Television news has given us the chance to witness
history as it happened. As part of TV Guide Magazine's 60th anniversary, we
look back at the breaking stories and interviews that viewers will never
forget.
1. John F. Kennedy assassination (1963) TV anchors
(particularly Walter Cronkite) provide solace and real-time reporting when the
nation needs it most. After four days of continuous coverage from Dallas, where
JFK was killed, and Arlington, where he was laid to rest, TV Guide Magazine
declares, "The medium gained a new sense of what it could do."
2. Moon landing (1969) The journey of Apollo 11 and the
lunar touchdown of astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin deliver the
greatest TV show ever back on Earth, where an estimated audience of more than
700 million marvel at the astounding images.
3. September 11 attacks (2001) The horrific footage of
two hijacked Boeing 767s colliding into the World Trade Center will forever
remind us of America's darkest day. TV reporters help steady shaken viewers
during the continuous coverage, but off camera they are weeping too.
4. President Nixon's resignation (1974) From the final
Oval Office address to the awkward victory signs flashed from the helicopter on
the White House lawn, Richard Nixon's downfall due to the Watergate scandal
becomes riveting TV drama.
5. Gulf War (1991) The from-behind-enemy-lines reporting
of CNN's Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett and John Holliman as bombs fall over
Baghdad marks the beginning of live-TV war coverage.
6. O.J. Simpson trial (1995) A not-guilty verdict for
the football star and broadcaster accused of murder is the stunning climax of a
live-news soap opera created by the advent of TV cameras in the courtroom.
7. Challenger explosion (1986) The glory of America's
space program turns into unfathomable heartbreak when the shuttle breaks apart
73 seconds into its flight, killing seven crew members, including schoolteacher
Christa McAuliffe.
8. Rescue of Baby Jessica (1987) The successful 58-hour
effort to save trapped Texas toddler Jessica McClure from a backyard well
becomes a defining moment for CNN as viewers tune in to the then-nascent
around-the-clock cable news channel for live updates.
9. Election-night debacle (2000) All the networks give
the razor-close race for Florida's electoral votes to Al Gore and later to
George W. Bush (who won the White House a month later, after the Supreme Court
ruled against a recount). NBC's Tom Brokaw says, "We don't just have egg
on our face, we have omelet all over our suits."
10. Death of Osama bin Laden (2011) President Barack
Obama tells the nation in a televised address that U.S. Special Forces killed
Al Queda leader Osama bin Laden. But, with the rise of social media, the news
spreads first on Twitter.
The Other 50 (Chronologically)
Vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon invokes his
children's dog Checkers in a televised address that saves his political career.
(1952)
Edward R. Murrow's criticism of Joseph McCarthy in a CBS
News special helps turn public sentiment against the Red-baiting senator.
(1954)
CBS Evening News shows exclusive footage of the Andrea
Doria sinking into the Atlantic. (1956)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower tells the nation he's
sending in federal troops to carry out the court order to desegregate Little
Rock schools. (1957)
Nixon sweats his way through the first televised
presidential debate with John F. Kennedy. (1960)
David Susskind conducts a live interview with Soviet
premier Nikita Khrushchev at the height of Cold War tensions. (1960)
Murrow's CBS documentary Harvest of Shame exposes the
plight of migrant farm workers. (1960)
Kennedy holds the first televised presidential news
conference. (1961)
Kennedy announces the blockade of Soviet ships bringing
missiles to Cuba. (1962)
CBS broadcasts Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have
a Dream" speech live from Washington, D.C. (1963)
Jack Ruby's murder of accused presidential assassin Lee
Harvey Oswald is shown live on NBC. (1963)
CBS's Morley Safer reports on U.S. Marines burning the
village of Cam Ne, a turning point in TV's coverage of the Vietnam War. (1965)
The splashdown of manned space capsule Gemini 6 is
covered live, thanks to the launch of the first commercial communications
satellite, Early Bird. (1965)
Walter Cronkite comes out against the Vietnam War on CBS
Evening News. (1968)
President Lyndon Johnson shocks the nation by announcing
he won't run for a second term. (1968)
King is gunned down in Memphis, sparking civil unrest in
cities across the U.S. (1968)
After winning California's Democratic presidential
primary, Robert Kennedy is assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
(1968)
Security guards rough up CBS correspondents Dan Rather
and Mike Wallace at the riot-torn Democratic National Convention. (1968)
William F. Buckley threatens to punch Gore Vidal in the
nose during ABC's DNC coverage. (1968)
Nixon makes the first presidential visit to the People's
Republic of China. (1972)
Peter Jennings and Jim McKay report live from Munich at
the Summer Olympics on the murders of 11 Israeli athletes. (1972)
ABC's Barbara Walters becomes the first woman to
coanchor a network evening newscast. (1976)
In his second debate with Jimmy Carter, President Gerald
Ford stunningly claims that Eastern Europe is not under Soviet domination.
(1976)
Cronkite brokers the first Egyptian-Israeli peace talks
on his newscast. (1977)
In his first interview after resigning over the
Watergate scandal, Nixon tells reporter David Frost that he "let the
American people down." (1977)
Senator Ted Kennedy gives a rambling, incoherent answer
when CBS's Roger Mudd asks why he wants to be president. (1979)
Iran releases Americans held hostage as President Ronald
Reagan is inaugurated. (1981)
While Reagan recovers from an assassination attempt,
Secretary of State Alexander Haig tells reporters he's "in control here in
the White House." (1981)
An estimated global audience of 750 million watch the
wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. (1981)
Col. Oliver North testifies before a congressional
committee on his role in the Iran-Contra affair. (1987)
Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker defend their scandal-plagued
ministry on ABC's Nightline. (1987)
TV cameras capture the standoff between a man and a line
of tanks during pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. (1989)
ABC's World Series telecast turns into coverage of a
deadly earthquake that shakes San Francisco for 15 seconds. (1989)
NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw reports live from the
falling Berlin Wall hours after an East German official announced that citizens
were "free to travel." (1989)
Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela is freed after 27
years of imprisonment in South Africa. (1990)
Anita Hill raises allegations of sexual harassment
against Supreme Court justice nominee Clarence Thomas. (1991)
Rioting breaks out in Los Angeles after a jury finds
four police officers not guilty in the beating of Rodney King. (1992)
Presidential candidate Bill Clinton admits to 60
Minutes' Steve Kroft that he's caused "pain in his marriage" to
Hillary Rodham Clinton. (1992)
Ninety-five million people watch the police's low-speed
pursuit of O.
J. Simpson's white Ford Bronco. (1994)
News breaks of a truck bomb killing 168 people at a
federal office building in Oklahoma City. (1995)
Nearly 34 million U.S. viewers watch Princess Diana's
funeral over eight networks. (1997)
Clinton confesses to his inappropriate relationship with
White House intern Monica Lewinsky. (1998)
Barbara Walters' sit-down with Lewinsky on ABC draws 49
million viewers. (1999)
Katie Couric undergoes a colonoscopy on NBC's Today.
(2000)
President George W. Bush declares military success in
Iraq on an aircraft carrier decorated with a banner reading mission
accomplished. (2003)
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith decries the government's
response to victims of Hurricane Katrina. (2005)
Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin can't answer
when CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric asks which newspapers she reads.
(2008)
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the first
African-American U.S. president is the most live-streamed event in Internet
history. (2009)
The world watches as 33 Chilean miners are freed after
being trapped underground for 69 days. (2010)
Terrorism saturates TV news again when two bombs explode
at the Boston Marathon. (2013)
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