What's the first news event you have a clear memory of?

[Sheldonrs]

Berlin Wall...vaguely...

Being built or torn down? hehehehe

[wagegoth]

John F. Kennedy assassination, but just vague things. I was pretty young and I think my parents shielded me from it.

What I really remember is footage from the Vietnam War. I still have flashes. Everything seems to be green and red.

[JoitheArtist]

Berlin Wall...vaguely.

The first Gulf War, pretty clearly

Same here. I remember my mom and all the adults being really excited over the events in Germany, but I don't think we watched it on tv.

One of our neighbors had a son who flew a bomber in the Gulf War, though, and we saw a lot of the footage from that.

[telecom_goddess]

Hmmmm I don't recall the vietnam war as live news footage or anything but I sorta remember Watergate...oh and the Patty Hearst kidnapping.

I clearly remember the day John Lennon was shot...it was on my 15th birthday . I remember the day Elvis died too. I was 11 going on 12 at that point.

[Kiwi]

Freddie Mercury dying on 24 November 1991

I was 8 years old and I remember Mum crying and telling my brother "Queen has died" and I thought she meant THE Queen.

[pyxee]

The 89 Earthquake in California. I don't remember much of the story since I was about 7, just the images on the news. Things like broken sections of highway, And lots of people crying.

[Bandit]

Apollo 11 for me.

Can't believe it'll be 40 years next month since Neil Armstrong stumbled over his words to create that memorable line.

B

[XCashier]

I only listened to the news with half an ear as a child, but the Don Bolles murder trial was a huge happening in my city. Not a day went by that we didn't hear about it.

[Caveat Emptor]

If you're dating yourself, Taxguykarl, I'm even worse. One of the earliest news event I remember were radio reports about fighting on Hamburger Hill during the Korean War in the early 1950s.

Hamburger Hill was Vietnam (101st ABN / A Shau Valley). Pork Chop Hill was Korea.

[edible_hat]

Challenger.

Me too. There was a special news bulletin about it.

[pssorens]

Reagan/ carter presidential election.

[Teysa]

I'd say the challenger disaster is the first one I have a clear memory of. I was in fifth grade at the time and we were between classes. My class hadn't watched the footage but some of the other kids had.(I think the science teacher had planned on recording it so the other classes could watch it later.) You can guess what the topic of conversation was in the halls that day. I saw it on the news later that night and could not believe it.

[ShinyGreenApple]

The earliest I can remember is seeing coverage of the Gulf War constantly on TV. Then my oldest brother kept talking about joining the military, and got accepted into the Navy and I remember getting scared because I thought he'd get sent over there and killed. He ended up in the electronic warfare department though, if I remember correctly. He retired after 10 years of service and is working regular jobs now.

[Rine]

The '95 trial of O.J. Simpson and the Oklahoma City bombings. I was a third or fourth grader at the time.

I suppose I would have remember things earlier, but before that I lived in a different country at the time and didn't get news channels there really or had little interest in the news then.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

The '95 trial of O.J. Simpson and the Oklahoma City bombings. I was a third or fourth grader at the time.

I was in 9th grade English class when the verdict was announced. They played the radio broadcast over the PA.

I guess that was the defining moment of our lives up to that point...