Media Coverage of the Assassination of JFK

DEATH OF A PRESIDENT Examining the Media Coverage of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy There are certain dates in history which are embedded in the hearts and minds of a particular nation - in the case of the United States of America, these include the bombing of Pearl Harbour on 7th December 1941; the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania on 11th September 2001; and on Friday 22nd November 1963 when John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States of America was assassinated as he rode in his open-top dark blue Lincoln Continental convertible through the streets of downtown Dallas. As well as the shattering impact upon the President's family, the nation, and the world, the assassination of President Kennedy also heavily impacted the media coverage of the event, particularly television, which sort of came of age during those four tragic days in November 1963. Before discussing the media coverage of the assassination, a brief synopsis is necessary to explain just why President Kennedy had decided to travel to Texas, despite being warned against doing so by his ambassador to the United Nations, Aldai Stevenson and, among others, his press Secretary, Pierre Sallinger. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic and youngest elected president, was one of the most charismatic men to occupy the White House and together with his attractive wife, Jacqueline, brought more than just a touch of glamour to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. On the morning of Thursday 21st November 1963, the President and the First Lady departed the White House ahead of their planned four-day journey to the state of Texas, a trip which was more or less considered as the beginning of his campaign for re-election as president in the 1964 election. Flying from the White House by helicopter to Andrews Air Force Base, from where the glamorous couple would travel to San Antonio, they were joined by their son, John Jr, who would celebrate his third birthday the following Monday, 25th November, with Mrs Kennedy having planned a party of the youngest of the Kennedy clan. John loved flying and so his parents decided that he could come with him on the helicopter ride from the White House to Andrews, while his older sister, Caroline - who would herself celebrate her sixth birthday two days after her brother on 27th November - went to school in the morning in the White House. When the helicopter landed at Andrews, and John realised that he would not be accompanying his parents on Air Force One, the presidential aircraft, he began to sob uncontrollably. Seeing his tearful son, just before he boarded the plane, President Kennedy turned to Secret Service agent, Bob Foster, who had full responsibility for the protection of the Kennedy children, asking him to take special care of John before his scheduled return to Washington on Sunday, this was the first time Agent Foster recalled the President ever making such a request. Accompanying the President and the First Lady abroad the presidential plane included the President's personal secretary, Evelyn Lincoln; his de facto chief of staff, Kenneth O'Donnell; his appointments secretary (and court jester), David Powers; his principal political strategist, Lawrence F. O'Brien; along with several members of the First Lady's personal staff including Mary Gallagher, her private secretary, and Pamela Turnure, along with numerous Secret Service agents, including Roy Kellerman, William Greer, Emory Roberts, and Clint Hill. The President's visit to Texas was, primarily, for political reasons, an opportunity for President Kennedy to try and bring together what had become, by late-November 1963, a deeply divided Democratic Party, a party which had been ripped apart by two fractions on the opposite end of the political spectrum. On the one hand there was the all-powerful figure of Governor John B. Connally, Jr, the Governor of Texas, who had served President Kennedy early in his presidency as the secretary of the Navy. It would be reasonably fair, however, to suggest, and as author Jim Bishop suggests in his book The Day Kennedy Was Shot (Bishop, The Day Kennedy Was Shot, Harper Perennial Edition, 2013, pages 45-46) that he could not be regarded as any sort of supporter of President Kennedy, although he certainly was more of admirer, indeed one could say a protege, of Vice-President Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Connally represented the Conservative, or right-wing, element of the party. Then, on the other hand, there was Ralph Yarborough, the senator of Texas, and someone who was completely on a different political planet from Connally, representing the more progressive, or liberal, wing of the party. Neither of the two men could hide their personal disdain for one another, to the extent that Connally, influenced heavily by his wife, Nellie, tried to severely limit Yarborough's participation in the presidential visit. It was also not secret that Senator Yarborough was not a fan of Vice-President Johnson, who, as I have already mentioned, was closely aligned to Governor Connally. As well as the divisions tearing the Democratic Party assunder, the general atmosphere within Dallas was not one which seemed to be looking forward to welcoming the President of the United States to their city. In their book Dallas 1963: The Road to the Kennedy Assassination, co-authors Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis describe the numerous forces which were at work in creating what seemed to be a rather toxic culture in certain parts of the city - a city in which certain right-wing politicians such as Major General Edwin Walker and Republican Congressman Bruce Alger seemed to rule the roost. To sum up the general atmosphere of contempt which most, if not all, Texans held President Kennedy and his administration, one just has to look back at a tempestuous meeting which the President had with Ted Dealey, publisher of the highly influential and heavily right-wing Dallas Morning News. It was 1961, and just weeks after the President's inauguration, during which he famously exhorted his 'fellow citizens' to ask what they can do for their country and he met with a group of powerful and highly influential newspaper publishers, which included Dealey himself. Although many of the publishers did not share the President's politics, the majority did at least have the courtesy of showing him respect as befitting the office of President of the United States. The same, however, could not be said for Dealey, who at one point looked directly at the President, and told him, 'We need a man on horseback to lead this country, and many people in the Southwest think that you are riding Caroline's tricycle'. Kennedy, visibly angry at the reference to his daughter, hit back, saying, 'I was elected president of this country and you were not and I have the responsibility for the lives of 180 million Americans, which you have not!' Even the day after the assassination, Dealey's newspaper, although acknowledging the trauma which had hit the nation following the President's death, basically used their editorial as a form of self-congratulations for the work which they had done in spite of what they considered as the most trying of circumstances. Although President Kennedy was facing what at best can be described as a rather 'strained' reception in Dallas, he was given a far warmer welcome when Air Force One touched down in San Antonio at 1.30pm, local time, on Thursday 21st November. First to welcome the Kennedys after stepping off the plane at San Antonio International Airport was Vice-President Lyndon Johnson, accompanied by his wife, Lady Bird, the pair scheduled to accompany the First Couple throughout the trip, which was to culminate in a weekend stay at Johnson's famous ranch in Austin before flying back to Washington. In selecting Lyndon Johnson as his Vice-Presidential running-mate for the election which would be carried out in November 1960 (in which JFK defeated his Republican rival (and future President) Richard Nixon, by one of the narrowest margins in electoral history). JFK realised that in order to secure victory within the state of Texas, and ultimately win his election to the White House, he would require the presence of Lyndon Johnson to ride alongside him on the ticket, even though the two men had been rivals for the Democratic nomination and his decision to select Johnson to serve as his running mate certainly did not go down well with members of his campaign team, particularly his brother, Robert Kennedy. Thousands of people gathered at the airport cheering wildly as they saw the First Couple make their way out of the plane and down the ramp. Despite the evident delight of the crowds, the divisions within the Democratic Party were again painfully evident when Senator Yarborough expressed great reluctance in having to ride alongside Vice-President Johnson. Johnson's Secret Service agent, Rufus Youngblood, quietly but firmly informed the Senator that he was to ride alongside the Vice-President, to which the Senator simply turned his back before asking Congressman Henry Gonzalez if he could share a ride in his cat. Unfortunately for the President, this episode occurred right in front of the White House press corps which, for this particular visit, included Merriman Smith of UPI, who was generally regarded as the 'dean' of the press corps; Robert Pierpoint of CBS and Robert MacNeil of NBC (who was deputising for Sander Vancour, who was travelling alongside Secretary of State Dean Rusk and five other members of the cabinet, towards Tokyo for a conference via a stopover in Hawaii) and which took some of the shine off the President's first day in Texas. Once everyone had taken their places in the vast motorcade, the vehicles made their way towards the first destination on the President's schedule - Brooks Medical Center, where Kennedy was due to dedicate the new $25 billion Aerospace Medical Center. During his speech, the President sounded an almost prophetical note when he mentioned that today...'we...stand on the edge of a new era filled by both crisis and opportunity, an era to be characterized by achievements and challenges. It's an era which calls for action, and for the best efforts of all those who would test the unknown and the uncertain in every phrase of human endeavour...' While he was being cheered and given a huge round of applause, President Kennedy was asked by the Commander of the base, Major General T.C. Bedwell Jr, whether he would like to see an experiment, which involved four youths trying to breathe pure oxygen in a chamber at a stimulated altitude of approximately 80,000 feet. After a brief visit to the Rice Hotel, the President and Mrs Kennedy went the Houston Coliseum, where they participated in a testimonial dinner to honour Congressman Albert Thomas, who had only recently recovered from cancer - one of the principal organisers being Jack Valenti, one of Lyndon Johnson's most trusted aides. At 9.30pm, the President and the First Lady left the head table, leaving the Coliseum before flying to Fort Worth, where Air Force One landed at Carswell Air Force Base at 11.07pm. The subsequent motorcade would take the Presidential entourage to the Hotel Texas, where President Kennedy would spend what ultimately would be his final night here on earth. Although he had woken in a cheerful mood on the morning of Friday 22nd November 1963, with a large crowd having gathered outside the Hotel Texas, President Kennedy's mood darkened somewhat when he caught sight of the morning papers, including the Dallas News, whose headline read: STORM OF POLITICAL CONTRPVERSY SWIRLS AROUND KENNEDY ON VISIT, while another headed PRESIDENT'S VISIT SEEN WIDENING STATE DEMOCRATIC SPLIT. Kennedy's fury became apparent as the focus of the media was squarely upon the growing divisions within the state Democratic Party, particularly the tensions between Governor Connally and Senator Yarborough. Heading out to talk to the crowds before addressing business leaders in the hotel's ballroom, the President strode confidently out of the hotel, and went immediately to shale hands with the enthusiastic crowds who had waited for hours to catch a glimpse of him. After being briefly introduced by Vice-President Johnson, the President began his remarks by declaring, 'There are no faint hearts in Fort Worth!' After the President had addressed the crowds, he returned to the ballroom to address a breakfast meeting of business leaders, with the highlight being the arrival of the First Lady, dressed in a light-pink Chanel suit, people standing on chairs as they tried to catch a glimpse of Mrs Kennedy. The President, in his opening remarks, joked that he felt as he had done in Paris, when he had introduced himself as the man who had accompanied Mrs Kennedy to the French capital. At 11.40am, Air Force One landed at Dallas-Love Field airport and WFAA commentator Bob Walker seemed swept away with enthusiasm as he reported upon the presidential arrival, even commenting on the President's tan! Greeting the President and Mrs Kennedy were a group of dignitaries which included Dallas' Mayor Earle Cabell and his wife, while Dallas police chief Jesse Curry was already in the lead car, ready to lead the motorcade through downtown Dallas, alongside Secret Service agent, Winston Lawson. After going to shake hands with many of the (mostly enthusiastic) crowds gathered at the airport, the President and First Lady got into the back of the Lincoln Continental convertible and, at 11.55am, began to depart Love Field and make their towards what was supposed to be the Dallas-Trade Mart, where the President was scheduled to make a speech. At 12.30pm, turning the corner at Elm and Main Street, Nellie Connelly turned towards the President and said, 'You can't say Dallas doesn't love you, Mr President', those were the last words President Kennedy ever heard. At 1.30pm EST at CBS headquarters in New York, anchorman Walter Cronkite was putting the finishing touches to the CBS Evening News, which was due on air at 6.30pm. 1963 had seen CBS begin half-hour editions of the Evening News, the first being marked by an exclusive interview by Cronkite with President Kennedy, conducted at Cape Cod and which discussed, among other subjects, the current situation in Vietnam. Standing by the press tickers, which would carry bulletins from either UPI - United Press International - or AP - Associated Press - five bells suddenly began to ring, indicating that an urgent bulletin was about to reach the wires. Cronkite, by now hovering over the tapers, was stunned as he quickly read the terse bulletin from UPI - Three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade today in downtown Dallas. Merriman Smith had reported about shots being fired while he was travelling in the press follow-up car alongside White House deputy secretary Malcolm Kilduff (standing in for Pierre Sallinger) and Jack Bell, who was reporting for the Associated Press, Smith's bitter rivals to UPI. Since this occurred at a time of no mobile phones, no instant text messages, the only way a reporter could get information through to his bureau was by using the single telephone in the press car. Smith got there first and then continued to dictate, despite Bell trying desperately to wrestle the phone away from Smith. Just before the car reached Parkland Hospital, where the mortally wounded President had been taken, Smith at last handed over control of the phone to Bell, at which point, and to Bell's utter frustration, the line went dead. With a second bulletin from Smith suggesting that the President had indeed been wounded (perhaps seriously...perhaps fatally), Cronkite immediately called to be put on the air so that he could inform viewers of the developments. Unlike today, however, when news anchors would be seen instantly, in 1963 it simply wasn't technically possible for the anchor to be seen on camera immediately as it would take up to twenty minutes to warm up the cameras and then the audience could see the anchor. Cronkite therefore started what would be the most momentous broadcast of his journalistic career by moving into a radio booth and providing sound-only bulletins until the camera in the CBS newsroom was ready. Around 1.40pm EST, viewers who were tuned into the lunchtime soap opera As The World Turns, would shortly see it interrupted and replaced with a blank screen with the words CBS NEWS: BULLETIN emblazoned all over it. Those same viewers would be left dumbfounded when they heard the voice of Walter Cronkite announcing that reports had come in of shots being fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in Dallas and that it was also reported that the President himself may have suffered a serious injury. Cronkite quickly received a second bulletin from UPI which reported that Kennedy's wounds may turn out to be fatal. After recapping the details of the incident, CBS would switch back twice to 'As The World Turns' before the decision was made to devote complete coverage to the on-going situation. At 2pm in New York, with the camera now fully warmed up, viewers for the first time saw the calm, reassuring presence of Walter Cronkite who, unknown to himself, was on air with his suit jacket draped over the back of his chair. Viewers were taken to the Trade Mart, the venue where President Kennedy had been scheduled to deliver a lunchtime address, where Eddie Barker, the news director of CBS' affiliate station KRLD, was updating viewers on the latest developments while the stunned crowd gathered at the Trade Mart were standing around and listening to transitor radios to find out just how serious the situation was. Barker himself was the first journalist to report on the air word that the President had died, having spoken to a doctor who was on the staff at Parkland Hospital and had telephoned Parkland from the Trade Mart for the latest information. But Walter Cronkite stopped short of confirming the President's death, declaring Barker's report to be merely a 'rumour'; nevertheless, his facial expression seemed to suggest that it was only a matter of time before the worst fears of a nation and a concerned world would be confirmed. Whereas Cronkite awaited official confirmation that President Kennedy was dead, over at CBS radio, confusion reigned as anchor Allan Jackson inadvertently announced the President's death several minutes before Malcolm Kilduff's official announcement at Parkland Hospital. CBS correspondent Dan Rather, working for both radio and television, had spoken briefly to Father Oscar Huber, the priest who had administered extreme unction to the deceased Commander-in-chief, and told him that the president was dead. He spoke over the telephone with Eddie Barker, unaware that also listening to their conversation were officials of CBS radio and when one of them suddenly asked whether the President was dead, Rather confirmed it. Seconds later, much to Rather's dismay, he heard Allan Jackson say, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States is dead. John F Kennedy has died of the gunshot wounds...we repeat it has just been announced that President Kennedy is dead.' Had the President not been mortally wounded then CBS radio officials would have most likely faced an inquiry as to how that announcement had been allowed to go out over the airwaves. Rather's report that he had had confirmation of the President's death was relayed to the television newsroom in New York, but, once again, Walter Cronkite stopped short of making it an official confirmation. Quite rightly he wanted to wait until official confirmation had come from deputy White House press Secretary, Malcolm Kilduff, who was acting as JFK's chief press aide for the visit to Texas. As Lyndon Johnson, already now the 36th President of the United States, was hurriedly removed from Parkland towards Love Field for the swearing-in ceremony, an overwhelmed Kilduff headed towards one of the classrooms for medical students which had been turned into a temporary press room for the hoardes of journalists who had descended upon the hospital. CBS' Robert Pierpoint, and his NBC counterpart, Robert MacNeil, had both witnessed a visibly shaken President Johnson heading straight towards them as he departed Parkland, and now the two correspondents followed Kilduff around the building towards the classroom, all the time asking whether the President was dead. As MacNeil would later recall, when Kilduff got to the desk from where he would make the announcement, he was shaking so much that he had to press his hands tight upon the desk so that he could calm himself down. The time was 1.31pm, CST, and with President Kennedy's chief military aide, General Godfrey McHugh, standing nearby, Kilduff began to speak when a reporter asked what the precise time was so he could record it for posterity. Kilduff then went ahead and said, 'President John F Kennedy died at one o'clock Central Standard Time today here in Dallas. He died of a gunshot wound in the brain.' At that moment, numerous reporters dashed out of the room, picked up the nearest telephone and called their bureaus to announce what Kilduff had just said. At 1.33pm, the UPI ticker flashed: President Kennedy dead. With a number of newsmen constantly hovering over the wires at the back of CBS' newsroom, Cronkite was recounting the details of the President's journey into Dallas when suddenly one of the newsmen ripped the UPI flash from the ticker and handed it to another newsmen who passed it straight to Cronkite. After briefly scanning the flash, Cronkite, at this time wearing his horn-rimmed glasses, solemnly intoned the most fateful words he would utter on air: 'From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official, President Kennedy died at one o'clock Central Standard Time, two o'clock, Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago.' Removing his glasses, Cronkite was visibly moved and for a second struggled to hold himself together as he informed his stunned audience that Lyndon Johnson had left Parkland and would shortly take the oath of office as the nation's 36th President. As the camera zoomed closer while Cronkite repeated details of the President's day, tears were visible in his eyes. When first word of shots having been fired at President Kennedy's motorcade first reached the newsroom at NBC in New York, they too were unable to go immediately to air because their cameras needed sufficient time to warm up before being used for broadcast. Bill Ryan, a highly-respected newsman who normally fronted afternoon radio broadcasts and was co-anchor with Gabe Pressman of the Ryan-Pressman Report, was told to go immediately to the station's 'flash' studio after word had been received of shots being fired at the motorcade in Dallas. Don Pardo, NBC's continuity announcer, broke into the network's programming (Batchelor Father was being transmitted in some parts of the country) to deliver the first bulletin before informing his audience to 'stay tuned to your NBC station for the later news'. Just before 2pm in New York, Ryan, now joined by Chet Huntley and, soon afterwards, by Frank McGhee, went on air although it would be several more minutes before the viewers eventually saw the three newsmen in vision. At that time, as I have previously mentioned, there were no mobile phones, there was no internet, so communicating with parts of the country continued to be something of a challenge. Twice McGhee attempted to converse on-air with Robert MacNeil who, after phoning the station from a telephone inside the Texas School Book Depository, had managed to find a phone at Parkland Hospital. At one point McGhee tried to attach a device to the phone in order for MacNeil's voice to be heard over the air, but it only worked very briefly before McGhee gave up and he simply repeated what MacNeil was telling him. NBC's affiliate station in Texas was WBAP and viewers who were watching Ryan, McGhee and Huntley reporting in black and white, must have been taken slightly aback when the first updates from WBAP were being broadcast in colour. This soon reverted to black and white since the station could not afford to use colour. Chet Huntley started to compare the events occurring in Dallas with the sudden death of President Fraklin Delano Roosevelt on 30th April 1945, when he was quickly interrupted by Ryan who had received the bulletin from the Associated Press which read that, 'Two priests who were with President Kennedy say he is dead...', after repeating the flash, Ryan emphasised that there was still no official confirmation from any source, but by this point to those who were watching it now seemed simply a matter of time. Moments before when Ryan had read from the AP that two priests had arrived at Parkland to administer the last rites (in this case, extreme unction), he reminded the viewers that the last rites were administered in an emergency and did not necessarily mean that the President was near death. After NBC had switched to WBAP and to reporter Charles Murphy seeking clarification of the President's death, Robert MacNeil, who had witnessed Malcolm Kilduff's emotional statement at Parkland, had come on the line and confirmed the news, which was repeated by McGhee - 'White House press Secretary, Malcolm Kilduff, has just announced that President Kennedy died at 1pm', suddenly MacNeil's voice could be heard to the viewers on air - despite someone behind the camera trying to alert McGhee, he continued to repeat what MacNeil was telling him, after he concluded his report, McGhee could be seen wiping a tear from his eye. If both CBS and NBC seemed to be coping reasonably well broadcasting during a time of what Bill Ryan aptly described as 'controlled panic', then unfortunately the same could not be said for ABC television, at least not in the first few hours of their coverage of the assassination. Again, as with the other two networks, ABC were broadcasting (in certain parts of the country) a lunchtime soap opera when, suddenly, at 12.42pm, viewers saw the ABC News Bulletin slide appear on screen and the voice of correspondent Ed Silverman reporting on shots being fired at the presidential limousine and reports that Kennedy may have been fatally wounded. After briefly returning to normal programming - such as Father Knows Best - Silverman returned to keep the by now increasingly worried audience fully updated of developments in Dallas, now joined on the phone from Parkland by ABC's White House correspondent, Bob Clark, who had been in the rear seat of the press car occupied by UPI's Merriman Smith and AP's Jack Bell. Just after 2pm, viewers saw for a brief few moments the figure of Don Goddard reporting on the latest bulletins before returning to Clark at Parkland who was now reporting that the President was still alive but in extremely critical condition - already there were rumours circulating around Parkland about the expected fate of the President, but which Clark would not repeat while he was on air. While Clark was talking, the screen remained blank except for an image of the seal of the President of the United States, before viewers got to see a slightly disoriented-looking Don Goddard, standing, phone in his ear, awaiting further word from his director in the control room - at the same time, viewers saw the almost comical sight of engineers working to put the studio together since ABC did not at that time have a studio fully ready to bring breaking news such as the assassination. After several minutes, Goddard, who would continue to help anchor coverage during the afternoon and early evening, stepped aside with Ron Cochran, who was then the anchor of the ABC Evening Report, as he himself mentioned, had been called back from his lunch break and, at least during his first moments on air, appeared to be physically shaking while he struggled in handing back the microphone, while this was going on, engineers continued to prepare the studio which included rigging a large curtain. After updating the audience on the latest information in Dallas, Ed Silverman was talking via telephone to Bob Clark and at one point Silverman told Clark to go to their affiliate station WFAA so that he could more easily communicate with New York. Cochran, now seated in front of what looked like a small lectern, was told to put on a rather awkward-looking headset on, a few minutes later he gave word of the report that two priests who had come to Parkland Hospital to perform the last rites to President Kennedy now said that the President was dead - immediately there came on screen a photo of Kennedy together with his name and the years 1917-1963 - even though, as Cochran had said, no official confirmation had been declared at that stage. Minutes later, however, the report from what was described as 'government sources' which apparently confirmed that the President had died was treated as the official confirmation from Cochran who then went on to say, 'That is, apparently, the final word and an incredible event that nobody, apart from the assassin himself, could have imagined would occur on this day.' ABC television's coverage in the early hours of the assassination, was, to a large extent, rescued by the excellent work undertaken by their affiliate station, WFAA. News director Jay Watson, who together with colleague Jerry Haynes, had been near Dealey Plaza when they heard shots ring out and both returned directly to the studios, along with Bill and Gayle Newman and their two children, eyewitnesses to the assassination and who gave a vivid account of their experiences to Watson who later in the day also interviewed Abraham Zapruder, a dress manufacturer, whose home movie of the assassination would shock the nation when it was shown on national television for the first time in 1975. Back at CBS, an emotional Walter Cronkite, still without his customary jacket, summed up the events of the day so far: 'President Kennedy is dead, in the 46th year of his life, and in the third year of his term as President of the United States.' Cronkite then made way for Charles Collingwood, who in 1962 had introduced a special tour of the White House led by Mrs Kennedy, reminding Cronkite about his jacket which had remained on the back of his chair until Collingwood's arrival. Among the correspondents who joined Collingwood in the newsroom included Robert Trout who, as he walked towards the CBS studios, reported that he had seen schoolchildren weeping as they left school. Both Cronkite and Collingwood would once again switch places with each other before Harry Reasoner switched places with Collingwood. At around 6.05pm, CBS switched live to Andrews Air Force Base, where Air Force One landed, carrying both the coffin with the mortal remains of President Kennedy and the new President, Lyndon Johnson. Reasoner appeared to believe that the footage was recorded, as one of the newsmen could be heard in the background shouting that it was being broadcast live. Walter Cronkite returned at 6.30pm to present an extended edition of the CBS Evening News, which included White House correspondent George Herman reporting on the arrival of President Johnson to the White House - although the new President would for the time being carry out his work at the Executive Office Building (which he had occupied as Vice-President) across the road from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue - the programme also included Dan Rather's account of the shooting in Dealey Plaza. After Cronkite had signed off, Harry Reasoner, now anchoring in a darkened studio rather than the newsroom, took the air, during which the network broadcast a profile of President Johnson and a biography of the late President Kennedy, before going off air and coming back on air at 8am the following morning, 23rd November. Of the three anchors who had introduced NBC's coverage of the assassination, the normally unflappable Chet Huntley appeared to be more emotionally affected than both Frank McGhee and Bill Ryan (both men would break down once they came off-air) and very shortly after official confirmation had been received of the President's death, Huntley came off air and was replaced by Merrell Muller - who himself would fly to Washington to anchor coverage there. Robert MacNeil's phone connection from Dallas to New York had improved so that he was now able to give his report without McGhee having to repeat what he was saying. From Washington, both David Brinkley and Martin Agronsky contributed, Agronsky's voice breaking with emotion as he observed this (seemingly) vibrant, energetic President could have lost his life in this manner before returning to New York. At Andrews Air Force Base, NBC's coverage was provided by commentary from Robert Abernethy (who only died in May this year) and Nancy Dickerson, at the time she was one of only a handful of female correspondents on the three networks - ABC's Lisa Howard and Barbara Walters among others for example. After briefly covering the arrival of President Johnson by helicopter to the White House, Ryan and McGhee, who had been on air since just before 2pm, took a break, with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley hosting a special 90-minute programme covering in depth the events of the day including reaction from throughout the country and around the world. As was the fashion at the time, whenever a big news story was developing, reporters would take to the streets to ask for people's reactions. On that fateful November day, NBC correspondent Gabe Pressman was standing outside the network's headquarters when word was relayed over a car radio of the announcement of the President's death - at that moment, a middle-aged woman wearing distinctive horn-rimmed glasses jumped slightly before recoiling in shock and starting to weep openly. As Huntley observed however, it was the disconsolate expression of a teenage girl which best seemed to sum up the feelings of a shocked nation, 'I really couldn't say, right now I just don't know what to do, don't even know where to go, what to say...' Laying her head on the shoulder of a young boy, she started to weep softly. At a certain point, after the network had returned to New York following a five-second pause for station identification, Frank McGhee could be seen quietly smoking a cigarette before quickly putting it out after realising that he had returned on the air - at WFAA in Dallas, news director Jay Watson was occasionally seen smoking during the first hours of his network's coverage - a definite sign of the times which would certainly not be tolerated today. Throughout the day, all three networks had announced that they would remain on the air with continuous coverage - only remaining off the air during the early morning hours - and that there would be no advertising or entertainment programmes until after the funeral of President Kennedy, which would take place on Saturday 25th November, the day when the late President's son, John, would celebrate his third birthday. Around 12.50am, with the television audience beginning to decline in order to attempt to get whatever sleep they could, David Brinkley summed up the feelings of many when he said, 'that what has happened has been just too much, top ugly, and too fast' (Vincent Bugliosi, Reclaiming History, W.W. Norton & Co, 2007, page 185). After a final report on the day's events in Dallas from Robert MacNeil - who by now was reporting on camera from the WBAP studios - Frank McGhee brought NBC's coverage to a close, first by emphaising that the sympathy of the entire nation would be with Mrs Kennedy and the late President's family, and then recognising some of the correspondents who had worked tirelessly throughout the course of the day in order 'to bring you this sad story'. With his voice close to breaking point, McGhee's concluding words on air at 1.02am, were, 'November the 22nd, into the history books, stamped forever with the blackness of this day's deed. Thank you. Goodnight'. Once both McGee and Ryan had come off the air, both men finally lost control of their emotions. In an interview in 1988, to mark the 25th anniversary of the assassination, Ryan recalled how, when he had come off the air, a rather insensitive NBC executive spotted Ryan and told him, 'nice job', to which Ryan angrily replied, 'Oh, shut the....up', before breaking down and sobbing against a wall for around 5-10 minutes. Back at ABC, they had eventually managed to set up their studios, with Ron Cochran sat at a desk, while Don Goddard was sat in another studio joined by James Hagerty, who had served as press secretary to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and was then serving as a vice-president of ABC. Commenting on footage of President and Mrs Kennedy shaking hands with the adoring crowds (although there were also more than a few demonstrators) to welcome them at Love Field, Hagerty observed that, 'It's rather difficult, while guarding the President, to argue that you can't shake hands with the American people or ride in an open car where the people can see you'. Once again, however, the majority of their coverage was provided by the excellent work carried out by their affiliate station, WFAA, where Jay Watson was now joined by Bob Walker (who had provided commentary for the President's arrival earlier in the day), Bob Clark, Bill Lord, all of whom gave their thoughts towards the end of what had surely been one of the most traumatic days in American history and certainly one of the most challenging in terms of broadcasting that many of these highly respected and experienced correspondents had ever faced. It had been such a long day that when Bob Walker signed off and handed back to ABC, he said, 'This is Jay Watson, Bob Clark, Bill Lord, Bob Walker, wishing you a goodnight-a good morning...now back to ABC News in New York'. Before the network closed down for the night, Ron Cochran quite rightly recognised the efforts of WFAA, without which ABC would have struggled even more than they had done at the beginning of their coverage. We have already looked briefly at how CBS Radio inadvertently announced President Kennedy's death before waiting for official confirmation, but listening back to coverage of that day - thanks especially to both JFK1963VIDEOS and David Von Pein - it is fascinating to discover just how the radio networks dealt with breaking the truly shocking news on that fateful day. Those who were tuned into WCBS in New York would have been listening to a discussion programme which had unwed mothers as it's principal topic and speaking about women in a certain manner that broadcasters would certainly not be able to get away with today. Those tuned in to CBS' affiliate station in Los Angeles (KNX) would have been listening to a pre-recorded programme hosted by Arthur Godfrey - it was rather unfortunate that following a bulletin concerning the shooting, the station returned to a part of the programme in which Godfrey and his participants were laughing but, since it was a pre-record, and the network had to wait until the programme had finished before switching to CBS in New York, there really was nothing that could be done about it. It was Allan Jackson who broke into normal programming to give listeners who were tunes into CBS' affiliate stations around the country first word of the shooting and the network went to full coverage some time around 2pm EST, during which time Jackson was now joined in the studio by his colleague Dallas Townsend, who sounded choked with emotion when he began broadcasting before being able to put his emotions under control and help co-anchor the bulletins for the majority of the day. Twice, CBS Radio incorrectly played music before eventually playing the most sorrowful version of the national anthem - the Star Spangled Banner. CBS' radio affiliate for Kennedy's visit to Dallas was KRLD and reporter Bob Huffaker, who would provide sterling coverage throughout the four days, happened to be broadcasting just a few blocks from Dealey Plaza when the presidential motorcade drove past him, as he reported, 'This is a friendly welcome in downtown Dallas!' Huffaker only became aware of shots being fired at the President when he had returned to KRLD's studios and immediately he went to report from Parkland Hospital. With ashen-faced White House officials, highly agitated Secret Service agents, and stunned Dallas residents crowded all around him, Huffaker set the scene as they awaited word on the condition of the mortally wounded Chief Executive of the United States, 'Faces are ashen-white, and people are wondering, 'Is our President going to live?'' After confirmation of President Kennedy's death had been received, Huffaker spoke briefly with Congressman Jim Wright, who had been part of the presidential party to Texas, and almost broke down in tears as he concluded his report and returned to the studio at KRLD. While ABC's television network struggled at first to try and get to grips with the enormity of the news, there can be little doubt that the radio network performed admirably under the same intense pressure. Depending on where you happened to be living in the US - around 1.35pm, at least in the state of New York, ABC's affiliate stations were broadcasting a programme of music - the sounds of Doris Day's Hooray for Hollywood were abruptly interrupted by the urgent voice of anchor Don Gardiner reporting the bulletin which stated that shots had just been fired at the presidential limousine. Gardiner repeated the bulletin, then quickly returned to normal programming before returning immediately to Gardiner for a further bulletin which first said that there were no reported casualties but in the very next line suggested for the first time that someone in the motorcade may have suffered what was described as a 'serious injury'. ABC newsman Nick George, who sat alongside Gardiner for the first hour or so of their coverage, asked all of the network's affiliate stations to stand-by as Gardiner reported that the President may have been seriously injured. Following a brief report from Bob Clark at Parkland, one can audibly feel the tension and high emotion as Gardiner read the UPI bulletin claiming that Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent responsible for the protection of the First Lady, and whose heroic actions have been rightly acknowledged through the years, had told Mrs Kennedy, 'He is dead' - Hill, in fact, had actually told Merriman Smith this when Smith managed to ask Hill about the President's condition. Gardiner's voice starts to crack slightly and he began to call the First Lady as 'Mrs Prennedy...Mrs Kennedy' before correcting himself and restoring his composure. The two anchors kept in constant touch with Bob Clark although the switch to Parkland Hospital would occasionally fail due to the sheer volume of traffic throughout the nation, people phoning one another wanting to know whether it did actually happen, and, if it did, then what was the President's condition? Gardiner began to receive reports that the President had died, but continued to emphasise that there was still no official confirmation and continued to wait for the official word from Malcolm Kilduff in Dallas. It was while ABC's Washington correspondent Pete Clapper was speaking to Richard Ridell, a long-time aide to the U.S Senate, that Gardiner interrupts to relay the official confirmation that President Kennedy had died - 'Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, is dead. The President is dead. Let us pray.' A few minutes later, Gardiner spoke to ABC's London correspondent, Bill Sheehan, who described how the news was broken by the BBC - more of which later - reporting how they made a brief announcement before going to a brief period of silence. As well as Gardiner having a discussion with James Hagerty, discussing similar matters that he had been doing with Don Goddard on the television network, ABC Radio also provided sound of a live broadcast of reaction from Pope Paul VI, who had given permission for US television to film him in his study in the Apostolic Palace. After an exhausting six hours spent in front of the microphone, Don Gardiner came off the air a little before 8pm and he was replaced by Les Griffith, while it would be Bill Beutel who would conclude the network's radio coverage for the day, coming off air at 1.59am, CST, with the network resuming its coverage just five hours later at 6am. At 1.30pm CST, as the shots rang out in Dealey Plaza, NBC correspondent Martin Agronsky was delivering the normal lunchtime bulletin. One of the tragic ironies of the President's visit to Dallas was that the text of the speech which he was scheduled to deliver at the Trade Mart had already been published in advance by the White House. So it was that, at the exact same moment that the fatally wounded President was being rushed at top speed towards Parkland Hospital, Agronsky read the bulletin in a way which it seemed that the President had, in fact, made his speech. NBC interrupted it's programming on its affiliate radio stations in order to report news of the shooting. At 2pm, Washington correspondent Peter Hackes came on air to deliver a brief update, before Edwin Newman anchored the radio network's continual coverage - which included providing an audio link to their television coverage. At the same time that Ryan received the first flash concerning the death of the President, Newman broke the news to those listening to the radio, 'A flash from Dallas...Two priests who were with President Kennedy say he has died of bullet wounds...I will repeat, with the deepest regret, this flash...Now we join the NBC television network for the latest information'. Newman was then obviously informed that he would be required to travel to Washington, from where he would continue to report on the events, primarily on the radio network. Replacing Newman at the heart of the radio coverage in New York would be Morgan Beatty, while both Joseph Michaels and Jim Herlbert also helped to anchor the coverage until the network closed down around 1am CST. Thanks to David Von Pein, there is now available virtually all of NBC's coverage from that fateful day broadcast courtesy of the WLW radio network in Cincinnati. Disc jockey Fred Bernard, who was presenting his 'Turnpike' show, interrupted his programme with the first bulletin concerning shots being fired at the presidential motorcade in Dallas - WLW would switch to the NBC network for continuous coverage from around 2.05pm - during breaks for station identification, an announcer would make brief announcements including a statement extending the station's deepest sympathies to the family of President Kennedy before returning to the NBC coverage. At one point earlier in the day, when the first bulletins were coming through of the assassination, two WLW newsmen were caught on air discussing which of the Kennedys had been shot - 'Kennedy?' 'Yeah' 'The President?' 'Yeah' - an exchange which would most likely not occur today on of our carefully produced 24-hour news channels. NBC's decision to go off the air on television around 1am EST meant that it missed the chance to broadcast the first appearance before the world's media of the presidential assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. Dallas Police Chief Jesse Curry had warned the members of the press - which, by this point, also consisted a large number of international journalists - that any attempts to either ask Oswald a question or to antagonise him in any way would result in the prisoner returning swiftly to his cell on the fifth floor of the prison. This was merely meant to parade Oswald before the cameras, that the world could take a first look at the man charged with the assassination of the President of the United States, the serious wounding of Governor Connally, and who had also been charged with the murder of police officer J.D Tippit in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, just half an hour or so following the shooting of the President in Dealey Plaza. As Curry himself had feared, reporters couldn't help themselves and started shouting questions, one of which came from KRLD's Bill Mercer, towards a rather stunned and bewildered looking Oswald who claimed he didn't know why he was being held. When officers had apprehended Oswald at the Texas Theater, there was an almighty struggle where he attempted to shoot another officer before the police eventually managed to take him out and into a waiting car. That was the cause of the bruise which Oswald now bore, twice a reporter asked him, 'Oswald, how did you hurt your eye?', to which he arrogantly replied, 'A policeman hit me', before being led out of the room. This whole episode highlighted why it was such a mistake for Chief Curry to permit the media - particularly those from outside of Dallas - to have so much access to the police station - footage from that tragic weekend shows, aside from the hallways being jammed packed with reporters, members of the public either standing or walking around, seemingly wanting to be part of history in the making - and, of course, at the appearance of Oswald was one gentleman who was not a member of the press, and that was Jack Ruby, nightclub owner, who was known to both Dallas police officers and newsmen as really something of an annoyance, always attempting to ingratiate himself with officers, handing out free cards advertising his nightclubs and so forth. Ruby made particular note to what he thought was a rather arrogant smirk across Oswald's face. It is, of course, easy to say now with the benefit of hindsight, but had Curry not been quite so accommodating towards the media and ensuring full access to his station, then it's unlikely Ruby would have managed to sneak his way into a late-night press conference and highly probable that he would not have been able to sneak into the basement of the station and shoot Oswald. Speaking many years later, KRLD's Bob Huffaker, who was broadcasting live when Oswald was shot, felt much of the responsibility fell upon reporters who came from other other parts of the country, as well as some from overseas, and, in his opinion, did not behave as journalists ought to have behaved. In Washington, during the early hours of the morning of Saturday 23rd November 1963, with black crepe hung on the front of the White House, the ambulance bearing the flag-draped coffin containing the mortal remains of John Fitzgerald Kennedy arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the final time. While CBS correspondent George Herman reported for the network and was first shown when the network returned on air at 7am, correspondent Sid Davis was broadcasting live for the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, almost breaking down in tears as he concluded his report. CBS' television coverage on that grim Saturday morning was led, for the first two-and-a-half hours by Mike Wallace, who would eventually become the anchor of 60 Minutes, before Cronkite took over the anchor's chair again. Mrs Kennedy had permitted television cameras to come into the White House between 9 and 9.15am to film images of the bier upon which rested the flag-draped coffin of her husband, the 35th President of the United States. George Herman and Robert Pierpoint were requires to stand outside in rather damp conditions to report on the arrivals of various dignitaries who arrived to pay their last respects - these included former President Dwight Eisenhower and Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who had sworn in the late President at his inauguration in January 1961. A sign of the times back in 1963, was Charles Collingwood introducing a panel programme, with all of the participants happening to be male. NBC began their coverage on Saturday 23rd November as they normally would on a Saturday, with the Today programme, co-anchored by the likes of Hugh Downs, Frank Blair, and a fresh-faced Barbara Walters. Naturally the tone and content of the programme was considerably different to their usual light-hearted fare, the programme concluding with Hugh Downs reflecting on how tragedy had once again befallen Mrs Kennedy, while the last images one saw were of a group of clergy - which included Auxiliary Bishop John Maguire, the Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of New York - processing solemnly into Saint Patrick's Cathedral for a solemn Pontifical Requiem Mass. The screen faded for several seconds before the face of Frank McGhee appeared in vision as both he and Bill Ryan continued the network's coverage - both men, incidentally, were now seated at the correct level, the previous day, Ryan sat on a raised chair which made him look far bigger than McGhee on the relatively few occasions they were seen in vision together. ABC Television had recovered somewhat following what can only be described as a rather 'shaky' performance the previous day, some of their coverage now being anchored by Bob Younger and the experienced Howard K Smith, who, as he had explained to Younger the previous evening, had only just returned from travelling on a plane heading towards Cairo when word was received of the assassination. It was also much easier for the viewers to identify Washington bureau chief Edward P. Morgan, who in his first broadcast on that fateful Friday appeared to be broadcasting from a darkened room surrounded only by candlelight! Just as occurred the previous day, scores of journalists crammed themselves throughout Dallas police station, making it very difficult for officers whenever they had to bring Oswald back and forth whenever he was needed for interview. The crush and chaos which quickly developed there also made it difficult occasionally for reporters to deliver their broadcasts - for example, when CBS' Nelson Benton tried to report, occasionally you could see either NBC's Tom Petit or ABC's Bob Clark or Paul Goode walking into view to find the best place to report to their own networks. As the networks brought their second day of coverage to a close, the only drama which they expected to witness would be the procession of the coffin of President Kennedy from the White House through to the Capitol Rotunda. No-one could have foreseen just what drama lay in store for an already traumatic nation and, once again, for the city of Dallas. In the early hours of Sunday 24th November 1963, callers telephoned Dallas police headquarters and told the on-duty officer that they represented a committee of no particular political affiliation who would go and murder Lee Harvey Oswald - similar calls had apparently also been made to the Dallas FBI Bureau. In hindsight, perhaps someone in authority should have risked the wrath of media-friendly Jesse Curry (who informed the media to be present no later than 10am to witness the transfer of Oswald to the county jail) and had Oswald discreetly transferred in the early hours - this wasn't to be, however. Curry's wife had become rather tired of all the phone calls that her husband had been receiving and so she cut the phone line, meaning officers were forced to knock loudly upon Curry's front door around 7am, alerting him to the phone calls concerning Oswald received during the night. Curry, despite concerns expressed by Captain Will Fritz (who was heading the investigation into the assassination), was adamant that the transfer would proceed as planned, planning to transfer Oswald using an armored truck. As the time neared the moment when Lee Harvey Oswald would once again face the world's media, the major networks continued to report on preparations for the funeral cortege in Washington, while affiliate stations such as WFAA were broadcasting memorial services for the assassinated President. NBC correspondent Peter Hackes had just completed his report outside Washington's Saint Matthew's Roman Catholic Cathedral, when Frank McGhee, on word from his director in the control room, simply said, 'To Dallas, Texas, and Tom Petit' - literally just seconds before Petit had urgently asked to be put on the air as the transfer of Oswald was about to take place. At 11.20am, the doors of the elevator opened, and, preceeded by Captain Fritz, and handcuffed to Detective Jim Leavelle and flanked by Detective L.T. Graves, the rather tentative-looking figure of Oswald came into view, leading reporters to murmur, 'Here he is, 'Here he comes'. Standing beside Petit was Ike Pappas, a reporter who was working for WNEW Radip and who had dashed down to the area of the basement where the reporters had gathered, after running down from Captain Fritz's office. Holding his microphone towards Oswald, he asked him, 'Do you have anything to say in your defence?'. Seconds later, out of the crowd of reporters, came the eccentric figure of Jack Ruby, who, quickly taking out his revolver, which he always kept on his person, aimed it at Oswald and shot him once, while Leavelle, the other officers and the reporters looked on in complete disbelief and incredulity. While Pappas exclaimed, 'Holy mackerel!', back on NBC television, a stunned Tom Petit repeated, 'He's been shot! He's been shot! Lee Oswald has been shot!' Complete pandemonium then broke out in the basement, with dozens of police officers struggling desperately to wrestle the revolver away from Ruby's grasp, while Oswald was immediately rushed back inside the jail office where he was given immediate medical treatment but his condition was already critical, the bullet having passed through his body and causing damage to all of his major organs. Reporters attempting to rush out from the basement in order to file their reports concerning the shooting were rather acidly informed by officers that they were to remain just they where they were. NBC had managed something of an unforeseen coup, capturing the shooting of Oswald while their cameras were live from the scene, with neither CBS or ABC were. Petit remained on the air directly from the basement for almost an hour before a bewildered-looking Frank McGhee introduced a replay of the shooting before returning to Merrell Muller who was anchoring coverage in Washington. ABC correspondent Bill Lord was also among the dozens of newsmen watching the proceedings and he informed officials at affiliate station WFAA and they immediately interrupted a memorial service to bring news of the shooting - 'Bob Walker, WFAA-TV, there's been a shooting...'. Walker, who would go on to work for ABC, constantly kept in touch with Lord, while at the same time repeating details of the shooting to his dumbfounded audience. At one point, one of the staffers handed Walker a bulletin which mentioned for the first time the name of Jack Ruby as the person identified as having carried out the shooting - just as the newsman was about to mention Ruby's name, Walker instantly covered his hand over the microphone, before asking him whether that was official confirmation of the person who had shot Oswald. Since WFAA's cameras were already in place at the county jail anticipating the arrival of Oswald, none of their cameras were in the basement of the police station, therefore reporter Lord could only communicate with Walker via telephone. Although CBS were receiving images of the basement from their affiliate station, KRLD, rather unfortunate editorial decisions meant that they missed broadcasting Oswald's shooting at the exact moment it took place. CBS correspondent Roger Mudd had concluded his report from Capitol Hill ahead of the transfer of the body of President Kennedy, when the director told anchor Harry Reasoner to go ahead with his one-minute op-ed piece. As he concluded his remarks, cameras switched live to the basement of the police station, where, as Reasoner reported, a huge scuffle had broken out, totally unaware of what had actually occurred until KRLD's Bob Huffaker began to describe the scene. This was, of course, of small comfort to both Dan Rather and Nelson Benton, both of whom had spent several minutes desperately trying to persuade the control room at CBS headquarters in New York since it was certain that Oswald's appearance was imminent - a frustrated Rather was shouting, 'You've got to come to us now!', but to avail. Reasoner did, on a suggestion of Rather, introduce a replay of the shooting, while Walter Cronkite would later that day narrate a slow-motion version of the shooting, nevertheless CBS had certainly 'missed the boat' on this occasion. Bob Huffaker, reporting for both CBS and KRLD, was one of the dozens of reporters forced to stand aside while the ambulance which would take the mortally-wounded Oswald to Parkland Hospital ('Parkland Hospital...the irony of ironies, the place where President John Kennedy died' to quote a rather incredulous Tom Petit on NBC), Huffaker struggled to maintain his composure as he was being jostled and manhandled by fellow correspondents, one of whom apparently stood upon his microphone lead. Once Oswald had been taken to Parkland, officers including Sergeant Patrick Dean, were being cornered by the world's media who questioned how it was possible that a citizen could somehow evade the security arrangements and shoot the man charged with the assassination of the President of the United States. Dean's response was, naturally, very evasive and he refused to be drawn into the identity of the gunman, except admitting that he recognised the person and had he seem him prior to the arrival of Oswald then he would have ejected him. On ABC television, as they prepared for the funeral cortege from the White House to the Rotunda, both Edward P Morgan and Howard K Smith could hardly disguise their shock and disbelief at the shooting of Oswald, Morgan talking to Smith said it felt like a dream that you were going to wake from but won't. Camera crews were already on hand when the ambulance bearing Oswald pulled up in front of the emergency entrance at Parkland. Someone wisely suggested treating Oswald in Trauma Room no.2, across the hallway from Trauma Room no.1, since it would have been tantamount to sacrilege if Oswald had received treatment in the same room that President Kennedy had died the previous Friday. A little after 1pm, Dallas time, in yet another chaotic press conference, Dr. Tom Shires announced that Oswald had died of the wounds he had sustained, thus causing another crowd of reporters to rush towards the telephones and report the latest information to their newsdesks. Although the newsflash concerning Oswald's death was broadcast, further information about his death was withheld until the conclusion of the funeral ceremonies at the Capitol. One of the most moving moments of the entire four days, and which was captured by network cameras, was the image of a grief-stricken Jacqueline Kennedy, holding the hands of her children, briefly losing her composure and breaking down at the playing of 'Hail to the Chief' - a scene for which none of the television (or radio) commentators needed to add words, the image spoke for itself. Another image which needed no commentary was the grim expression on the face of Dallas police chief Jesse Currry as he made the briefest of announcements concerning Oswald, 'My statement will be very brief. Oswald expired at 1.07pm' - at which point, a rather confused reporter asked, 'He died?', before being corrected by ABC's Roger Sharp. Refusing to answer the numerous questions facing him and his entire police force, Curry quickly removed his microphone and walked out of the room, his professional career now lying in tatters. It was noticeable, however, when Jack Ruby was being taken for interview, that there was nowhere near the same volume of reporters as had occurred when Oswald was being taken for interview. Rather belatedly, Dallas police became far more conservative in their relations with the media, gradually restricting their access to which they had basically been given free rein. Monday 25th November 1963 - which marked the third birthday of the late President's son, John - was a day which saw the United States and the world pay their final respects to John Fitzgerald Kennedy as the 35th President of the United States was laid to rest following a funeral whose moving ceremonies restored a sense of dignity and prestige particularly following the ugly scenes the previous day in Dallas police station as well as the assassination itself. It was while listening to the funeral through someone's transitor radio that NBC's Robert MacNeil finally let his emotions get the better of him - listening to the sounds of the pipes playing, his thoughts turned to his own children (living in his native Canada), who were around the same age as President Kennedy's children, and he asked himself how could he move his children to a country which in the space of just a few days suddenly seemed a less safe place to live. At Saint Matthew's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Washington, the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Richard Cushing, a long-time personal friend of the Kennedy family, stood on the steps of the cathedral, wearing a tall white mitre and black liturgical vestments (customary for Requiem Masses and which are still used today), where, after greeting Mrs Kennedy and her children, he sprinkled the coffin with holy water. Led by the cross-bearer and two acolytes bearing lighted candles, the coffin was slowly taken down the cathedral's central nave and placed near the sanctuary in front of the altar. The liturgical rubrics were, of course, different to those celebrated in funeral liturgies according to the Missal revised following the Second Vatican Council - but is celebrated today in what is termed as the 'Extraordinary' Form of the Roman Rite. As author William Manchester wrote in his book Death of a President, there was much discussion between the Kennedy family and representatives of the Church as to the type of Mass it would be - although the clergy seemed to prefer a Pontifical High Mass, what the family desired, and what indeed was celebrated, was a Pontifical Low Mass, with Bishop Philip Hannan, who later served as the Archbishop of New Orleans, chosen by Mrs Kennedy to deliver the eulogy, in which he selected certain portions of the President's important speeches, concluding with his inaugural speech of January 1961. The cameras focused upon the coffin as Bishop Hannan quoted what is perhaps the most quoted passage from an inaugural speech in many years, 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country'. After Cardinal Cushing had presided at the rite of the Final Commendation and Farewell, he had blessed the coffin with holy water and incense, he suddenly burst into English, as he said, 'May the angels, dear Jack, lead you into paradise...'departing from Latin, which was then still the principal language in which the Mass was celebrated. Cardinal Cushing was later reported to have said that his desire to speak in the vernacular was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Outside the cathedral, as the coffin was placed upon the cortege, the hymn Holy God, We Praise Thy Name was played, and there then followed the most heart-rending image of the entire four days when three-year-old John F Kennedy Jr, saluted, bringing tears to both those outside Saint Matthew's and to millions watching on television. Another rather moving image occurred towards the conclusion of the burial ceremonies - when a military gun salute fired, causing Mrs Kennedg to finch very visibly. At the conclusion of that day's CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite pondered aloud whether any good could come out of these tragic days or would they be simply a prelude of even darker times to come - subsequent events, which included the war in Vietnam, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedt, as well as riots throughout the United States, appeared to make Cronkite something of a prophetic voice. Reflecting on the President's funeral for NBC radio, correspondent Russ Ward, who had anchored much of the radio coverage on the Saturday and had narrated an excellent four-hour long documentary about the late President, broke down as he reflected upon the scenes at Arlington Cemetery. The networks brought their coverage to a close before the resumption of advertisements and their normal programming the following day. British Television/Radio Coverage Both JFK1963NEWS and David Von Pein are to be praised for discovering so much radio and television footage from those four dramatic days in November 1963. The same cannot be said, rather regrettably, for either BBC or ITV, neither of whom seemed to have archived whatever coverage they provided. At the time when the shots were fired in Dealey Plaza, the time back in the UK was 6.30pm and the first word of the shooting reached Granada Television in Manchester (the North-West of England) around 6.45pm. It was a fairly quiet Friday evening, as was normally the case, no-one expected anything dramatic to happen in the news - and Granada were already broadcasting their usual news programme Scene at 6.30, presented by Mike Scott. With Scott already on air, the sparse newsroom was occupied only by Terry Dobson, the news editor, and his secretary, Joan Riley. Suddenly the phone in the newsroom started to ring, and it appeared to be a particularly urgent call since it was a direct call and not one which had been put through the switchboard. Picking up the receiver, Dobson was stunned when he was told that the President of the United States had been shot in Dallas. Dobson immediately called Barry Heads, who was the executive producer of Scene at 6.30, on the newsroom's internal phone line, and informed him of the news regarding President Kennedy. Back in the 1960's, there was far more care and caution taken regarding the accuracy of the information which went out on air and Heads urged Dobson to seek immediate clarification before reporting the news. Dobson's phone call came from Stan Kirby of the Press Association, with whom he had made a deal just several weeks previously providing Granada with a 'flash' service for breaking important news. After receiving verification, a producer dashed across the studio floor - out of sight of the audience, and handed Scott a piece of paper confirming that President Kennedy had been shot and to let the audience know immediately. Mike Scott thus became the first anchor in Britain to report that President Kennedy had been shot. It would also be Scott who would confirm that the President had died, this occurred around 7.35pm. Anchoring a special news programme towards the end of the night, Scott revealed in an interview to mark the 30th anniversary of the assassination that although he appeared to be smiling ruefully after previewing the morning papers, he was actually fighting back tears, the emotion of the night's events beginning to affect him as Granada prepared to close down for the night. For the then deputy leader of the Labour Party, George Brown, his evening would end in disgrace and embarrassment. Since the BBC had managed to get reactions from both the Prime Minister, Alec Douglas-Hume, and Harold Wilson, the leader of the Labour Party, Granada had to settle for George Brown, together with some specially invited American contributors, with whim a by-now worse for the wear Brown continually antagonised until a fight almost broke out in the 'green room' where the guests waited before going into the studio. Brown's evening worsened when he rather aggressively answered perfectly reasonable questions put before him by the interviewer. His entire performance was widely condemned, since he had gone on the air drunk, and this more or less finished off any chances he may have had of succeeding Wilson as the Labour leader. Drink may also have played a large part in how ineffective the BBC's response was to the assassination. Many of the newsroom staff had gone to the Dorchester Hotel for the annual dinner/dance of the Guild of Television Producers and Directors, while at Alexandra Palace, where television news was then based, staff were in the editor's room to bid farewell to one of their colleagues. Meanwhile, back in New York, the BBC's UN correspondent was not available, while Douglas Stuart, their senior Washington correspondent, was at that time down a mine in Illinois, while his number two, Leonard Parkin, was ready to go to lunch. At 6.42pm, the tickertape brought first word of the shooting, Reuters reporting that a photographer (James W. Altgens) said that he saw blood on the President's head. When this was being reported over the tickertape, announcements were being made over tannoys at the BBC, those gathered for a farewell party immediately put down their glasses and went straight to work, trying to find out the latest information. Working in Broadcasting House's radio newsroom, a staffer typed up the newsflash which was broadcast on their radio networks - then known as the Home, the Light, and the Third. That newsflash read as follows: News has just come in that President Kennedy has been shot. There's no news yet of his condition. It happened as the President was riding with his wife in an open car through the streets of Dallas, Texas. Several shots rung out and the President collapsed into the arms of his wife. One eye-witness said he saw blood on the President's head. The Governor of Texas, Mr John Connolly, who was with him, was also shot down. The President was rushed to hospital, where there's still no word on his condition. On what was known as the 'Light' programme, the newsflash was broadcast just as Radio Newsreel came on air, with Leonard Parkin giving the first of what would be three reports, he was receiving the news from the news tickers, each report ominously getting worse and worse until, shortly after 7.30pm, Parkin was on air when he received the latest bulletin from Washington and, in the most solemn of voices, declared, 'President Kennedy is dead'. On BBC television, respected newsreader Cliff Michelmore had just come on the air at 7pm with the Friday night edition of Tonight when suddenly the screen was filled with the rather sombre-looking face of newsreader John Roberts - who made the first television announcement on the BBC of the shooting of President Kennedy. Roberts, completely unknown to the audience, was on duty since the likes of the more experienced Richard Baker, Robert Dougall and Kenneth Kendall had gone to the Dorchester Hotel. Tonight returned to the air and was due to end at 7.45pm, but it was prematurely taken off air at 7.30pm, with the screen once again filled with the sombre face of John Roberts who was now informing his audience that the President's condition was now being reported as 'critical', A few seconds later, the telephone on Roberts' desk started to ring, and after he had picked it up and listened intently to the voice on the other line, those watching noticed a significant change in Roberts' facial expression. Putting the phone down, and looking directly at the camera, Roberts said, 'We have just been informed that President Kennedy is dead', he then bowed his head and did not look up as the picture faded and the network went to silence for several seconds. Nobody at the BBC knew quite what to do and for around 20 minutes viewers who were watching BBC television would have seen just their revolving globe on-screen without any on-screen commentary - those working at Broadcasting House seemed to have been as taken aback with the news as the rest of the nation and, indeed, the rest of the world. When the first reports of President Kennedy's shooting had reached BBC officials gathered at the Dorchester Hotel, the feeling was that, following the announcement of the President's death, television should - rather remarkably, given the circumstances - return to their normal programming - which, unfortunately for the corporation, consisted of comedian Harry Worth's sitcom Here's Harry, followed immediately by an episode of Dr Finlay's Casebook - if it was the corporation's intention to somehow raise the spirits of a nation, then it failed miserably - for the BBC received thousands of complaints and much negative comment from critics in the media. Over on ITV, while Granada had been the first of the regional networks to break the news, elsewhere in the country, viewers watching the other ITV regions were still unaware of the developing drama in the United States. The popular gameshow Take Your Pick had started as usual at 7pm before being interrupted at 7.10pm with the first newsflash from ITV, before returning to Take Your Pick which was followed by the soap opera Emergency Ward 10, which started at 7.30pm. At 7.40pm, ITN interrupted the soap to bring viewers official confirmation that President Kennedy had died, before running 'interlude' cards and running no commercials for the next hour and a half, with occasional newsflashes. At 8pm, ITV broadcast a recorded performance of solemn music before eventually returning to normal programming following a news bulletin at 8.55pm. By the end of the evening, with the satellites from Telstar now operational, viewers in the UK were finally able to scenes from Dallas including the crowds of distressed Dallas residents gathered outside Parkland Hospital and images of police officers surrounding the Texas School Book Depository building, from where the fatal shots were fired. On Monday 25th November, viewers in the UK saw part of President Kennedy's funeral live, prior to the beginning of the Requiem Mass at St Matthew's Cathedral - viewers saw only half an hour of live coverage since in those days it simply wasn't technically possible to provide the sort of coverage from overseas events which we are used to in our own time. Conclusion Friday 22nd November 1963 was one of the most traumatic days in the history of the United States of America and, by extension, for the rest of the world - a charismatic, vigorous (or so many thought at the time) President struck down in the prime of his life - and, as noted by Walter Cronkite among various commentators, not having completed his first full term in office. So, in the first place, it was a terrible personal tragedy for Mrs Kennedy and the President's family, as well as being a tragedy for the United States and the wider world. From the perspective of the media, the assassination was, without doubt, one of the biggest stories of the 20th century, and marked a significant shift, as former CBS presenter (and young reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram) Bob Schieffer suggested, in how Americans received their news. When word of the attempt upon the life of President Kennedy became known, instead of turning on the radio, the first thing many people did was to switch on the television, this became the most important source of information regarding the assassination and, especially for those who happened to be watching NBC, was where people witnessed the murder of the presidential assassin, television's first live murder, although this is not a fact which should necessarily be boasted about. Although television was by far the primary source of information for the assassination, radio, too, played a crucial role - for example, outside the studios of the major networks stood hundreds of stunned people gathered around car radios, desperate for the latest news. Whether people received the news of the assassination, either by television or radio, it was crucial that the information which was being broadcast was accurate - as NBC's Chet Huntley correctly said, 'This is no time now for speculation...facts are all that are warranted.' Although Walter Cronkite of CBS television, Don Pardo on NBC TV, and Don Gardiner of ABC Radio all broadcast the bulletin which reported that Secret Service agent Clint Hill had said, 'He's dead', when referring to the President's condition, CBS Radio anchor Allan Jackson simply reported that Hill had escorted the First Lady into the hospital without reference to Hill's words. Both CBS and NBC refused to acknowledge the report about government sources confirming Kennedy was dead as an official confirmation, whereas ABC TV's Ron Cochran declared that, 'this is the final word'. There were also various technical problems which occurred particularly during the first hours of coverage on 22nd November. For instance, CBS trying to switch to KRLD's news director Eddie Barker at the Trade Mart and then doing so while Walter Cronkite happened to be speaking. NBC's Frank McGhee trying to communicate with colleague Robert MacNeil using a device which he tried unsuccessfully to attach to his phone - while communication glitches between New York and their affiliate station - WBAP - in Texas, led to Bill Ryan's memorable quote about it being a time of 'controlled panic'. Finally, there were the almost farcical circumstances in which ABC Television attempted to broadcast, engineers all around Ron Cochran as they attempted to build a studio, this is in stark contrast to their relatively smooth radio operation. But the mistakes and the errors are certainly heavily outweighed by the masterful coverage of the three networks - the emotion of Walter Cronkite on CBS, the calm, reassuring presence of Frank McGhee and Bill Ryan, the eloquence of ABC's Edward Morgan and Howard K Smith, all of these fine broadcasters, together with hundreds of reporters, cameramen and technicians all contributed to covering, under the most stressful circumstances, one of the most shocking events in the history of America and of the 20th century. William Callaghan