It was his high school journalism teacher, Fred Birney, who inspired Walter Cronkite to become a print and broadcast journalist. Birney, Cronkite says, taught the subject at a time when few high schools had any kind of journalism class, let alone a school newspaper. Cronkite says Birney stressed journalism ethics and taught his students the importance of compassion in reporting. " 'You've got to remember that everyone you write about is a human being,' he would tell us," Cronkite wrote. "'Not just a headline.' "
