Compelling book reveals 'When News Went Live'
Originally published in The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
August 7, 2005
By William Kerns
I remember when my older sister, Sandy, arrived home early from school
on Nov. 22, 1963, her sobs continuous.
As I tuned my transistor radio to the news and watched television
reports with my family, a nation expressed shock at the assassination
of President John F. Kennedy and events that followed, including the
murder of an accused assassin on live television.
Not until I consumed a fascinating new book called "When the News Went
Live (Dallas 1963)" did I fully appreciate efforts made almost around
the clock by the Dallas newsmen who covered the fates of the president,
Lee Harvey Oswald, Officer J.D. Tippitt and Jack Ruby that week.
The book is a collaborative account by Bob Huffaker, Bill Mercer,
George Phenix and Wes Wise, all employed at the time by KRLD Radio (AM
and FM) and Television.
"When the News Went Live" is more than just a compelling read. It is an
account of incredible from-the-streets reporting of history.
This was, after all, an era when reporters carried 16 mm cameras and
lugged heavy sound equipment. Phenix - a Lubbock native who had been a
reporter less than six weeks - recalls telling a Secret Serviceman at
Love Field, "This is not a gun," referring to his long-barreled mike.
Forget about CNN, the immediacy of videotape or use of satellites.
Newsmen used low-tech equipment and were dependent on instincts,
shoeleather and sources. The book's first-person accounts explain
police decisions while recalling out-of-town reporters who arrived
smelling blood.
Phenix's sixth sense kicked in at the Dallas Trade Mart when he heard
an Air Force officer say he was headed to Parkland Hospital. "Me, too,"
said Phenix, as he jumped into the back seat with the officer.
Mercer recalls why news director Eddie Barker temporarily evicted Dan
Rather and his crew that were using KRLD as headquarters. He also
mentions the difficulty inherent in black-and-white film, saying, "I
had to describe the colors, the messages (covering the assassination
site), the sadness, the tears and choke back my own emotion."
Providing massive visual impact throughout are photographs loaned to
the authors by the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, many of which
were published in the Dallas Times Herald.
Each author has a chance to share individual memories, and readers will
appreciate the opportunity to read transcripts of live reports, such as
Huffaker confirming the assassination by saying, "This is one of the
quietest crowds that will ever assemble - the crowd with pity, sorrow,
horror and shame in its heart."
No less moving is Huffaker explaining to us 42 years later, "I hated
having to speak when I felt like weeping."
William Kerns' entertainment reviews and commentary can be heard at
8:15 a.m. Monday through Friday on KLLL (96.3 FM).
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