Washington, July 18 (DPA) Iconic US news anchor Walter Cronkite, who helped set the tone of US journalism in World War II, the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing and the Vietnam War, died Friday at the age of 92, his family told CBS News.

Cronkite, who was born in St Joseph, Missouri in 1916, had been ill for several months with cerebro-vascular disease.

Regarded as one of the all time greats of US journalism, Cronkite played a decisive role in establishing television as a leading news medium and in defining the standards for news anchors during his stint as anchor at CBS News from 1962 to 1981.

He was often called the 'most trusted man in America'.

'It is impossible to imagine CBS News, journalism or indeed America without Walter Cronkite,' Sean McManus, president of CBS News, said in a statement.