History, News

November 22, 1963: The Day That Changed America Forever!

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Kennedy Motorcade ©Lot #19 RR Auction

 

As sure as most Americans are wondering what lies ahead for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and the next four years under President-elect Trump, they’re also facing a grim anniversary! Yes, you know this one, dateline Dallas, gunfire erupts at the Texas School Book Depository and America’s 35th President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, is dead.

As it was 61 years ago in 1963, the day that changed America forever, is again a Friday. America mourns, America is angry and yet while it all seems impossible at the time, we are all aware that life must go on. And with that, the nation learns that Dallas police collar a loner, 24-year old Lee Harvey Oswald. We were told he was charged with multiple crimes including firing a high-powered rifle at President Kennedy and killing the Commander-In-Chief while wounding Texas Governor John Connelly who was riding in the same top-down limousine through downtown Dallas.

Breaking the unthinkable news first on network radio was ABC’s Don Gardiner.  While over on ABC-TV, a daytime re-run of “Father Knows Best” was interrupted by the voice of ABC News Correspondent Ed Silverman. Both remained on the air for several hours inter-acting with fellow reporters in the field, in an effort to assemble as much information as possible on this story that shocked the world!

As if what happened were not enough of an emotional jolt, a day after the gunfire in Dallas, suspect Oswald was being escorted from the City to the County lock-up by deputies when he was approached by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby who opened fire, mortally wounding Oswald. Among the numerous reporters standing in the hall witnessing this shocking scene first-hand was WNEW’s Ike Pappas who promptly remarked, “Holy mackerel!” This was also something seen by millions watching the transfer on television, and assured that the American people would never get to hear Oswald tell his story. There would be a trial for Ruby, proceedings covered by Ed Silverman in Dallas, where he grew up. Ruby was convicted and sentenced to death for the Oswald murder. But the verdict and sentence were overturned on appeal and before he would stand trial a second time Ruby died in prison of cancer in January, 1967. Mr. Kennedy was succeeded in office by Vice President Lyndon Johnson as Secret Service security was substantially beefed-up.

So much had happened in such a short period of time and one thing was obvious, America’s age of innocence was history!

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 Article contributed by Bob Gibson

Ike Pappas

JFK Presidential Library & Museum
https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/november-22-1963-death-of-the-president

Postedit: A note from the now late Carolyn Tanton Giatras to Bill Diehl, in 2018.
JFK 1963 Remembrance by Carolyn Tanton Giatras
Carolyn Tanton at the Editor’s Desk
https://www.wnew1130.com/news/staff/q-r-s-t/carolyn-tanton/
Perspective

Recalling “Larry from the Corner!”

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©businesstoday.co.ke

Larry King at home on his CNN Set

Yes, it’s the 19th of November and my head flashes back to the fact that during the course of the forties and fifties, thousands of New York City kids hung out on the sidewalks near their homes around the corner!
©1915 NY Tribune
One man used to mention that, often and frequently, on his coast-to-coast, late-night talk show. One of those kids was Larry Zeiger of Brooklyn, who came to be known to many Americans as Larry King of radio and television talk show fame!
Like Larry, I too had a favorite or two hang out spots on my native turf of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. It was right near 93rd and Lexington and if the then-pavement picked up the regular footprints of long ago, mine would be there.
NYC 1940s Kids ©Shutterstock
Larry and I never met, never even had an unexpected telephone conversation. The common thread for us was the broadcast industry and like many others, I became a fan of Larry’s after his work resulted in his leaving his 21-year home of Miami in favor of Washington, DC, where he was recruited by Mutual Radio for an overnight talk show.
Roughly seven years later in 1985, Ted Turner wanted to have him on CNN in prime-time with famous guests five nights a week. It made for long nights, alright, but Larry did it starting at 9 in the evening Eastern time on television, and finishing up at 5 in the AM following SIX hours of network talk radio! By my count, he did that for about 9 years until 1994.
But, as for “Larry King LIVE” on CNN, that turned out to be one for the cable history books, 25 years with the same host on the same network and in the same time slot!
I mention all of this now because nearly four years after his death, this would have been Larry King’s 91st birthday!!
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Article contributed by Bob Gibson

History

Honoring All Who Served

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November 11, 2024

©US Veterans Magazine
Veterans Day honors all veterans, both living and dead, who served in times of war and peace.

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”1

1 US Department of Veterans Affairs 

The anniversary of the armistice of November 11, 1918, observed since 1954 as Veterans Day in the US.

 

Archive, History

Writing Debut

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In May 1964, after my final spring-semester exams at Columbia, the Writers Guild agreed to allow me to work for a week as a writer for WNEW Radio News. I don’t know if, at the age of 20, I was the youngest writer WNEW ever employed, but it was a thrill, and I got to work with some of the greatest people the business was ever privileged to employ.

Here is the schedule for that unforgettable week.

Others on the schedule are:

Jack Pluntze, later to become assistant news director, then news director;

John (Jack) Laurence, later a correspondent for CBS News in Vietnam, creator of the award-winning “World of Charlie Company;”

Mike Stein, later assistant news director and news director;

Ike Pappas, later CBS News correspondent;

Rudy Ruderman, later assistant news director and news director;

Al Wasser, later senior producer at ABC News and CBS News;

Christopher Glenn, later producer and host of CBS’ “In the News;”

Ed Scott, who had been one of Murrow’s writers at CBS; and,

Loren (Larry) Craft, transfer from the Daily News.

Contributed by Andy Fisher

Postedit: Thank you, Marianne, for formatting and posting the story of my wonderful week as a rookie writer at WNEW. The following week I turned back into a pumpkin and resumed the copy boy duties I had been doing since 1962.
Among the credits for that astounding staff of colleagues, I should have mentioned that Mike Stein went on to be Peter Jennings’ writer at ABC’s “World News Tonight.”

 

History

Happy Birthday R-A-D-I-O

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Frank Mullen on the air

By many, but not all historians’ thinking, this could have been dubbed America’s Radio Day more than a century ago! That’s when the sound medium began finding its way from the assorted cobwebs of a laboratory eventually to what we can call Main Street, USA!

It was precisely 104 years ago that KDKA, Pittsburgh (November 2, 1920) was issued the first broadcast license by the predecessor of the Federal Communications Commission.

 

© KDKA Radio, Pittsburgh

 

KDKA’s logo from the 1920s. Already they were known as broadcast pioneers.

 

 

Now all of these years later, that station at 1020 on the AM dial with a power output of the maximum-allowed 50-thousand watts, is very much alive and well! For that matter, so is Detroit’s WWJ which is reported to have first put out a signal a year earlier in 1919. Like KDKA, that Detroit all-news station is still in business, and like its Pittsburgh counterpart, is part of the radio company known as Audacy. Yes, radio preceded television, but don’t try to convince a true radio broadcaster that TV is better or more important than its sister medium!

Article contributed by Bob Gibson

Editor’s Note: Among Bob’s many prestigious credits, he was a news anchor for KDKA-AM during the late 60’s and early 70’s.

 

History, Listener Comments, Sports

NY Giants back on 1130

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The following interesting and nostalgic piece of information is provided by radio history viewer, Mr. Steven Didovich, via a comment through WNEW1130.com. What timing, with the recent Jock of all Trades post, 01-Oct-2024.

Thank you so much for sharing, Steven.
—MCP—

This is about radio scheduling.

Because of NY Yankees World Series game 3 Monday night at Yankee stadium, the NY Giants-Steelers game on Monday night will move from WFAN 660/101.9 to WBBR 1130.

This will be the 1st Giants game on 1130 since December 1992 when WNEW 1130 ended.

New York Giants Football and WNEW

 

History, Perspective, Uncategorized

Mission Accomplished-the Vote

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Thanks to the concept of early voting, I’m done for another four years in terms of those top of the ticket entries!!

We all, presumably, want a first-rate democracy while maintaining our position as the best and strongest nation on Earth. Of course, how we go about achieving that is at the voting booth where each of us has one, and only one, chance to make our voice heard.

Whenever you do that, make the right choice, and if you’re not sure ahead of time, read and think about it some more, rather than calling a friend, as someone whose opinion you may think is golden, could differ from yours.

Good luck and may the best people win for them, us and the world!

Bob
Click-Bob Gibson Bio

Editor’s Note:  Abstention because you don’t like either candidate is not an option. Find something you like about one…or dislike about one-make a choice, and VOTE. It’s your right. It’s your duty.
usa.gov/voting-rights

Image courtesy of Guides.Vote

 

 

Archive, Promos, Sports, Staff

Jock of All Trades

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Marv Albert worked as the lead radio voice for New York Giants football on WNEW-AM in New York from 1973 to 1976, succeeding Marty Glickman after Marty started broadcasting for the New York Jets . He also worked as a sports anchor for WNBC-TV in New York during this time. Albert has called the play-by-play of eight Super Bowls, nine NBA Finals, and seven Stanley Cup Finals. He has also called the Wimbledon Tennis Championships for TNT, and has worked as a co-host and reporter for two World Series.

Photo from the Archives of Stuart Zuckerman
Promotion Manager WNEW-AM

Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame

Marv Albert

 

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