What Would the JFK Assassination Coverage Be Like Today?

When John Kennedy was assassinated, the media and the press reported what authorities told them because they trusted their government. The majority of the people felt the same way. No one questioned why the FBI confiscated all cameras from bystanders at Dealey Plaza, or why agents strong-armed witnesses to change their story if they had seen something that pointed toward a conspiracy.

District Attorney Henry Wade told a packed press conference on the night of the assassination that Oswald belonged to the Free Cuba Movement. When Jack Ruby corrected him and shouted out that Oswald was a Fair Play for Cuba Committee member, not one reporter knew this. Moreover, none of them asked Ruby why he knew this about Oswald so soon after the assassination. Today, he would have been mobbed by cameras and microphone-toting reporters wanting to learn who he was and how he knew so much.

Ever-Present Cameras, Instant News, and Viral Videos Make a Difference…

When Life magazine purchased the Zapruder film and locked it away, no one questioned why such a critical piece of evidence was kept hidden from the American people.

At a presidential event today, there are news video cameras everywhere. Everyone in the crowd at Dealey Plaza would have used their cell phones to video the president as he passed by. It would have been impossible to control the spread of information like they did in 1963.

For that reason, it is unlikely that an assassination attempt like the one that killed Kennedy would occur today.

…But What If There Was a Media Blackout?

However, let’s assume that it did happen today, precisely as it did in 1963, and the FBI managed to confiscate all the video and photographs as they did back then. What would the coverage be like?

Based on the press reaction to high-profile crimes recently, we can imagine that there would have been a frantic attempt to interview every witness in Dealey Plaza, the site of the Tippit shooting, and the Texas Theater, the location of Oswald’s arrest. Anyone in the city associated with Oswald would have been found and grilled to learn what they knew.

No Stopping Information

While this was happening, it would not be long until details of Oswald’s activities in New Orleans became known, including his Fair Play for Cuba activities and his arrest in the summer of 1963 in the Big Easy. It would only be a matter of time until reporters learned of Oswald’s connection to Guy Banister and David Ferrie, and the authorities would not have been able to sweep that under the rug as they did in 1963.

The details of Oswald’s trip to Mexico City in September 1963, and the allegation of a potential Oswald impostor, would have sent an army of reporters south of the border. They would be relentless in their attempt to learn if it was the real Oswald and if he had any connections to Cuba.

In short, if the assassination happened today under the same circumstances, it would not take long for the press to uncover if a conspiracy had occurred. At the very least, they would learn of all the inconsistencies in the official story, and the press would report those to the public. It is quite possible Oswald would be set free due to lack of evidence, and the evidence police mishandled would have been inadmissible in court.

However, security would be greater today, so the press would have far less access to certain areas and official personnel, which would limit their ability to uncover all the facts.

Tighter Control on Access to Oswald

Consider what happened at the police station in 1963, as reporters filled corridors as a handcuffed Oswald tried to squeeze by. It would not be allowed today. Nor would they be allowed to parade Oswald in front of a press conference and have the press question him. It means Jack Ruby would never have had the opportunity to correct Henry Wade.

The same applies to Jack Ruby’s killing of Oswald. He would never be allowed to access the basement where he shot Oswald. Nor would the press. Today, the police today would lock down the area.

Jack Ruby would have remained an unknown character, and Oswald would have survived to go to trial.

A Spotlight On the Grassy Knoll

Additionally, with all the people running to the Grassy Knoll after shots were fired, the media would not focus all their attention on the Texas School Book Depository.

Instead, they would interview people who heard shots from the front, smelled gunpowder, and were confronted by a Secret Service agent behind the picket fence… even though the Secret Service later admitted no agents were stationed there.

Inconsistencies Revealed

They would talk to the doctors and discover there was a frontal entrance wound in JFK’s throat.

There would have been enough evidence to conclude shots came from at least two locations… and that the assassination of JFK was a conspiracy. And we would know about it because cable news would interview plenty of witnesses live on television to support such a conclusion.

A New Century Would Require New Strategies

So, we can ponder what the coverage would be like today, even though we know an attempted assassination would be different from what occurred in Dallas.

The conspirators would know in the year 2021 there is no way to perpetrate such a conspiracy and get away with it.

Unless, that is, they had a patsy like Oswald today who could be secreted and killed somewhere far removed from Dallas. With the essential character removed, and all the evidence pointing to him, the consensus would still point to a conspiracy today, but those responsible might get away with it.

It would be a perfect crime, which was most likely what was supposed to happen in 1963. However, fortunately for those of us searching for the truth, Oswald did not manage to get away.

And the search continues.