Breaking News: Thirty Five Years of CNN (2015)
Since its first broadcast on June 1,
1980, the
Cable News Network has covered wars, natural disasters, acts of terror, politics and pop culture, both in
America and abroad. To mark 35 years of
CNN’s worldwide news coverage, the first
24-hour news channel will air a one-hour special report, looking back at the some of the biggest stories with personal accounts by the people who covered them, behind-the-scenes footage and a treasure trove of archived video.
From the day
Ronald Reagan was shot and the crumbling of the
Berlin Wall to
Anita Hill’s fight on
Capitol Hill and the
Arab Spring,
Breaking News: 35
Years of CNN will showcase more than 35 of the most iconic, defining and pivotal moments in recent history. The special report will delve deeper into six of the biggest news stories over the past three-and-a-half decades, including
Baby Jessica, the first Gulf War, the
O.J. Simpson trial,
September 11th,
Hurricane Katrina and the
Boston Marathon Bombing.
Past and present CNN anchors and correspondents will walk
viewers through these events, reflecting on the stories and history they witnessed unfold first-hand, including:
Former CNN national correspondent
Tony Clark and former CNN executive vice president Bob Furnad recall the marathon rescue effort to save “Baby Jessica” McClure who was trapped in a well for 58 hours. The dramatic rescue played out live on CNN, capturing the attention of a nation. It also, according to Furnad, helped CNN “solidify our presence to the public that, when there’s a major news event, you know that CNN’s gonna stay with it.”
Wolf Blitzer, who has been with CNN since
1990, and
Bernard Shaw, one of CNN’s first anchors who was with the network for over two decades, recount their award-winning reporting during the Gulf War. This unprecedented coverage of a war by CNN made television history, with
Shaw,
John Holliman and
Peter Arnett reporting live from
Baghdad during the first, intense hours of battle.
Larry King, who has interviewed nearly every prominent public figure during the 25-plus years his show was on CNN, and former CNN anchor
Jim Moret recollect the infamous O.J. Simpson car chase and criminal trial that dominated the air waves for nine months in
1995. “It was the first reality show,” says Moret.
King, who interviewed
Simpson by phone the day after his acquittal, notes “if we had God booked for that day, we would’ve bumped God.”
September 11, 2001. Former CNN anchors
Aaron Brown and
Paula Zahn discuss reporting from a
Manhattan rooftop 30 blocks from
Ground Zero, and the shock and sadness they shared with viewers on a day unlike any another in
American history.
Hurricane Katrina left more than 1,800 dead and caused utter devastation along the
Gulf Coast. CNN anchor
Anderson Cooper and CNN chief medical correspondent
Sanjay Gupta remember their dismay, grief and eventual anger while reporting on the ground during the powerful storm and the devastating aftermath.
CNN national correspondent
Deborah Feyerick, CNN investigative correspondent
Drew Griffin and
Cooper, who were all on the ground in
Boston after two bombs went off on
Marathon Monday, recall covering the unfolding tragedy and desperate manhunt that had the city on edge.
Breaking News: 35 Years of CNN, hosted by Wolf Blitzer. Tuesday, May 26.
2015.