There was always something reassuring about Cronkite's presentation of the news, and I think that was the key to his success. As bad as the news could be, he gave the impression that he was completely on the level, and also that he cared. It must have been some intonation in his voice or some weary kindness in his aspect, because I never recall him slanting the information to reflect his point of view. Although he has been mainly out of the public eye for the last 20 years, I was sometimes pleasantly surprised to hear him narrating a program, and found the voice steady, unchanged.
His death affects me on some level that few celebrity deaths can. I feel that I knew him.