CBS Evening News greeting "Good evening everyone, coast to coast" to begin each broadcast. On November 30, 1956, the program became the first to use the new technology of videotape to time delay the broadcast (which originated in New York City) for the western United States. Walter Cronkite became anchor of the program titled "Walter Cronkite with the News" on April 16, 1962. On September 2, 1963, the program, retitled "CBS Evening News", became the first half-hour weeknight news broadcast of network television and was moved to 6:30 p.m. Eastern time (the "Huntley-Brinkley Report" on NBC expanded to 30 minutes exactly one week
Walter Cronkite unsure about how much of an impact his editorial report had on Johnson's decision to drop his bid for re-election, and what eventually convinced him that the President had made the statement was Bill Moyers, fellow journalist and former aide to Johnson, telling him "The president flipped off the set and said 'If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America.'" Several weeks later, Johnson, who sought to preserve his legacy and was now convinced his declining health could not withstand growing public criticism, announced he would not seek reelection. During the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Cronkite was anchoring