s who was pushed out of his job, and a cartoonist who was fired, and it's hard not to think there are other stories waiting to be told from that time. Thanks for this, Ramona.
Wow, what a bummer. I was in college at the time and not watching much TV, but I remember this. Of course we all knew it was a set-up job, as you say, and Reagan did so much damage. Miss Walter Cronkite and the days when everyone got their news from him! Thanks for covering this. You did what you could.
I was born in 1980, so one thing I wonder about is how people viewed Reagan then vis-a-vis Trump in 2016. Was the sense of unease the same? Worse for one vs. the other? How did the world feel in 1980 vs. 2016? Safer? More dangerous? More uncertain?
I'd be fascinated by any thoughts you'd be willing to share.
I like your style in the article, with the focus on Cronkite, upon whom we always depended. I too couldn't believe the hostage negotiations at the end happened "so quickly" - and reading just lately about the treason committed to keep the hostages in place....well, there are no words to describe the inhumanity - and we are now seeing just how inhumane the Republican Party was/is/will continue to be. I didn't realize Cronkite was forced out. May need two read about that. DO you have a good source?
I Wrote About Reagan's Swearing-In and the Iran Hostage Release as it Happened.
I remember that day vividly, not in front of the tv but in a press pen along Constitution Ave. where my ex managed to get us into by flashing his government id. It was a time before cell phones and rumors about the hostages made their way through the crowd.
The general feeling was that, although everyone was happy the hostages were freed, that the timing was extremely fishy.
I was only in my mid-teens, still living in the UK, and remember thinking it very weird, which likely owes as much to skeptical BBC coverage as it does to precocious critical thinking skills. Fast forward to the mid -80s when, even though I had only seen Cronkite after he was resigned, I wore an "I miss Walter" button to the Society of Professional Journalists conference in Phoenix, where I was repping our campus chapter. He was very pleased, I got a hug, and I've been dining out on that story ever since. I knew a political journalist in the early 80s who was pushed out of his job, and a cartoonist who was fired, and it's hard not to think there are other stories waiting to be told from that time. Thanks for this, Ramona.
Wow, what a bummer. I was in college at the time and not watching much TV, but I remember this. Of course we all knew it was a set-up job, as you say, and Reagan did so much damage. Miss Walter Cronkite and the days when everyone got their news from him! Thanks for covering this. You did what you could.
Thanks for sharing this piece, Ramona.
I was born in 1980, so one thing I wonder about is how people viewed Reagan then vis-a-vis Trump in 2016. Was the sense of unease the same? Worse for one vs. the other? How did the world feel in 1980 vs. 2016? Safer? More dangerous? More uncertain?
I'd be fascinated by any thoughts you'd be willing to share.
I like your style in the article, with the focus on Cronkite, upon whom we always depended. I too couldn't believe the hostage negotiations at the end happened "so quickly" - and reading just lately about the treason committed to keep the hostages in place....well, there are no words to describe the inhumanity - and we are now seeing just how inhumane the Republican Party was/is/will continue to be. I didn't realize Cronkite was forced out. May need two read about that. DO you have a good source?