A half century ago, the nation absorbed a massive shock assembled around television sets, huddled around the nearest radio, drawn by word that John F. Kennedy had been shot. They learned together that their young and vibrant President was gone. There was no 24-hour news back then. Just a few major networks and old antenna TVs. When the shooting happened, the networks cut in and viewers of NBC stations suddenly saw Frank McGee standing over the anchor desk in New York, explaining what the news division was doing to collect information. The technology of the day was under massive strain. Every radio and telephone circuit connecting Dallas to the rest of the world was snarled. The anchors in New York began relaying whatever reporting from Dallas and Parkland Memorial Hospital they could collect. They confirmed that the President had been shot.
Three days later, the nation watched as NBC News broadcasted Kennedy’s funeral live. Watch the coverage as it happened, below.
See more iconic images from the day of Kennedy’s funeral.
Steve Kornacki
Steve Kornacki, author of "The Red and the Blue: 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism," is a national political correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC.