Tom Brokaw To Host NBC News Special Remembering 50th Anniversary of JFK’s Death

By Alex Weprin 

NBC News will air a primetime special remembering the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw will host the special, which will air 50 years to the day Kennedy was killed in Dallas.

“Tom Brokaw Special: Where Were You?” will air Friday, November 22 at 9 PM ET. It will feature interviews with a wide range of people, asking them how Kennedy’s death affected their lives, and speculating about what might be different had he not been shot.

NBC is planning additional programming tied to the anniversary. Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer will be in Dallas, with Guthrie talking to one of Kennedy’s Secret Service agents, and Lauer interviewing a woman whose photo has become an iconic part of that day. The morning of November 22, Brokaw will be joined on “Today” by former CBS News anchor Dan Rather, whose report that day is one of the most widely remembered. “Meet the Press” will air a half-hour special, featuring three interviews Kennedy gave to the Sunday public affairs program.

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More information, after the jump.

NBC MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF JFK’S ASSASSINATION WITH THE DEBUT OF A “TOM BROKAW SPECIAL: WHERE WERE YOU?”

“Where Were You?” Premieres Friday, November 22 at 9p

October 17, 2013 – New York, NY – NBC marks the 50th Anniversary of JFK’s death with a “Tom Brokaw Special: Where Were You?” a two-hour documentary that takes a look back at November 22, 1963, the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. By combining archival footage with unique, first person stories of those who lived through it, “Where Were You?” offers a new perspective on what was and what might have been, since November 22, 1963. The special airs on NBC Friday, November 22 at 9p.

Just when you thought you knew what happened in Dallas that day, “Where Were You?” examines the effect of President Kennedy’s death on America and around the world, and what might have been – had he survived. Through politicians, musicians, activists, authors, journalists, filmmakers, historians and ordinary citizens – whose lives were altered by the events put in motion that day, the documentary explores why the loss still reverberates half a century later.

As NBC Special correspondent Tom Brokaw observes, “The assassination of this vibrant young President who was changing American politics and expectations for the future was a monumental event in a century filled with epic developments. A half century later we’re still bewildered, wondering and trying to cope with who he was and how his death changed us.”

Anyone alive on November 22, 1963, including the shoe store manager who helped capture Lee Harvey Oswald, the widow of a Dallas police officer who received a letter from First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and the neurosurgeon who examined the President, will always remember that terrible seismic moment. Almost 50 years later, the thought of it summons the same sharp sense of loss. In a way, the aftershock was worse. One hundred and ninety million Americans were suddenly vulnerable. If this could happen to their President, what could happen to their country, their families, to them?

In early November, NBCNews.com will launch an interactive video experience that invites users to take a deep dive into Brokaw’s interviews, featured in “Where Were You?” Divided into sections – from (JFK’s) Life & Legacy, The Assassination, Kennedy Mystique, The Era, Conspiracy Theories and The Impact — the interactive will also feature footage from the NBC News archives.

A companion book to the two-hour documentary, “Where Were You?” will be released on November 5, 2013 (Lyons Press, 978-0-7627-9456-0). WHERE WERE YOU? America Remembers the JFK Assassination was compiled and edited by Gus Russo and Harry Moses, with a foreword by Tom Brokaw. The book features transcripts of participant interviews from the NBC News special.

In addition, leading up to the 50th anniversary, “TODAY’s” Savannah Guthrie goes back to Dallas with former United States Secret Service agent, Clint Hill; Matt Lauer has an exclusive with the woman who captured a moment in history when she snapped an iconic photo and then he takes viewers on a tour of the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather will also be live in studio on Friday, November 22.

Plus, NBC’s “Meet the Press” is producing a half-hour special to commemorate the anniversary of JFK’s death and his rise to the presidency entitled, “MTP Remembers: JFK — The Presidential Campaign.” Pulling from “Meet the Press’” rich archives, this “MTP Remembers” special will feature three “Meet the Press” interviews with JFK during his 1960 presidential campaign: January 3, July 10 and October 16. The special will be offered to NBC’s Owned Television Stations as well as its affiliates nationwide to run during the month of November. “MTP Remembers: JFK – The Presidential Campaign” is part of an ongoing series of archival specials from “Meet the Press” including “Remembering the Dream,” which featured an Aug.25, 1963 interview with Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

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For NBC News, David Corvo is the Senior Executive Producer, Tom Brokaw is the Correspondent, Produced and Written by Harry Moses, and Clare Duffy is the Coordinating Producer of a “Tom Brokaw Special: Where Were You?”.

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