John Criswell Oral History
Object number2017.001.0003
Date01/12/2017
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject
John Criswell
Oral history interviewer
Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file)
DimensionsDuration: 68 Minutes
Collections
DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with John Criswell. A recognized Dallas/Fort Worth broadcast journalist for more than twenty years, Criswell was an anchor/producer at WFAA-TV from 1973-90 and KDFW-TV from 1990-97. As a young reporter at WFAA Radio in 1964, he had a brief encounter with Jack Ruby during his trial.
Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on January 12, 2017 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is one hour and eight minutes long.
Curatorial CommentaryWatching the local evening news in the late 1980s, my family always had our television turned to the award-winning "Spirit of Texas" news team on ABC affiliate WFAA-TV/Channel 8, which D Magazine in 1989 called "a local television news operation that is, by any measure, among the two or three best in America." The evening line-up that I best remember consisted of news anchors Tracy Rowlett and John Criswell with meteorologist Troy Dungan and sportscaster Dale Hansen. It was a great honor for me to sit down with three of these four gentlemen for one-on-one interviews in 2017. In addition, Tracy Rowlett returned to the Museum later that same year for a Living History educational program, which may be viewed in full here on YouTube: Living History with Tracy Rowlett - YouTube. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
