The CBS Evening News concluded tonight with a fascinating blurb from their first "full" 30-minute broadcast, 50 years ago tonight. Black and white, a very young Walter Cronkrite, featuring an interview with President Kennedy.
Two things struck me: first, the "newsroom" with the teletypes/telegraphs/carrier pigeon perches was on one side of Grand Central Station in NYC, while the TV studio was on the other side; late-breaking news had to be run via "sneaker-net" across a walkway to the TV studio, and it turns out they almost missed a breaking story and decided to move the TV studio to the newsroom almost right away, something that exists to this day.
The second thing: President Kennedy's press secretary objected, strongly, to CBS's editing of the interview with the President; ie, the first complaint of a "biased press" wrt TV came the very same evening as the very first 30-minute news broadcast! The more things change...
(I put this thread into the "Television" section rather than the "Politics" section for a reason; I'm hoping not to start yet another venom-fest, merely making a historical observation; thank you).
It was 80-some days later that Mr. Cronkite, sitting at the same desk, reported the assassination of John Kennedy. Wow. I just vaguely remember Kennedy's assassination (probably from Mom crying so hysterically, rather than the actual news broadcast). I was four...
Two things struck me: first, the "newsroom" with the teletypes/telegraphs/carrier pigeon perches was on one side of Grand Central Station in NYC, while the TV studio was on the other side; late-breaking news had to be run via "sneaker-net" across a walkway to the TV studio, and it turns out they almost missed a breaking story and decided to move the TV studio to the newsroom almost right away, something that exists to this day.
The second thing: President Kennedy's press secretary objected, strongly, to CBS's editing of the interview with the President; ie, the first complaint of a "biased press" wrt TV came the very same evening as the very first 30-minute news broadcast! The more things change...
(I put this thread into the "Television" section rather than the "Politics" section for a reason; I'm hoping not to start yet another venom-fest, merely making a historical observation; thank you).
It was 80-some days later that Mr. Cronkite, sitting at the same desk, reported the assassination of John Kennedy. Wow. I just vaguely remember Kennedy's assassination (probably from Mom crying so hysterically, rather than the actual news broadcast). I was four...