History of American Journalism- The 1960’s

By: Rebecca SessionsMedia 301 OL

March 23, 2012

Media Personalities and Journalists

• Walter Cronkite– Helped create the role of

an anchorman– He became one of the

most trusted journalists after he covered the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963

• Barbara Walters– She became the “Today

Girl” for NBC’s Today show

• Helen Thomas– She kept up with JFK’s

presidential campaign in 1960 and sat front row in all of the press corps at the White House

• Ralph Nader – He published Unsafe at

Any Speed in 1965– He had a career as a

public activist• Johnny Carson– Worked for the Tonight

Show beginning in 1962

1960’s Politics

• John F. Kennedy became president in 1960.

• Lyndon B. Johnson became president after JFK’s assassination.

Society during the 1960’s

• The 1960’s was a “rejection to conformity”.

• The ‘60’s was the age of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.

• Woodstock, a hippie musical festival, began in the summer of 1969.

Media Moments

• The presidential debate between Nixon and Kennedy on September 26, 1960, was the first presidential debated ever televised.

• Telestar, NASA’s satellite, was launched on July 10, 1962.

• Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I have a dream” speech on August 28, 1963.

• President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963.

• Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act on November 7, 1967.

• Bobby Kennedy, was assassinated on June 4, 1968.

• Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon on July 20, 1969.