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I'll never forget what Walter Cronkite told me

I'll never forget what Walter Cronkite told me

Yahoo07-06-2025
One time, I was interviewing this old guy and he went on and on about how important good journalism is to democracy. You could tell he really believed it.
That old guy's name was Walter Cronkite.
I interviewed him in his office several years ago, and his words and passion for good journalism have never been more important or rung so true.
And The Arizona Republic provides plenty of it. Whether it's local news and sports, expert looks at the dining scene, tough coverage of politics or informed opinions about what's going on in the Valley and the world, The Republic and azcentral.com offer all this in addition to, if I might twist your arm a bit, my media criticism and commentary and movie and TV reviews.
And if there is one thing that's true about providing such thorough coverage of the place where we live and beyond, it's this — it ain't free.
That's where you come in. A subscription to The Republic helps support our work, which I frequently argue is important. Our coverage of major stories, such as the Gilbert Goons and local favorites like high school sports, is unparalleled. I read it, and you should, too. Not to oversimplify things, but reading our coverage is how I know what's going on in the community I live in. And that's important.
For my part, I write about how the media covers (or doesn't) the kind of attacks on democracy Cronkite warned against, alongside reviews of films (horror movies are a particular favorite) and TV shows (I love TV), and the occasional food essay.
Recently, I wrote about criticism of the book 'Original Sin,' and how some people think it's something that shouldn't exist. I disagree. You can write about almost anything, and we do. If you don't like one story, move on — you'll likely enjoy the next one. Not only can we cover more than one thing, but we have to. It's what we do. And we do it well.
We'd love for you to be a part of it. After all, you don't want to disappoint Walter Cronkite.
Special offer: If you like our work, please consider becoming a subscriber. Save on a new subscription today.
Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Media commentary with a side of snark? Sign up for The Watchlist newsletter with Bill Goodykoontz.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Republic columnist: My mission is to uncover the truth
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