David Von Pein: ‘ABC News: JFK Assassination As it Happened- 11/22/1963’

Source:David Von Pein– from ABC News.

Source:The Daily Press 

“Assassination of John F. Kennedy, mortal shooting of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, as he rode in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. His accused killer was Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine who had embraced Marxism and defected for a time to the Soviet Union. Oswald never stood trial for murder, because, while being transferred after having been taken into custody, he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby, a distraught Dallas nightclub owner.”

Source:Britannica– the last ride that John F. Kennedy would ever take.

From Britannica 

“Two hours of live, as-it’s-happening ABC-TV coverage of the news surrounding the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on Friday, November 22, 1963.

This video begins at approximately 1:50 PM EST (12:50 PM CST in Dallas, Texas, which is where President Kennedy was shot at 12:30 PM Central Time).

The very first ABC-TV bulletin concerning the shooting in Dallas is, unfortunately, not included in this YouTube series, but some of the early bulletins are here (before all regular programming was cancelled).

A rerun of “Father Knows Best” was airing on many ABC-TV affiliates when the assassination occurred, and portions of that television show are included in Part 1 of this series.

This ABC news coverage seems quite primitive and antiquated by today’s 21st-century standards, and at times it almost appears as if the newsmen are reporting from somebody’s shabby-looking basement.

But it must also be noted that ABC, in 1963, was definitely the “number three” television network among the trio of TV networks that existed at that time (CBS, NBC, and ABC).

As a footnote to this ABC coverage, I received the following message from Ed Silverman in June 2013…

From David Von Pein

ABC News, was such a small operation in the early 1960s. Sort of like the baby sister or baby brother of NBC and CBS News. They didn’t become a major operation at least until the late 1960s or early 70s, when Howard Smith took over as the anchor of the ABC Evening News. And probably not even a major competitor as far as first being in news when it came to the TV networks until the late 70s and early 80s. When Nightline with Ted Koppel came on the air and covered the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

ABC News, won a lot of rewards for their depth coverage of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. It made Ted Koppel a star and household name and if you look at this coverage of the JFK assassination, you don’t see a clear anchor of this coverage. It looks more like a news update or something.

When CBS News went on the air, with this story, Walter Cronkite was their number one anchor, broke in right away to report this story. And the same thing with NBC News with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, they went their main people their stars. You don’t see that with ABC News.

With what ABC News had to work with back then and again being in third place out of the three networks and being so far back it looked like fifth place, I think they actually did pretty well and we’re on top of the story. They were the so-called CW or My-TV, whatever that is, or even FOX. Being so small that they didn’t even have a news division, or weren’t interested in news at all. FOX, of course now has a news obviously. ABC, was a national TV network back then, but didn’t have the affiliates and ratings that CBS and NBC did.

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David Von Pein: ‘WFAA-TV News- JFK Assassination First Coverage’

Source:David Von Pein– The 1963 JFK assassination in Dallas, Texas.

Source:The Daily Press

“Assassination of John F. Kennedy, mortal shooting of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, as he rode in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. His accused killer was Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine who had embraced Marxism and defected for a time to the Soviet Union. Oswald never stood trial for murder, because, while being transferred after having been taken into custody, he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby, a distraught Dallas nightclub owner.”

From Britannica

“8-and-a-half hours of WFAA-TV’s live coverage of the events surrounding President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the subsequent murder of JFK’s killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, two days later.

WFAA (Channel 8) was the ABC-TV affiliate in Dallas, Texas, in 1963. A considerable amount of video footage from the ABC Television Network in New York is also included in this video series.

Part 1 begins at approximately 12:45 PM (Central Time) on Friday, November 22, 1963, which was about 15 minutes after the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, had been shot in downtown Dallas, Texas.

Local Dallas station WFAA-TV was airing “The Julie Benell Show”, a regular midday program, when WFAA’s Program Director Jay Watson interrupted with a report about the shooting — “About 10 or 15 minutes ago, a tragic thing, from all indications at this point, has happened in the city of Dallas…”.

Watson, who was himself a witness to the assassination in Dealey Plaza, talks with some of the eyewitnesses to the shooting within minutes of the shots being fired, such as Bill and Gayle Newman (whom Watson repeatedly refers to as the “Nunnallys” throughout the early afternoon). Abraham Zapruder, who filmed the assassination with his home movie camera, was also interviewed live on the air by Watson.”

From David Von Pein

I saw a documentary about the JFK assassination about three years ago. I’ve seen several documentaries about the JFK assassination before. Most of them have been conspiracy theories relating to other people being involved in this 1963 assassination of a United States President. Ranging from the Italian Mafia being involved in it, because of U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy’s involvement in trying to bring down organized crime in America.

I’ve heard some warped, leftist conspiracy theories in my time, but perhaps the craziest being that the CIA and U.S. Military was involved in the JFK assassination, because they didn’t like President Kennedy’s national security policy. Another warped conspiracy theory I’ve heard so far was that Vice President Lyndon Johnson ordered this assassination, because of how badly he wanted to be President. There’s no credible evidence to any of these conspiracy theories that I’ve seen, except for the organized crime connection. And in LBJ’s case, no evidence at all, but the documentary about the JFK assassination that I saw on the History Channel, wasn’t a conspiracy theory at all and was much different.

Because it was about the media coverage of the JFK assassination, with limited commercial interruptions and about three hours long, with no outside commentary. They just showed the media coverage of the JFK assassination from 1963, up till the JFK movie from 1991. What made this media coverage more interesting was that it was the first ever of a U.S. presidential assassination that was broadcasted live on TV. So all the TV news anchors and reporters who were reporting this story, were covering something for the very first time not only in their careers, but in American history.

With no precedent to fall back on. All they really had was their knowledge of how to cover big stories and what you saw were people who were doing a very good job. Under heavy pressure and having to do it live, with no retakes and you got to see some of these people as they were actually were. How they actually react on live TV. With CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite actually choking up during a CBS Special Report reporting that President Kennedy was dead. Which was made this JFK documentary even better because of how clever and unique it was.

I liked this documentary of the JFK assassination so much that I recorded on DVD the first time I saw it. Because the preview of it looked so good and with Jack Kennedy being a political hero of mine. I expected I would want to see it again and again which I have. You even get to see things like Jack Ruby killing Lee Oswald as it happen and coverage of the 1978 U.S. House hearing on the JFK assassination and is something that anyone whose interested in this story should check out.

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A&E: Biography- John Wayne Gacy

Source:A&E– documentary about serial murderer John Wayne Gacy’s execution.

Source:The Daily Press

“John Wayne Gacy, a successful businessman from the Chicago suburbs, moonlighted as a children’s entertainer who went by the names “Pogo the Clown” and “Patches the Clown.” He was also convicted in March 1980 of murdering 33 boys and young men, making him the worst serial killer in American history at the time.

But it wasn’t just the number of victims that made Gacy’s crimes so haunting. It was the gruesome manner with which he committed the murders: luring children into his home, binding and raping them, strangling them to death and then burying them throughout his property.

For his crimes, Gacy was sentenced to death. His execution, carried out in May 1994, attracted enormous crowds.”

From A&E

“A&E Biography John Wayne Gacy A Monster In Disguise”

Source:Thomas Day– John Wayne Gacy’s sister.

From Thomas Day

“John Wayne Gacy, (born March 17, 1942, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.—died May 10, 1994, Statesville, Illinois), American serial killer whose murders of 33 boys and young men in the 1970s received international media attention and shocked his suburban Chicago community, where he was known for his sociability and his performance as a clown at charitable events and childrens’ parties.”

Source:Britannica– I believe this is John W. Gacy’s Chicago P.D. mugshot.

From Britannica

This is from the original A&E Biography documentary of Chicago area serial murder John Wayne Gacy. But the video from which this photo is from is not currently available online.

Source:A&E– Terry Sullivan, prosecuted serial murderer John W. Gacy.

With some serial murderers I think what could they have been if they didn’t enjoy murdering people and weren’t serial murderers, how much could they’ve accomplished in life, if they weren’t serial murderers, with their ability to hide who they really are. Maybe they could’ve had careers as actors or something. Take John Wayne Gacy who was both a serial murderer and a child molester, who enjoyed murdering people, but also having sex with adolescent boys, young men even. But in his public life, he was a successful small businessman who was very popular in his Illinois town and considering a career in politics.

John Gacy was being recruited to run for public office, but who was also another serial murderer who had a rough childhood. Bad father like Henry Lucas, but the difference between Gacy and Lucas, is that John Gacy was very intelligent, well-educated, and successful in his professional life. Unlike Henry Lucas who didn’t have a professional life, who wasn’t well-educated, who didn’t even finish junior high and wasn’t intelligent. Perhaps borderline retarded and was a drifter, moving from small town to small town, picking up work wherever he could find it. And at one point even living in a chicken coop.

John Gacy is responsible for murdering and raping at least twenty people. Some of them very young men, adolescents, because that’s who he was attracted who. He wasn’t a homosexual, but a bisexual, who was attracted to women and very young men. Who’s probably not missed by anyone other than his very close relatives.

John Gacy getting the death penalty is not a tragedy. One less serial murderer off the streets, one less bisexual rapist that young male inmates have to worry about dealing with in prison. But his life was tragic because this was a very intelligent and productive man, family man. Who in his public life was very productive and successful. And died in his early fifties in 1992, because of the death penalty, because of the person he was in his private life.

You take the private side out John Gacy’s personality out of him, you are talking about someone who might have been Governor of Illinois or ended up in Congress. Gacy dying the way he did wasn’t tragic, but the private life that he did live, with all the people who hurt and murdered was tragic and what he could’ve been, that he never achieved, because of the fact that he was a serial murderer is tragic. And represents someone who had he decided not be a serial murderer, perhaps could’ve had a career as an actor, because of his ability to live the lives of two people.

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