ABSTRACT
T elevision was not all wasteland, in spite of Newton Minow’s obser-vation. In a crisis or for special events, it was the medium towhich everyone tuned. Perhaps the most dramatic occasion was in November 1963, when radio and television served as the ears and eyes of the American people, bearing witness to the shocking assassination of President John F. Kennedy. For four days almost all at home watched solemn and terrible events, listened to attempts to make them meaningful, and finally found some relief in the tributes from the nation’s performing artists. It made no difference that most people got the first news by word-of-mouth, or whether they saw the shooting of the suspected assassin on their screens two days later-broadcasting brought the American people together.
