Today we begin the first of a series of reports on the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. WUWF’s Dave Dunwoody spoke with J. Earle Bowden, now Editor Emeritus of the Pensacola News Journal. In 1963 he oversaw the PNJ’s afternoon edition.
Bowden recounts that news of the assassination was received during the lunch hour, and describes their work in putting out extra editions of the PNJ. His remarks are interspersed with archive sound from that era, including cuts from an AP audio documentary on how its Dallas bureau covered the first moments of the story, and TV news legends David Brinkley and Frank McGee.
Bowden also addresses how media outlets handle breaking news, comparing the Kennedy shooting to modern-day events.