Ron Cochran
Ron Cochran(September 20, 1912 – July 25, 1994) was a Canadian-born American television news journalist who worked forABCandCBS.He served as the anchor ofRon Cochran with the News,ABC’s evening news program, from 1962 to 1965.[1][2]In November 1963, he served as the network's principal anchor for the around-the-clock coverage of theassassination ofUS PresidentJohn F. Kennedy.Before that, he hosted theCBSdrama television seriesArmstrong Circle Theatre.
Cochran was born inSaskatchewan,Canada,and grew up inFairfield, Iowa,where he received his elementary and secondary education. He majored in physics atParsons Collegeand went to theUniversity of Floridafor graduate study in that field. He decided on a career change before he finished the latter studies.[3]
Cochran worked as a reporter for theRock Island Argusbefore an audition resulted in a job broadcasting news for radio stationWHBF,which was owned by the newspaper's management.[3]
After working in Midwest radio stations, he joined theFederal Bureau of Investigationfor two years. Then, in 1945, he went to work at a Boston radio station.
In 1951, he was hired by CBS, where he did both television and radio based in Washington.[citation needed]In 1954, he went toWCBS-TV,where he was a newscaster on the 7 P.M. and 11 P.M. news programs. He left WCBS in 1960 to work on a daily 1 P.M. newscast on CBS-TV.[3]He also was the moderator of the CBS-TV programsMan of the Week,from 1952 to 1954, andYouth Takes a Stand,from 1954 to 1955, and CBS Radio'sAnswer, Please!from 1958 to 1959.
Cochran resigned from CBS News in July 1961 to become host ofArmstrong Circle Theatre,saying, "Armstrong offered me an opportunity that I couldn't pass up".[4]
After moving to ABC, he anchoredRon Cochran with the Newsfrom 1963 to 1965. He then started Ron Cochran Enterprises, which produced radio and television programs.[5]
As previously noted, Cochran was the main anchor of ABC's break in coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Cochran announced the death of President Kennedy as "confirmed" andABC Newsran a graphic showing Kennedy's picture and the dates 1917-1963 after a wire service report came to him that "government sources in Washington" had stated the President was dead, something bothCBS'Walter CronkiteandNBC'sBill Ryanchose not to do. This wire report came to Cochran several minutes before assistant press secretaryMalcolm Kilduffofficially announced the President's death.[6]
Despite the rival networks' expansion in 1963 of their evening newscasts to a full half-hour, ABC’s evening newscast would run only 15 minutes during Cochran's tenure; the network deferred expansion untilPeter Jennings,his successor, took over the anchor's desk for his first stint. Cochran later went toKGO-TVand anchored newscasts withRoger Grimsby.
Cochran married Beulah Tracht. They had a son, Ronald, and a daughter, Judy.[3]He died on July 25, 1994, aged 81, inLake Worth,Florida, after a heart attack.[5]
References
[edit]- ^"Broadcasting"(PDF).17 June 1963. p. 42.Retrieved13 May2024.
- ^"1963 Press Photo Ron Cochran, Anchorman of" Ron Cochran with the News "".Retrieved13 May2024.
- ^abcdShanley, John P. (June 12, 1960)."News With a Smile".The New York Times.p. 127.RetrievedOctober 26,2021.
- ^Shepard, Richard F. (July 19, 1961)."Ron Cochran Quits C.B.S. News For 'Armstrong Theatre' Post".The New York Times.p. 59.RetrievedOctober 26,2021.
- ^ab"Ron Cochran, 81, Television Anchor".New York Times.July 26, 1994.
- ^Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:ABC NEWS Live Coverage of The Assassination of President Kennedy (1:30 P.M 4:28 P.M E.T).YouTube.
| Preceded by John Cameron Swayze,Al Mann, Bill Lawrence |
ABC Evening NewsNews anchor 1962 – 1964 |
Succeeded by Peter Jennings |
