It's 1963. President John F. Kennedy is touring Texas with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy and vice-President Lyndon Johnson. On November 22, the President and the First Lady is in a motorcade with Governor John Connally and his wife. The President is shot by Lee Harvey Oswald while traveling through Dealey Plaza, Dallas. Oswald is eventually caught and himself shot by nightclub owner Jack Ruby two days later.
JFK's assassination has become a history class lesson. It is sometimes hard to imagine it as a real life event. It always goes back to some of the iconic clips like the Zapruder film. In fact, Abraham Zapruder makes an appearance in one of the news footage in this special. Unlike Oliver Stone's JFK, the amalgam of news footage gives this a 24/7 cable news coverage to the story. It brings a reality to the events that modern TV viewers have come to relate to news. It's similar to 9/11, the OJ chase, or the Challenger disaster. This lets the viewers experience the JFK assassination unlike other forms. The announcement of the President's passing can be almost as powerful as if it occurred in real time.