Cronkite and CBS Sign New Agreement

After five months of talks, CBS and Walter Cronkite reached agreement Friday on a new contract that will keep the renowned newsman on the air at the network where he has worked for the past 38 years.

The 10-year pact will permit him to do other outside broadcasting projects as well--but not for ABC or NBC.

The former “CBS Evening News” anchor signed the agreement Friday, according to his agent, Ron Konecky. CBS’s chief attorney, George Vradenberg III, expressed pleasure that Cronkite had signed and will be continuing his “special relationship” with the network.

Cronkite wasn’t available for comment, but Konecky described him as “very happy” with the new agreement, which is in addition to his CBS board membership and other off-air work for the firm.

Under terms of the new pact, Cronkite “could not do competitive-network stuff,” said a BS official, who asked not to be identified. “But he could do cable or public television. He’s exclusive to CBS for network television.”

The exclusivity includes both news projects and entertainment division specials, such as the annual Kennedy Center programs that Cronkite has hosted in recent years, the official said.

Under the new contract, he could accept, on a limited basis, projects on Cable News Network, and could appear in news or entertainment projects elsewhere, as long as they aren’t airing on NBC or ABC, sources said.

The prospect of the widely respected Cronkite working for a rival network after 38 years at CBS--19 years as the “Evening News” anchor--arose last April during an interview with The Times about a new CBS contract that was to begin on Nov. 4, his 72nd birthday.

He disputed a CBS proxy statement that said he would be paid for “a variety of services” that included continuation of his current duties as a special correspondent for CBS News. He maintained that he actually was free to work elsewhere as a reporter, and said he was “weighing several possibilities.”

His remarks caused consternation among CBS officials, and negotiations were reopened on his contract, which had called for him to take an $850,000 cut in his current annual pay of $1 million.

The contract he signed Friday still will take effect on Nov. 4, but will pay him more than the previous one would have, sources said. They declined to say how much more. Konecky said that it provided for “a substantial compensation for Walter.”

A CBS News spokesman said Friday that it was not yet known if Cronkite would be part of CBS’ election-night broadcast team on Nov. 8.