Walter Cronkite to Tim Hughes: That's NOT the way it was.
The former CBS anchor says he considered suing when he found a fabricated tale and "spitting" image of himself on Hughes' "Walter Cronkite Spit in My Food" Internet home page.Hughes pulled the page on Thursday, posting in its place a notice saying, "It was never my intention to hurt anyone."
The newsman once dubbed "the most trusted man in America" said in an interview from Chicago Thursday that he was stunned several months ago when he spotted the page and an accompanying fable about a tipsy, cussing Cronkite accosting Hughes and his wife at a Florida restaurant.
"I punched up Cronkite just to see what was on the Internet and stumbled on this scurrilous article," Cronkite said. "The whole thing is just so outlandish. I don't think I've ever spit in my life."
It was a joke, Hughes said Wednesday. The 28-year-old Internet applications developer from West Carrollton admits he made the whole thing up.
"If someone takes it seriously, they've missed the whole point," he said. "Walter didn't get the joke, so the page is gone," he said.