With shots from a mail-order rifle, Lee Harvey Oswald set off a worldwide tragedy that developed too fast to print. Broadcast journalism came of age in that crisis and helped to hold a mourning nation together. Four reporters on the scene relate their experiences as staff of the local CBS affiliate working with Dan Rather and Walter Cronkite. When the News Went Live recalls their coverage of breaking news including the assassination, the first on-camera murder, and the trial of Jack Ruby.
Bob Huffaker, investigative reporter, broadcast the JFK motorcade, the Parkland Hospital vigil, and the 'swald shooting on CBS. He was an army officer, police officer, English professor, and editor for Texas Monthly and Studies in the Novel; he wrote John Fowles: Naturalist of Lyme Regis and is honored in the Texas State University Star Hall of Fame and the Dallas Press Club Living Legends of North Texas Journalism.
Bill Mercer, voice of the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and the Southwest Conference, was a professor at The University of North Texas. He wrote Play-by-Play: Tales from a Sportscasting Insider and a history of the Navy LCI, aboard which he served in the WW II Pacific. Mercer is honored in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, the Dallas Press Club Living Legends of North Texas Journalism, and baseball’s All-Pro Hall of Fame.
George Phenix, filmed 'swald’s murder, the Parkland and Love Field scenes, and the Ruby murder trial. He founded and published Texas Weekly, the state’s top legislative newsletter. Phenix also published several weekly newspapers and served as aide to Senator Lloyd Bentsen and Congressman Jake Pickle. He writes the popular Blog of Ages at www.blogofages.net.
Wes Wise, accosted by Jack Ruby the day after JFK’s assassination, before Ruby shot 'swald, was a witness in Ruby’s trial. A pioneer of play-by-play, Wise wrote for Sports Illustrated, Time, and Life. He served as Dallas mayor and president of the Texas Municipal League and is honored in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame and the Dallas Press Club Living Legends of North Texas Journalism. As Dallas mayor, he saved the Texas School Book Depository and other historical buildings from demolition, and he led the city in reclaiming its national reputation.
Dedication vii Acknowledgments ix Foreword xi Preface: Real News That Really Mattered xiii The Writers xv Messengers of Tragedy Covering a President Becomes a Nightmare 3 Murderous Flight 24 Cables and Carpetbaggers 39 Epicenter of Grief 49 On the Scene Moving with the Story 79 Gunman, Mob, and Mourners 90 Seeds of Hatred The Media, Extremists, and Dallas 111 The Trials of Jacob Rubenstein 132 The Last of "Sparky" Ruby 153 Looking Back Television, Radio, Ethics, and Duty 177 Broadcast News, Forty Years After 186 Index 199
