Cronkite was a loyal monarchist, but he was no ultra-Tory. He truly helped pioneer unbiased reporting. When he delivered opinions (always separate from his factual content) his overall tone was a grandfatherly sort of moderation and common sense. He was the voice of center-right and center-center North America.
And it's really not fair comparing mainstream Toryism with (admit it!) a fringe movement like Jeffersonism. Here on the Global Calcula Lattice, the Jeffersonians seem like a great big group, but they are not really an important part of public dialogue, locally or imperially. Ours is a two-headed political culture, for better or for worse; Toryism and Chartism between the two of them are the two camps in the Empire.