Memories of November 22, 1963

Journalist Robert MacNeil shares his incredible experiences in Dallas on November 22, 1963. He was riding in a press bus behind the presidential motorcade, and when the shots rang out, he ran off the bus and ended up at the Texas School Book Depository. Desperate to get in touch with NBC News in New York, he asked a young man running out of the building if there was a telephone inside. Later, it seemed possible that the man he spoke to was Lee Harvey Oswald himself:

"About a year and a half later, I was back at NBC in New York and William Manchester was just finishing the book 'Death of the President.' He called me up and said, could I confirm that it was [Lee Harvey] Oswald I had talked to on the steps of the Book Depository. And I said, no I couldn’t. ... And he said, 'Well, I’m convinced...because I’ve been all over the ground, minutely, second by second and I’ve timed your call to NBC, and where you were and where other people were, and did you know that Oswald told the Secret Service that night, that as he was leaving the Book Depository, a young, blonde crewcut Secret Service man ran up the steps and asked him for a phone?...I think Oswald mistook you for a Secret Service man because no Secret Service did go into the building.' And I was young, blonde with a short haircut, a grey suit on and a White House press badge and so that’s what he says several times in the book."

Watch Robert MacNeil's full interview to hear stories from his years at NBC News and on The MacNeil Lehrer NewsHour.

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News anchor Jim Lehrer was working as a newspaper reporter for the Dallas Times-Herald, covering President John F. Kennedy's visit to Dallas on November 22, 1963. While waiting at Love Field airport for Air Force One to arrive, he asked a Secret Service agent if the bubble top would be kept up on the limousine during the parade - a decision that seemed inconsequential at the time:

"And the bubble top was on the car. I saw the Secret Service agent who was in charge of the Dallas office... and I said, 'Are you going to keep the bubble top on or off?'... He looked up to the sky – I’ll never forget this – he looked up at the sky and he said, 'Well, this rain has stopped,' and he hollered at another agent who had a two-way radio, and he said, 'Is it raining downtown?' And the guy comes back and says, 'No, it’s clear.' So, he then says, 'Take off the bubble top.'"

Watch Jim Lehrer’s full interview to hear about his long career as a journalist and news anchor at PBS.

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News anchor/correspondent Bob Schieffer tells an amazing story of his experiences during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Schieffer was a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. When he answered a phone call in the newspaper's offices that day, he found himself in the middle of the story in a very surprising way:

"A woman on the phone said, 'Is there anybody there that can give me a ride to Dallas?' And I said, 'Well, lady, you know, we don’t run the taxi service here and besides our president’s been shot.' And she said, 'Yes, I heard it on the radio. I think my son is the one who shot him.' It was Lee Harvey Oswald’s mother. Why in the world she would call the 'Fort Worth Star-Telegram,' we don’t know to this day, but she did, just looking for a ride...I asked [another reporter] what kind of a car he had, and he said a Cadillac. And so the two of us took that Cadillac out to the address she had given me and we picked her up. I got in the back seat with her. And we drove her to Dallas."

Watch Bob Schieffer’s full interview, where he discusses his career from reporting on the assassination of President Kennedy to hosting Face the Nation.

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News anchor/reporter Dan Rather was on the ground in Dallas on November 22, 1963, and he describes seeing President John F. Kennedy's motorcade, and how the news flowed in a chaotic manner following the shooting:

"One thing tumbled behind the other very, very quickly. You know, first it’s, 'The President’s been shot at?'... 'Yeah, shot at and hit.' 'Are we sure he’s been hit?''Yes, he was hit.' 'Holy smoke, where is he?' 'He’s been taken to Parkland Hospital.' All of this tumble flowed in very quickly. And everybody was trying to make telephone calls, listen to the police radio, turn up the police radios and the sheriff’s radios. They didn’t have much in the beginning, to tell you the truth. Because they were confused about what was happening, and with good reason."


Watch Dan Rather's full interview where he details his storied career at CBS News.

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News correspondent Bill Moyers worked in John F. Kennedy's administration, and went on to work for the Johnson administration. When he heard about President Kennedy having been shot, he was in Austin and immediately flew to Waco. On the plane, he learned that President Kennedy had died. In Dallas, he approached Air Force One, where now-President Johnson was aboard:

"A Secret Service agent who didn't know me stopped me. And so I scribbled a note that said, 'Mr. President, I'm here if you need me.' And the Secret Service agent took the note in. And in a few moments, he came back to the top of the ramp and motioned me up the ramp. So, I went on the plane, greeted the President. He greeted me. I was there when he took the oath of office and I flew back to Washington with him."


Watch Bill Moyers’ full interview where he details his political career and his move into journalism and beyond.

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Anchor/reporter Walter Cronkite talks about his hours of broadcasting on November 22, 1963, including the moment when he announced the death of President Kennedy and nearly broke down. He explains that rare display of emotion:

"We in the news, and television news in particular...operate very much like emergency personnel...Our adrenaline flows faster. We’ve got a job to do. We’re doing the job and we’re concentrating on that rather than the emotional impact...And not until you have to hit that punch line that he’s dead does it come to you, the full emotional meaning of this thing. And that’s what hit me at the time."


Watch Walter Cronkite's full interview to hear him tell the stories behind his legendary career.

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News director Max Schindler describes covering the arrival of Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base from Dallas on November 22, 1963. He highlights the moment the reality of the day hit him:

"I remember when they were taking the coffin off that lift and putting it in there, for the first time you saw concrete evidence that our president was dead. I remember saying to the crew, 'Geez, that’s the President of the United States in that coffin.' And I remember it hit us all at the same time when you saw the coffin."

Watch Max Schindler's full interview for stories from his years as news director at NBC News.

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Executive Julian Goodman describes NBC's nearly 72-hours of straight coverage following President John F. Kennedy's assassination, which occurred without commercial interruption:

"There were many people afterward who asked me, 'How long did it take you to decide not to do any commercials? How big was the fight about not doing commercials?' There was never even any discussion of it. [NBC President Robert E. Kintner] just said, 'We’ll drop the commercials.' And that’s all there was to it."

Watch Julian Goodman's full interview, which chronicles his rise to President of NBC and his role producing news coverage of the pivotal events of the 1960’s and 1970’s.

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Producer Don Hewitt recalls the moment he heard that President John F. Kennedy had been shot, and how the gears started to turn at CBS News to get the announcement on the air:

"I picked up the phone and I called Frank Stanton, who was then president of CBS, and his secretary said, he’s in a very important meeting and that he can’t be disturbed. I said, 'Disturb him.' She said, 'Okay, but you take responsibility.' I said, 'You got it.' So he got on the phone, he was very annoyed...I said, 'The president’s been shot.' He said, 'Oh, my god...stay on the air, don’t go back to regular programming until we know whether he’s dead or alive.' And then he called me back, he said, 'No forget that, don’t go back to regular programing at all no matter what.' So we stayed on the air for about a day and a half, almost two days."

Watch Don Hewitt’s full interview where he details his many career accomplishments, including the creation of 60 Minutes.

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Meet the Press producer Betty Cole Dukert describes her experiences following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, both personal and professional:

"At some point we got a message from NBC that all programming would be cancelled for the next three days, so that did away with our whole show...I went to the grocery store that night and I can remember people crying just walking around."

Watch Betty Cole Dukert's full interview, where she discusses her five-decade tenure at Meet the Press.

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Talk show host Mike Douglas recalls the moment he learned that President John F. Kennedy had been shot, as he was filming his show (The Mike Douglas Show) live on-air, and how he responded:

"I couldn’t think of a thing to say. All I did was go with my instincts. And I said, 'Will everybody join me in a prayer.' And I blessed myself and said a prayer."

Watch Mike Douglas' full interview to hear about his long-running stint as host of The Mike Douglas Show.

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Performer Rose Marie heard that President John F. Kennedy had been shot while she was in rehearsal for The Dick Van Dyke Show. She immediately rushed home, and her experiences from there mirrored those of millions of Americans across the country:

"We stared at one another for three days in this house. Watching that damn television set. We never took our eyes off that television set. All the three days that he was laid out, for this and that. The most horrible time of my life, that I can remember."

Watch Rose Marie’s full interview to hear stories from her long career, from performing as a child to her role on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and much more.

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