HOW DID KENNEDY’S ASSASSINATION CHANGE THE MEDIA?

 President John F Kennedy was assassinated on 22nd November 1963. The assassination was strongly believed to be a conspiracy issue of which the media played significant role in bringing out these revelations. He was a young visionary president whose ambition for the people of America was evident but however he did not live to see his dream come true after he was shot during a public function.

John F Kennedy was shot at 12:30 PM at Dallas where he was afterwards rushed to hospital but eventually died from the gunshot that had inflicted an injury on his body. The news was heard in the television within six minutes when President John F Kennedy was shot leading to the interruption of normal programme. The correspondence on this assassination would go on for further four days uninterrupted from any normal programs or any commercials.

OVERVIEW OF THE ASSASSINATION AND THE MEDIA:

John F Kennedy’s assassination was a defining moment for media determining how future media coverage would be defined. Such a tragic incident crated anxiety and confusion as well. This event bore live coverage that is commonly found in present day media. This presented an amazing way in which television would be utilized by the media to bring real time information as well as incorporating other useful functions as found in the media today.

This was a notable point that would determine future media coverage that would go along with convenience, credibility, ability to reach to large numbers of people as well as create positive impact on the society, both local and international at large.

INCREASED IMPORTANCE AS A SOURCE OF NEWS:

The assassination of President John F Kennedy apparently impacted on the media by expressing it as a vital source of information. Since this time that was marked by several uncommon happenings in the dynamics of media people have appreciated the importance of the media. This can be looked in terms of its positive values as well as its negative values in its role of passing information to the human beings.

Positivities

·         Reliability;

The assassination was an eye opener on the reliability of the media on the information that is going around the globe. The fast response that the media took to broadcast the fateful event within minutes provided a starting point on the response of media houses on the reporting of real time information.

·         Truthfulness;

Many people could now believe what was going on by avoiding untruthful rumors. This can now be evidenced by the response of the media to the dissemination of information adopted since the assassination of President John F Kennedy. People did not have to make wrong inferences from rumors anymore since information would be relayed on a real time basis with pictures allowing viewers to have a glimpse of any event.

·         Need for information;

The quick response observed from the media then provides a need for information in order to provide insight on the events and other issues that were happening. This need for information has now been responsible for the fast growth in media leading to evolution that has come encompass new technologies such internet and social networks as well.

Negativities

Misperception on the credibility if the media.

Schieffer, a journalist at the time noted that journalism was bound to make mistakes during the reporting of such maters leading to misconceptions. He observed that television journalism needed to make proper mechanisms when it came to the reporting of events by the creation of a dignified process. He noted that the anxiety caused by the media required calculated moves in order to avoid fracas from the public which would undermine the credibility of journalism.

 Misinformation;

Shortly after the assassination, the press was constantly questioning the police as well. The press demanded a constant correspondence on the unfolding matters from the police thereby demanding constant information through interviews. Since then the police have given in to these demands and therefore transparency on such matters concerning government authorities has been enabled.

A look into this issue gives rise to a chief suspect who was held by the police immediately after the assassination. The character was named Oswald who was apparently brutalized by the police.

Flow of new information from police and thus would push them for interviews while at the police. This has led to the media pressing on relevant authorities such as the police who are responsible for investigating issues and crimes therefore bringing light on the truth that really transpires prior and after these events. A report by Warren confirmed that erroneous disclosures by the media distorted information that was relayed to the public leading to misperceived inferences by the public.

LIVE EVENTS/SPOT REPORTING:

This was the beginning of airing live events in the media bringing in live picture broadcasting. Since then, the media can attest to this milestone in the media coverage since the media have now been able to appreciate the need to inform the public on live events making them just as aware as those who are in the scene of the event. This has also enabled the participation of the public on public issues and other matters that concern them either directly or indirectly.

Media coverage has thus generated capacity to broadcast live events on the spot increasing its relevance to its ability to meet the ever increasing human informational needs. Now, a person can comfortably see and hear what is going on around the world at the comfort of his/ her seat at any place throughout the world.

PRIVATE SREENING:

Private screening has since the assassination of President John F Kennedy taken force. This has led to the direct involvement of the public and corporate world in their interaction through the media which has been made a reality by the use of private screening found in the today’s media coverage.

MEDIA EXPANSION:

The media has since then become an important factor in the life of human beings. Through this clear demand on the services required from it, it has expanded infinitely to cover the needs of the increasing human populace seeing the internet and social media as the new media in the present age. Media has now been increasingly seen as an inevitable part of the lives of humans. It is only through media that governments and organisations have been able to spread their agendas and ideas to masses without necessarily having to incur heavy costs in directly meeting the masses which is subject to several limitations.

The media, broadcast and internet have thus increased in their use and human dependency on them in order to get accurate and reliable information going on around the human environment promoting a faster and accurate movement of information, technology, ideas and even the interaction of human beings.

COVERAGE OF SPORTS:

Coincidentally the assassination of President John F Kennedy in 1963 happened to take place at a time when there was an important sports event a few days later. This created a dilemma on whether the much anticipated sports event would take place amid the much confusion that arose as a result of the assassination. A crucial decision that would influence such future circumstances was underway

As a result, the NFL Media coverage, late owner Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders addressed why the then-rival American Football League postponed its games.  Contrary to this, Mike Brown, owner of the Cincinnati Bengals, had a counter view. "I thought it was right to play the games," he said. "You just can't stop doing things when tragedy hits. You have to keep on. In my mind, I think President Kennedy would have expected that." However, some college games, including Nebraska versus Oklahoma, were played the day after Kennedy's death.

 This was a clear indication therefore that such tragic events besides being noticed and accorded the respect that they deserved should not create tensions and dilemmas on whether they should take place or not and thus media would still be obliged to report on sports matters as well.

The media since then has come of age and has the uncriticized freedom in their reporting of any event irrespective of its magnitude. The media can this equally give all matters going around the world chance to see them being reported rather than totalitarian ways that would see other events ignored completely.

PUBLICITY:

The media coverage since then emerged to raise publicity to any events that would attract attention across the social, economic and political divide. By their exclusive reporting of the assassination incident, there was a clear expression of their spirit in creation of publicity to matters and affairs that touched on the people’s attention and needs.

CONTINOUS COVERAGE:

Since the television coverage of Kennedy’s assassination began, it would continue on for a record length of time. Each of the networks held continuous coverage on November 22, 1963 once the news broke of Kennedy being shot. This has shaped the continuous coverage of events thereby giving even past events some relevance in the present life. Besides this the coverage of such events has since then been able to be covered on a continuous basis from a few hours to even days. However this will depend on the relevance and the importance of the matter at hand.

When the president was shot there was a continuous live coverage of the event until 1PM when he was officially announced dead. The coverage continued for further seventy hours of uninterrupted airing of the event. This led to the turn off of regular programming and all commercials as well.

While in 1963, there had been a limited number of stations, by 1988 there was cable television that had well established and with it came many more channels. With an increase in television, at least eighteen specials on Kennedy and his assassination appeared in November 1988 leading to the remembrance of icons through documenting their lives and still making them relevant even under changing times and circumstances.

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM:

With very little information available on who had committed the crime, Dallas police were keen to look for a suspect. The media was very much unaware of the one who actually led to the assassination but were however determined to unravel the real cause that lead to this event. They had the spirit to look into the matter and as well as the police come out with credible data and evidence that would expose the truth and lead to the conviction of the criminals involved. Through speculation, a suspect named Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested in connection to the murder of another suspect who was believed to be directly involved in the crime.

The media covered this development in detail thereby flocking the Dallas Police Headquarters where Oswald was held in custody. This mass of journalists crowded at a specific place created disorganization leading to the killing of the chief suspect which was strongly seen as conspiracy measure to hide evidence on the president’s shooting. This led to the belief that the media was interfering with the assassination investigations that were very fresh at the moment in reference to the assassination of the president. Story broke, hundreds of reporters flocked to New Orleans, just as they had done in Dallas, in order to cover the investigation.

A parallel happening in Garrison, lead to excitement which grew since the media would be able to cover, and more so uncover, details of the assassination of president John F Kennedy once again. Just a few days later, the main suspect of Garrison’s investigations died leading to the need for the media to get more into investigative reporting to uncover the clear reasons and happenings that surrounded the two incidents. The media was thus tasked with setting up investigations on the Garrison incident. Investigations would later find out that Ferrie had been released and then found dead of natural causes on February 22, 1967.

 The media coverage thus would be much focused on revealing truths and exposing it to the general public including the relevant authorities. Since then, the media has been instrumental in penetrating the uncommon and remote areas to bring out important revelations that are imperative to the development of nations both in terms of their economies, democracy and the social lives of human beings thereby impacting positively on human dignity.

ORGANISTION IN REPORTING:

President John F Kennedy’s impact on media coverage was crucial in shaping out how reporting would be organized in order to facilitate the smooth sourcing and the dissemination of information. With the little information on who had committed the crime, the relevant police authorities in Dallas were up to a hard task of identifying suspects and evaluating ways that would lead to the unraveling of the suspects of the crime.

 With the constant interviews by the media and thirst to have first-hand information on all what was unfolding, the media flocked to the Dallas jail in which Oswald was being held. The frenzy created as a result of this circumstance by the media seeking to see Oswald who was at the police headquarters by then. The media failed to listen to police regulations, such as not asking Oswald questions, which the media did as they shouted at him asking if he had killed President Kennedy, to which Oswald responded but in a state of confusion owing to the mass that surrounded him. It finally reached a  point where the police could not control the media besides differentiating  if those who  entered the police station were legitimate news personnel or not. The media also were very present at the moment when Oswald was being transported to the jail on the morning of November 24, 1963. This mass crowd of media made it possible for Jack Ruby to slip into the police headquarters although he was not authorized to do so. As television cameras broadcasted live, Ruby pulled out a gun and shot Oswald.  This event created a major new development in the assassination for the media, an event that the media had a major role in causing.

The Warren Commission was created by President Johnson on November 29, 1963 which was meant to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy. From the Warren Report, which was published in September of 1964, it included claims that the media held some responsibility for the problems that followed Kennedy’s assassination. The fact that a high level government investigation found the media guilty of creating a chaotic situation at the police headquarters as well as on the way to Oswald’s custody gives strong proof that this was indeed the case. After viewing video tapes of coverage and conducting interviews, the Warren Commission came to the conclusion that the media was utterly responsible for the mishappenings that followed the assassination.

Therefore following this insight on the activities that followed the assassination as a result of the Warren Commission report, then the media was bound to make reasonable corrections on their ethics in the reporting of information. Media coverage has since then evolved to an organized profession where identification, order and professionalism are the major drivers of the modern spirit of disseminating information through the media.

MEDIA EXPOSES:

The incident pertaining this assassination, led to coverage on internal matter that would have been intentionally or unintentionally hidden from the public. The exposure of Garrison’s investigation was shown on television. NBC aired a special on June 19, 1967 entitled “The JFK Conspiracy: The Case of Jim Garrison”. Besides this, In the NBC special, several of Garrison’s witnesses were interviewed by NBC. The witnesses who were interviewed explained how Garrison had bribed each of them with things like money and early release from jail time. From this expose, it was found out that all of Garrison’s key witnesses for his investigation were discounted. All the witnesses agreed that indeed they had been bribed which was a fact that was meant to stay out of the public as well as authorities knowledge. Indeed it was a moral hazard that the media played a great role in its revelation thereby shedding light on the truth.

Today, exposes are common. This has been through the increased media participation to the need for truth and justice for all. This event was notable bases to the expose of social ills such as corruption and bribery, immorality and other social ills that exist within the society at large.

This expose by the media that resulted in the resignation of President Richard Nixon which had a significant impact on the role of the media in the search for truth and the need to override deception that are meant to keep the public out of the truth.

REFERENCES:

Jim Garrison, On the Trail of the Assassins: My Investigation and Prosecution of the Murder of President Kennedy (New York: Sheridan Square, 1988).

Alan Brinkley, John F Kennedy (New York: Henry Holt and Co, 2012).

Edward Jay Epstein, the Assassination Chronicles: Inquest, Counterplot, and Legend (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1992).

John William, The media in America (New York: Crowell, 1974).

W David Sloan, James Sloan, James D, The media in America: A History (Washington, Ohio, Publishing Horizons, 1989)

Barbara Zelizer, Covering the Body (The University of Chicago Press: 1992). Journal