The assassination of President John F. Kennedy changed the lives of many, as well as the trajectory of world and media history.
For professor Jeff Ritter, chair of the department of communication at La Roche College, TV coverage of the assassination set the stage for breaking news coverage in the future, and the trust Americans would have in veteran journalists such as Walter Cronkite.
"Up until the internet age, TV is really the centerpiece of American life," says Ritter. "The community and the information and all the things that are happening came through the TV. That's the electronic hearth idea, and this has got to be the first event of that period."
