Allan Jackson

Who was Allan Jackson?

Allan Jackson was an American radio broadcaster. He was the head anchor at CBS Radio News in New York City.

Jackson began his 33-year career during the Second World War, reading the 6:00 PM national evening news and anchoring coverage of many of the major news headlines of the day. He anchored CBS News's coverage of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, of the joining of US and Soviet forces in April 1945, and of V-E Day in May of that year.

He was one of the first national radio newscasters to announce the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. According to former CBS News Correspondent Dan Rather in his book "The Camera Never Blinks" and in the 2003 book "President Kennedy Has Been Shot", Rather had advised CBS news headquarters in New York from Dallas that there were unconfirmed reports that the President was dead. Jackson was handed a slip of paper reading "JFK DEAD" and immediately went on air with the announcement, reporting Kennedy's death as a fact, and playing the U.S. national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.