When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, TV reportage wasn’t seen with the same respect as print media. They were akin to today’s paparazzi reporters but were the need of the hour as print would’ve taken a while.
In today’s blog, Kennedys and King answers some of the most frequently asked questions about the press coverage of the Kennedy assassination.
1. Were the Initial Reports Accurate?
The initial reports of the incident came 10–15 minutes after the assassination. They were about as accurate as word of mouth. While TV cameras were allowed to roll round-the-clock, the reporters weren’t as lucky.
Their eyes could only go so far, which in this case wasn’t far at all, as they were constantly bussed off to different locations and could hardly see or hear what had happened.
If this happened in 2022 with the 1960s brand of press coverage, someone watching a live stream of the Kennedy cavalcade would know more about the assassination.
2. Did a Narrative Form After the Fact?
After the 24/7 coverage of the assassination, most television press was almost comical in how it formed a singular narrative and stuck to it for decades. In this case, most reporters ran with Dan Rather’s narrative.
Dan Rather’s only claim to the authenticity was that he was in Dallas when the assassination happened and was the first to report it live. Nevertheless, the American journalist’s account became primetime fodder on every anniversary. There were slight deviations, but the overall story was always the same across all channels.
3. Does that Mean the Press Didn’t Come Through?
The answer to that is entirely subjective. We believe the general sentiment at the time wasn’t to make the reportage as sensationalistic as possible to garner views but to inform people who suddenly found themselves without a leader.
That said, the press could’ve been more investigative from the get-go. Since they weren’t as thorough at the job as they should’ve been, we still have many gaps to fill until we can solve this mystery.
4. How Does the Press Coverage of Lee Harvey Oswald Compare to that of President John F. Kennedy?
Unlike the half-baked coverage of the John F. Kennedy assassination, the press was dogged in its coverage of Lee Harvey Oswald the day after his arrest, which was also the day Jack Ruby killed him at point-blank range.
It remains unclear why the press had more access to the president’s killer and his subsequent assassination than the president himself, which is one of the many reasons this high-profile murder remains unsolved.
While the Truth behind JFK assassination remains murky at best, we’ve compiled what we do know about the tragic event in one place. Help us advocate for more records to be undisclosed about the political assassinations of the 1960s, which included the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X.
Leave a Reply