ABC News Classics The Assasination of President Kennedy

ABC News should be commended for producing this DVD on one of the most tragic days in American history. It begins with a few seconds of a Father Knows Best episode and then a bulletin of the shooting of President Kennedy. For the next hour viewers will relive the terrible news of the death of the President to the arrival of the body and the brief statement by the new President Lyndon B. Johnson. During this DVD be sure and look for Jules Bergman who was one of the best correspondents that covered the space liftoffs. If you have seen the Apollo XIII movie you may have seen his reports on the crisis in space in 1970. The ABC News DVD is a five star production but only one thing...I really wish an extra hour was extended to cover more of this story.

Thanks to ABC News, we now have an opportunity to see portions of the network's original live coverage during the afternoon of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. This of course, is the same footage offered on I-Tunes' "ABC NEWS - THE DAY IT HAPPENED" series for viewing on one's I-Pod. The coverage, taken from the videotapes of WABC-TV in New York, begins with a few seconds of the sitcom "Father Knows Best" when sudenly the ABC Bulletin slide appears with Ed Silverman reading wire copy as a voice-over. Later, as Ron Cochran begins his on-camera reporting, you can see staffers quickly assembling some kind of background set even as Cochran continues talking. We hear from Bob Clark on the phone from Parkland Hospital in Dallas, and also see live pictures from the Trade Mart (courtesy of CBS Affiliate KRLD-TV which was providing a pool feed.
ABC in fact, through its own affiliate WFAA-TV, had the first eyewitness descriptions of the assassination within minutes of the shooting. You also see the only television interview given at the time by Abraham Zapruder, whose film of the assassination would not be broadcast nationally for another twelve years. This, plus on the scene Dallas films shot by WFAA cameramen, make this a precious piece of history to own.
For those interested in the history of the 1960s, or of broadcasting in general, I highly recommend this DVD.

Long before the advent of the 24 hour news cycle and the endless barrage of talking heads and "breaking news", American television in the 1950's and the early 1960's was not usually a major source of news. The main news business was in newspapers in 1963 at the time of the Kennedy Assassination. But television became a major player in the unfolding tragedy of the "Four Days" that began Nov. 22, 1963.

This hour-long disc offers highlights of videotaped ABC News coverage on Friday, Nov. 22 (this disc only covers Friday) including interviews with eyewitnesses Abraham Zapruder and Bill Newman. It is possible to catch the mood and tone of the moment in viewing this material as the ABC network scrambles to provide full coverage.

CBS network coverage from Nov. 22, 1963 and NBC network coverage was also preserved on tape. The CBS coverage taped actually starts at 12:30 p.m. at the start of "As the World Turns" (aired live), several minutes before the first voice-over flash from Walter Cronkite. The CBS and NBC material is not commercially available. JFK: Breaking the News