almost a willful respite from the stuff that was going on in the world, from real life. >> here is a bulletin on cbs news. there has been an attempt as you know on the life of president kennedy. he was wounded. in an automobile driving -- >> in the early '60s, television was by and large seen as something as a back water to print journalism. and even to radio. but the kennedy assassination was the moment that television came of age. >> continue full-day coverage of the presidential funeral. >> more and more people were depending on television to give them the headline news of the day. >> 330 americans were killed in combat last week in vietnam. but the number of wounded, 3886 was the highest of any week in the war. >> >> it was in contrast to what you saw in entertainment, to what you saw on the news, was planetary. >> never has this descent been as emotional. as intense.