THUNDER BAY – President Kennedy was assassinated fifty years ago today. November 22nd while riding in a motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas, the President was hit in the neck and head by bullets. The President was rushed to Parkland Hospital where he was declared dead.
“From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official: [reading AP flash] ‘PRESIDENT KENNEDY DIED AT 1 P.M. (CST),'[45] 2:00 Eastern Standard Time, some thirty-eight minutes ago”. That is how CBS newsman Walter Cronkite announced the death of the 35th President.
It was a moment that for millions of people where the world seemed to stop. People remembered for years later where they were when they heard the news of the shooting of President Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally.
The shooting happened in Dallas Texas, and the alleged assassin was a disaffected former Marine Lee Harvey Oswald.
Ever since that fateful day in Dallas, there have been many who firmly believe that the assassination of JFK was a conspiracy, and that there were others involved. There are many resources to examine to determine what the facts are, however a majority of people in the United States believe President Kennedy was killed as a result of a conspiracy.
President Kennedy Assassination Media Coverage
The first CBS reports of the shooting were filed by Walter Cronkite, in audio only as studio cameras were not warmed up. In those days, the large television cameras needed a significant amount of time to warm up before going on the air.
“Here is a bulletin from CBS News. In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy’s motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting. More details just arrived. These details about the same as previously: President Kennedy shot today just as his motorcade left downtown Dallas. Mrs. Kennedy jumped up and grabbed Mr. Kennedy, she called ‘Oh, no!’ The motorcade sped on. United Press says that the wounds for President Kennedy perhaps could be fatal. Repeating, a bulletin from CBS News, President Kennedy has been shot by a would-be assassin in Dallas, Texas. Stay tuned to CBS News for further details.”
Shortly after, Cronkite read another statement, this time live on the air. “From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official: ‘PRESIDENT KENNEDY DIED AT 1 P.M. (CST),'[45] 2:00 Eastern Standard Time, some thirty-eight minutes ago”.
The murder of President Kennedy was also a moment when across North America, there was a fundamental shift in how news was covered. Television coverage of the event was extensive. It was really the first time that television supplanted newspapers as the major source of news for the public.
The death of President Kennedy was seen by many as the end of a shining era. The President and his beautiful wife and young family were darlings of the American media, and public. Since the death of the young president, for many an era ended, and through the rest of the 1960s, the United States slide into protests and other assassinations. Martin Luthur King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the President’s younger brother were assassinated.
