Remembering The DNC From 1968
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
(CBSDFW.COM) - I don't typically cover politics for obvious reasons but this month's conventions made me think about the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and some of the TV history it made.
Let's set the stage for you: in 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson announces in March that he will not seek another term as President. Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis in April. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a candidate for President, was assassinated in Los Angeles in June. 500,000 troops are fighting in Vietnam with no end in sight. Tremendous amount of social unrest among young adults.
The convention was held August 26-29, 1968. Back then, there was no CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, or C-SPAN. No internet nor social media. It was CBS, ABC, and NBC for televised news gathering and reporting, along with their respective radio networks, plus newspapers. For CBS, the executive producer of the convention was Bob Wussler who later became President of the CBS Television Network and later on worked for Turner Broadcasting System (I had the good fortune to meet his son Rob a few years ago who was a television programming syndicator). Bill Leonard was the director who later became President of CBS News.
The lead anchorman was none other than Walter Cronkite. Art Buchwald was the commentator with analysis of the events. Supporting Cronkite in the field were an all-star cast of experienced journalists: Dan Rather, Mike Wallace, John Hart, Roger Mudd, Harry Reasoner (who I got to meet and interview in 1972 for my high school in Dallas), Hughes Rudd, Daniel Schorr, Ike Papas, Eric Sevareid, and Bert Quint (I remember years later seeing a CBS Evening News promo for Quint with the tag line, announced by Cronkite himself, "We call Bert Quint the "Fireman" because he's best when the heat is on!"). Great line!!
Notwithstanding the various moods, controversies and events occurring during that week, I remember two things. The first is Dan Rather being punched in the stomach by security guards while trying to interview a Georgia delegate being escorted from the convention floor. Rather was grabbed by security guards and was roughed up. Cronkite got wind of this. Rather could be heard telling the security people to stop pushing him. He reports over the air what has happened and closes with, "I didn't do so well." Cronkite replies, "I think we have a bunch of thugs here, Dan." All of this on camera. Live, on the spot reporting. The other item was CBS News correspondent Mike Wallace and NBC News correspondent Edwin Newman being roughed up by the Chicago police, all while doing their job covering the events of the convention. Wild and crazy for sure!
The 1960's were definitely an interesting time to live in and experience in the 20th century. To me it remains the decade when TV news came of age and made its mark on history. Here's the clip of Rather being roughed up by security guards: