McGee had a great talent for descriptive language , often giving viewers a vivid word picture of the day 's events . When NBC News colleague Chet Huntley broke the news of the assassination of President Kennedy , McGee appeared in the studio with Huntley and Bill Ryan . Correspondent Robert MacNeil reported by telephone from Dallas , but the flash studio in New York was not equipped to put telephone calls on the air . This was eventually accomplished , but for the first hour , MacNeil spoke to McGee over the telephone , and McGee then repeated MacNeil 's report to the viewing audience . During MacNeil 's report that the president had died , his comments were finally heard over the air , but McGee , unaware of the change , repeated them anyway . The veteran journalist remained on duty for 45 hours with little rest , reporting without a script . McGee was also on the air in 1968 when word came that Senator Robert F. Kennedy , the late president 's brother , had been shot in Los Angeles following the California primary , and he calmly anchored the network 's breaking news coverage
shot
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
Frank McGee (journalist)