Inside Breaking News…Live At CNN For The Challenger Disaster
On January 28, 1986, about a half hour before the Challenger space shuttle was launched, a CNN tape crew had come into the main news studio to shoot a feature on how the news is covered. What their camera recorded in Atlanta was the same kind of chaos erupting across the country in other news rooms. Where were you when you heard the news? -Bobby Ellerbee
A crew just happened to be in the CNN Newsroom/ Studio shooting promotional/documentary footage of a random day’s work at the network. This is their montage …
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Sitting in Production Control at NHPTV. We were discussing upcoming Teacher From Space and commenting on all the ice build up. Everything changed and we were there well into the night doing feeds for various stations. Probably better in than we had to occupy ourselves and reflect later. Very tough day.
I didn’t have to go in to work until the afternoon. Was switching between CNN, and HBO, which was running the movie 2010. After the accident, I promised myself I would be at the next launch in person, and I kept it in September 1988.
Headed to a class in the science building during my last semester at Glassboro State … I walked into the building and a crowd had gathered around the faculty office, where there was a TV tuned to CBS with Dan Rather showing a replay of what had just happened.
Was here in Old Orchard Beach, ME (Portland market) when the shuttle exploded. Although I did not have the TV on until about half an hour after the incident, the next day’s paper reported that WCSH, the NBC affiliate in Portland, was the only OTA station to have live video of the launch. The midday anchor, who had interviewed Christa McAuliffe and became a friend, was reportedly fighting back tears on-air after seeing the explosion.
I was 15 watching CNN in my bedroom live as it launched, burned into memory like 9/11.
I was working Master Control at KTAB. I saw it on the Satellite feed before anyone else in the building.
I was at JPL in Pasadena covering the Voyager flyby. Bad day!
Sitting in a studio watching the launch then scrambling to get on the air with the tragedy. Worst day of my life.
I was getting ready for my News shift as a TV Director/ TD. Was watching the Launch about 2 minutes to lift off. Took a shower and came out and saw on tv the shuttle wing crashing down. That was a long day at work. Also one of my anchor woman’s dad worked in Houston. She knew these people on the flight
I remember watching this live in the newsroom I was working at in Adelaide, Australia. It’s still hard to watch.
On the air at KSEZ in Sioux City, IA.
At HBO meeting about a project…
At the time this happened, I was working as the program director for KMUS radio in Muskogee. I was involved in a very important meeting and a staff member poked her head through the door and said, “Mr. Ward, the Space Shuttle just exploded.” Not fully grabbing onto what was just said, I simply replied, “I’ll be there in a minute.” The staff member rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. I continued with the meeting for a few minutes and then the magnitude of her announcement hit me and I jumped up from the meeting and ran to the studio. The rest of our day, of course, was spent following this tragedy.
Was framing a house in RVC,cold and then the sad news,,,,tuff day for USA