On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot while traveling in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. The news of the assassination sent the country into a state of mourning. The U.S. Congress undertook a lengthy investigation and released a report on its findings but conspiracy theories continue to surround the event. The assassination has been the topic of numerous books, articles, and documentaries.

Mr. Ted Pollard was in the newsroom of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat on the day of President Kennedy’s assassination. He worked as a reporter on the business desk of the newspaper for less than a year. One of his tasks was to watch the incoming tapes of the noontime quotes from the Dow Jones business wire machine. The business wire machine stood next to the main, broad-tape Associated Press wire that carried major national news.

On November 22, 1963, Mr. Pollard was alone in the wire room watching the business news come off the ticker. A bell kept ringing on the main broad-tape wire machine which drew his attention. Mr. Pollard read the lines alerting newsrooms across the country that President Kennedy had been shot. These first bulletins were unconfirmed and the news broke in ragged fashion as the Associated Press (AP) bureau chief in Dallas tried to put the story together based on sporadic information.

Knowing the Globe was going to press, Mr. Pollard rushed into the newsroom to tell everyone. Most of the editors and reporters were already out to lunch. The man covering the city editor's job during the lunch break rushed into the wire room, as did many others, tore off the Kennedy news portion, and rushed to the copy desk. Mr. Pollard remained at the wire machine and tore off the entire carbon of the transmission.